…like changing the part of speech of a word–that excite us, rather than confuse us. This kind of creative language, Davis suggests, not only wows the reader but also stimulates the brain and helps “to keep it alive.” Hear that, writers? Don’t be afraid to stretch your style—your readers’ brains will thank you….
…that she has been faithful [to God] in every way, but only continues to be tested. Sarah’s test is the same as Job’s, and the compensation seems to be much the same: the reward for constancy is more trouble. Is this why she continues to rewrite herself, through the use of her journal? Sarah’s invention of a future life is something she should have complete control over, yet she even loses control over this imagined destiny. However futile her visu…
…debut novel, My Name is Mary Sutter, “the gutsy tale of a youthful Albany, New York, midwife who becomes a nurse to soldiers of the Union Army—men who were more likely to die from now-preventable infections than they were from gunshots.” Mallon admires Oliveira’s portrayal of a heroine “hell-bent on becoming a surgeon at a time when no woman in this country had been admitted to a medical school,” praises the author’s command of point of view (whic…
…rently do, probably because a lot of that stuff has been internalized, has simply become a part of me. That’s a process that, as you know, begins very early with most writers: we read a great deal, and so we experience what gracious and powerful writing can be like from the time that we can read. I was also lucky enough—to return to our theme of rurality—to grow up in a time and place where there was very little to do in the way of recreation, for…
…ce on my style, too. Yes, grad programs. You earned your MFA in Fiction at New York’s The New School? Expand if you will on what effect it had on your craft? Did you like MFA school? Or like me, did you feel like there were too many egos in the room? I loved the New School. I started The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series there with other New Schoolers and got my agent Sam Hiyate soon after. I’m still close with a lot of people I met and learned a lot f…
…Jonathan Tropper on WAMC. – In this Penguin video, Tropper introduces his latest novel and discusses the challenge of “setting an entire novel in the framework of seven days”: – Watch and read an interview and Q&A with Tropper at Bookbrowse. And here’s a feature/interview with Tropper in TimeOut New York. – Over drinks at Brooklyn Public House, Asylum editor Anthony Layser talks with Tropper about This Is Where I Leave You. Does Tropper have a Ma…
…re sitting down to begin a new project? I plan, destroy the plans, replan, come to compromise, lie down. What’s your favorite novel? Your favorite book of criticism or nonfiction? I don’t play favorites, I play ideals, which change with what I’m working on. Lately I’ve been rereading Canetti, which, I realize, is a perfect, though perhaps too convenient, answer to your question: Everything he wrote was, explicitly or implicitly, both fiction and n…
…ing that decision for almost two decades is another story.) I had ingested completely the idea that the manifold, incomprehensible self is most clearly apprehended in fictional characters and narratives, and however professional I may feel about my writing today, I am still that same word-besotted teenager whenever I put my fingers to the keyboard. I didn’t know about Flaubert’s quote then, and I’m half glad of it. If I had been warned that the wr…
…g is an essential part of the process of making poems. I don’t know. These new ways of discussing the art might make that question completely unnecessary. I fear, however, that that will be a loss, even if only a temporary one, a diminution of attentive reading and yet another victory for the various literary fashions that seem to be continually swirling across the surface of the art. Editor’s Note: It is our great pleasure to publish this essay b…
…can keep in the freezer so you always have it on hand. D’Artagnan (http://www.dartagnan.com) sells it via mail order and it can also be found in gourmet food stores. If you don’t have any demi-glace you can substitute a rich beef stock, but the sauce will be a little thinner. Be sure to strain and save any duck fat you have left over from this recipe. It is wonderful for frying potatoes in, or once you’ve saved up more you can make your own duck…
