Why not kick off 2012 with former poet laureate W. S. Merwin’s poem, “To the New Year“?
“so this is the sound of you”
An NBA Highlights Reel
The WaPo's Ron Charles delivers a rapid-fire video review of the National Book Award nominees.
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Review another day
Reviews are still in the literary news, and in the midst of all the nicey niceness and plentiful hot air, Alix Ohlin got a real smack down in the Times for her new novel, Inside, and her new collection of short stories Signs and Wonders. Which prompted J. Robert Lennon to consider: How does one even write a good "bad" review?
Lauren Bacall on Writing
"Writing a book is the most complete experience I've ever had," said Lauren Bacall, who passed away on Tuesday. She wrote three memoirs over 30 years - By Myself, Now and By Myself and Then Some.
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Appearing Elsewhere: The Pale King and the DFW Legacy
You can read my take on The Pale King - and what it says about Wallace's legacy - at New York Magazine.
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“First Reads with James Wood”
The Faster Times recaps James Wood's recent lecture on David Foster Wallace's Brief Interviews With Hideous Men.
A Good Deaf Man Is Hard to Find
Sara Nović writes for The Believer about the deaf protagonist of Stephen King’s The Stand. As she explains it, “This is the plight of the average deaf character: to be plagued by the hearing author’s own discomfort with the idea of silence.” Pair with Lydia Kiesling’s Millions essay on King.
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The Future Is Unwritten
It turns out that books by self-publishers and small presses are eating away at the Big Four’s market share. Pair with this series from The Millions about the future of the book.