Physiological Form Meets Psychological Space
by Jacob M. Appel
From the Archives: By astutely balancing the physical with the psychological, Elizabeth Graver manages to produce what Jacob M. Appel calls “four-dimensional stories.”
From the Archives: By astutely balancing the physical with the psychological, Elizabeth Graver manages to produce what Jacob M. Appel calls “four-dimensional stories.”
From the Archives: Peter Turchi on the art of disclosure from the 2010 AWP Panel “What to Say and When to Say It: Disclosure of Information for Optimal Effect in Fiction.”
From the Archives: “By allowing the reader to hear these voices, their pravda, instead of her own, Alexievich can better give voice to the feelings of disenfranchisement many witnesses feel in the current, capitalist Russia.”
From the Archives: In 1990, Stephanie Vaughn published her debut collection of short fiction, Sweet Talk. Critical reception was overwhelmingly positive. A reviewer for Mother Jones Magazine wrote, “There is not a weak story in Sweet Talk and few are less than spectacular … Hers is a wise, touching, extraordinary voice—the sort rarely achieved at the end of a gifted career, let alone at the beginning.” To date, Vaughn’s first book has also been the only one her adoring fans have seen.
From the Archives: Jennifer Solheim reveals how language structure impacts emotional resonance in the narrative—and for the reader.
From the Archives: Michael Byers on how to succeed—and fail—in the first person.
From the Archives: “Have you ever heard it said in workshop, ‘What’s at stake for this setting?'”: Ayşe Papatya Bucak with five ideas on how to characterize setting.
From the Archives: “What does my reaction to all this say about me as a reader, as a person? … Am I angry at Ben Lerner and his book or am I angry at me?”: Jennifer Audette on learning to love Lerner’s 10:04.
From the Archives: What do the 2011 Japanese Tsunami, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and one family’s personal heartbreak have in common? For Ellen Prentiss Campbell, the answer lies in Pearl S. Buck’s 1948 young adult novel, The Big Wave, and the individual acts of creative defiance that help survivors not only carry on, but value life’s beauty more highly because they know it will not last.
“I remember waiting for an epiphany. Like a miracle, it would re-juice my imagination and add another layer to this project that now literally had my blood etched into its make-up.” Lyndsey Ellis on the physical toll of fiction-writing research.
Countless writers aspire to contribute something lasting to literature. We labor over drafts. We seek innovative forms. We push ourselves to evoke particularities in tone, plot, character, circumstance, and word choice. Yet in these various pursuits, we might overlook what also endures: literary references.
Amy Janiczek on the American consumption of the spectacle of war in Aleksandar Hemon’s 2000 debut collection.
