Goodbyes and Some Last Bits of Advice
Well, here we are. It’s spring, you are in the middle of exams and I am packing up. It’s been a wonderful year. I’ve been amazed by all the work I’ve seen, all the poems, stories, plays, essays… Read More
Neoliberal Realism and Conflict as Property
As this amazing year winds down (for real, where did the time go?), I’ve been thinking a lot about conflict. Perhaps because there’s so much in the world right now (though there has always been, of course, acknowledged… Read More
Read More Poetry
One of the many things I love about poetry is how deeply elusive it is. Which can also be maddening. But it is the thing most compatible (at least for me) with the fact of being alive. By… Read More
When the House is Alive
My book recommendation for this week is something to get your mind off all your schoolwork, but you can read it quickly enough to return to your schoolwork in a timely manner: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. The book… Read More
On Small Elliptical Novels
A lot of people have sent me a lot of writing this year, for which I’m grateful. I’ve done my best to offer thoughtful, kindly, and helpful advice. Sometimes, of course, this advice sounds a little rote in… Read More
Book Rec: Biography of X, by Catherine Lacey
March 12, 2024 I’ll go short this week. Just one book, but it’s a big weird sprawling experimental novel, only don’t be put off by that. You will be riveted. It’s an art novel, a marriage novel, a… Read More
In Praise of Books in Which Nothing Happens
Sometimes nothing needs to “happen.” Sometimes, as a reader, just following a mysterious fictional stranger as they go about the awkward and unstable business of living is enough. This can be one of the deepest and most satisfying… Read More
More Graphic Novels…
This week, a bit of an addendum, because of course as soon as I wrote my post on graphic novels I remembered ones I’d loved and forgotten. And because it’s February and I don’t know about you, but… Read More
Fail Again, Fail Better
I’ve been thinking a lot about failure as part of writing. This can be a professional setback (the publisher you wanted said no, you didn’t get the grant or the fellowship, that magazine turned you down even though… Read More
Question and Answer
At long last, a question! Thank you, whoever you are. More, please. Q: I need a sensitivity reader. How do I find a good/proper one? A: For those of you who haven’t caught on to this, the notion… Read More
