Do you live in one of the world’s ten most literary cities? I don’t.
Then Again, Most American’s Don’t
Metaphorical Departure
We all spend way too much time in airports this time of year, but Brad Leithauser searched for a metaphor about his journeys through BWI. As he writes for The New Yorker, “There was a piquant pleasure on the night when I first put these two experiences—morning churchgoing, evening airport-going—side by side. I’d been idly and only semi-consciously asking myself what these nocturnal intervals at B.W.I. reminded me of, and now, suddenly, I’d located my metaphor.”
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Form of the Future
“For our readers, time is the precious commodity they invest in every book they decide to purchase and read. But time is being ground down into smaller and smaller units, long nights of reflection replaced with fragmentary bursts of free time. It’s just harder to make time for that thousand-page novel than it used to be, and there are more and more thousand-page novels to suffer from that temporal fragmentation.” Tor.com on why novellas are the form of the future.
Revisiting the Ghosts of Old Drafts with John Keene
John Keene discusses his new poetry collection, Punks, as well as his process for revisiting his older work.
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Gents in Glasses
Didn’t get a chance to show off your Tolstoy and sexy frames at the last I Like Your Glasses: Literary Speed Dating? Don’t worry because CoverSpy and Housing Works Bookstore Cafe will be hosting another event on October 23 at the store. This time bookworms are restricted to ages 21-39. Tickets are $15 (including a free drink), but to encourage more gents, Millions men can get their tickets for $12 if they use the promotional code “MILLIONS.” Pair with: our essay on attending the first I Like Your Glasses.
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Uncertain Origin
The Wall Street Journal has shared an exclusive look at the cover art for, and an excerpt from, Elena Ferrante’s new book. Also check out Cora Currier’s essay on reading Italy through Ferrante’s books.“
Reginald Dwayne Betts Finds Freedom in Poetry
Self-described "lawyer poet" Reginald Dwayne Betts discusses how he uses poetry and law in his day-to-day life to learn about the world.
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