“Suddenly, it seems like gay characters are everywhere in Y.A. literature. Or, if not everywhere, certainly in far more places and in a greater variety than ever before.”
Coming Out of the Woodwork
Two from Eileen Myles
Recommended Reading: Two poems by Eileen Myles, including what I now consider to be the finest poem about flowers ever written.
Talking Translation
In an interview at The Brooklyn Rail, Susan Bernofsky talks about translating The Tanners, the last novel by the great Robert Walser to appear in English.
The Golden Age of Women Essayists
The essay is more popular than ever. At Salon, Michele Filgate talks to Leslie Jamison (author of The Empathy Exams, here’s our review) and Roxane Gay (author of the forthcoming Bad Feminist) about the power of the genre. Gay believes our interest in essays is because of a “cultural preoccupation with the exposure of the self.” They also discuss if we’re in a golden age of women essayists. “Sometimes when men write about private feeling, it’s seen as exploratory or daring, and when women write about private feeling it’s seen as limited or in the vein of a kind of circumscribed emotional writing,” Jamison says.
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Sarah Ruhl brings Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell to the stage
Poet turned playwright Sarah Ruhl’s latest stage production, Dear Elizabeth, is based on the correspondence between Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell. She recently spoke to Ruth Graham about her inspiration, and whether other writers’ letters could be adapted for the stage as well. (As an aside: you really should read The Clean House if you haven’t already.)
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Paris in a Podcast
“[A]n audio odyssey through fiction, archival tape, interviews, and late nights with the likes of James Baldwin, Dorothy Parker, and the cutting-edge writers of our time. Featuring readings from LeVar Burton, Stockard Channing, Jesse Eisenberg, Marc Maron, Eileen Myles, David Sedaris, Dick Cavett, Dakota Johnson, and more!” Did you know The Paris Review has a new podcast? See also: our interview with current TPR editor Lorin Stein.
John Jeremiah Sullivan Visits Cuba
Pulphead author John Jeremiah Sullivan writes his second New York Times Magazine cover story in five weeks. This is turning into an embarrassment of riches.
Look Away
“Recently, a friend told me she didn’t like pictures of herself because she never looked the way she thought she did in her head. I think this pretty much describes the universal horror that is looking at your own photos, and that’s why I love the selfie so much. It gives you all the controls to the story you are telling.” In defense of the selfie.
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Wiesel Returns Reward
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I just posted a good podcast with Craig Gidney, who recently published a queer YA novel called Bereft. You can check it out at http://chimeraobscura.com/vm/podcast-the-importance-of-being-out
It also features an interview with Ed Hermance, owner of Giovanni’s Room, the oldest operating queer bookstore in America.