“I would have been an abject failure in a writing program. I am not unteachable, but I am probably the only person who can teach myself. I don’t learn extremely well, formally. I wouldn’t even consider myself a very good reader. Maybe a slightly above average reader.” At The Morning News, Robert Birnbaum sits down with Charles Yu.
“I was a failed doctor”
“It’s why the gift horse is a gift”
Recommended Reading: “The Tiny Men in the Horse’s Mouth” by Matthew Olzmann for New England Review.
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Kristen Arnett’s Refrigerated Abyss
Kristen Arnett takes the Paris Review on a tour of the abyss—the abyss of her beer-and-pizza-roll-stocked refrigerator, that is.
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“Notre Dame is a polarizing place.”
With apologies to Mary McCarthy, our own Bill Morris has revisited memories of his sports-crazed Catholic boyhood in Sunday’s New York Times — specifically why he has been a life-long hater of Notre Dame football.
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True Romance
“Dive bars are full of beautiful dreamers.” True or false? If you answered true, you might be a romantic. Take Daniel Handler’s quiz to determine whether you’re prone to romance or cynicism, and then plan your Valentine’s Day accordingly.
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Viva La Vida
“We break down thirty-nine literary journals and well-respected periodicals, tallying genre, book reviewers, books reviewed, and journalistic bylines to offer an accurate assessment of the publishing world.” This year’s VIDA Count is out.