Uncategorized Archive
An Interview with Kevin Wilson
One of the stories I would include in my anthology would certainly be Kevin Wilson’s “Blowing Up on the Spot,” which appeared in the Ploughshares Winter 2003-2004 issue. In considering writing about the story, however, I realized that instead of me talking about Kevin Wilson, it would be
The Other Walk
The Other Walk Sven Birkerts Graywolf Press, 2011 192 pages $15.00 “This morning, going against all convention, I turned right instead of left…” This collection traveled around with me for weeks, bumping along in my bag everywhere I went. I could have read it faster; would have, if I
Free Ploughshares: Works-in-Progress
Free Ploughshares, round…well, I lost count, but once again it’s your opportunity to win a free issue from our archives! This week we’re featuring our Spring 1991 issue, guest edited by M. L. Rosenthal and examining the idea of “works-in-progress.” Because of this issue’s theme, we’re doing things
Innovators in Lit #4: Alice Sebold on Tonga Books
Tonga Books, a Europa Editions imprint, was founded in 2010. Titles published under Tonga are selected by prominent contemporary writers, and the first titles were chosen by Alice Sebold, best-selling author of The Lovely Bones, Lucky, and The Almost Moon. Tonga’s inaugural titles, Alexander Maksik’s You Deserve Nothing and Ian
The Sisters Brothers
The Sisters Brothers Patrick DeWitt Ecco, April 2011 336 pages $24.99 This post was written by Lisa Peet. If the Western exists to glorify the outsider, then it should be noted that Eli Sisters, narrator of Patrick DeWitt’s terrific The Sisters Brothers, is an outsider several times over. He
My Anthology: “Dinosaur” by Bruce Holland Rogers
Sometimes I daydream about putting together an anthology of my favorite short stories, kind of like a mix tape. Over the course of my blogging duties, I’m going to discuss a few of the stories that—from my experience—aren’t as familiar to readers. Whether it’s writing issues or life issues,
Radial Symmetry
Radial Symmetry Katherine Larson Yale University Press, March 2011. 96 pages $18.00 This post was written by Tory Adkisson. In her recent collection of poems, Radial Symmetry, Yale Younger Series-winner Katherine Larson examines our culture’s increasingly stark division between scientist and artist, and ultimately makes a strong case for
Innovators in Lit: featherproof books
featherproof books is an indie press founded by Zach Dodson and Jonathan Messinger. They are based in Chicago, and their serious literary chops—recent titles include Patrick Somerville’s The Universe in Miniature in Miniature, Lindsay Hunter’s Daddy’s, Christian TeBordo’s The Awful Possibilities, Blake Butler’s Scorch Atlas, and Amelia Gray’s AM/PM—and
Free Ploughshares! Featuring Guest Editor Philip Levine
Here at Ploughshares, we’ve been lucky enough that the new Poet Laureate of the United States Philip Levine has guest edited our magazine not once, but two times in our forty year history. Today we’re featuring the first issue, published in Winter 1988 and filled with contributions from writers
Looking Back: A Year Ago on the Ploughshares Blog
On this week a year ago, Megan Mayhew Bergman was rereading the work of Donald Hall in her post “Learning the Taste of Stone” while Fan Wu looked at the ever-pertinent issue of e-books versus physical texts. The debate still goes on, but if you have an e-reader, why