Perhaps someone should compile a Salon des Refusés of Poetry Magazine‘s rejected poets.
Even the Editors Get Rejected
A Consolation Prize
In the wake of her 2016 Presidential loss, Hillary Clinton's best-selling book What Happened sparked the question: "Would you rather be president of the United States or a No. 1 best-selling author?" The Washington Post asked several authors including Cheryl Strayed, Erik Larson, and Joyce Carol Oates for their thoughts. See also our interview with Strayed from our archives.
Behind the Beautiful Forevers Headed to the Stage
The National Theater in London plans on adapting Behind the Beautiful Forevers into a stage production, reports John Williams. Don't miss Paul Morton’s Millions interview with Katherine Boo from last year.
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Blogs Worth Reading
Largehearted Boy has put out an updated installment of his "Blogs to Read." This year, he modified his approach to include collectively authored sites, "to better include the collaborative websites I read every day." The Millions is included as are a number of other excellent sites.
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Parenthetical Power
Parentheses aren't just the mark of a lazy or verbose writer. They can also bracket personal pain in a narrative. At The New York Review of Books, Christopher Benfey explores the power of the parenthetical detail, such as Lolita's "My very photogenic mother died in a freak accident (picnic, lightning) when I was three." Pair with: Vulture's "The 5 Best Punctuation Marks in Literature."
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Hemingway’s First Short Story Unearthed
"The notebook was there, unharmed, tucked inside a Ziploc freezer bag, with 'Sep. 8, 1909,' written in black marker." After Hurricane Irma passed over Key West, Florida, writer and historian Brewster Chamberlin confirmed the relic he had found in May was safe: a notebook containing the first short story by a 10-year-old Ernest Hemingway. See also: The Millions' own Michael Bourne's essay on Hemingway as a "Middlebrow Revolutionary."
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Reading Retreats
"Why not plan a vacation dedicated exclusively to reading?" asks Salon's Laura Miller.
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