Tim Parks investigates the idea of “writing to death” in the cases of Thomas Hardy, D.H. Lawrence, Anton Chekhov, Charles Dickens and William Faulkner. “So many of the writers I have looked at seem permanently torn between irreconcilable positions,” Parks writes. “Eventually, the dilemma driving the work either leads to death, or is neutralized in a way that prolongs life but dulls the writing” (Bonus: Our own Mark O’Connell just reviewed Parks’s latest book, Italian Ways.)
The Personal Dilemma of Writing
The Giant of Myth
The late David Rakoff was a longtime Salon contributor, and to celebrate his memory, the site published an excerpt of his rhyming novel, Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish, which came out today.
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“The conspirators sit smoking thoughtfully”
Recommended Reading: “The Colonel’s Daughter,” new fiction from Noir author Robert Coover.
Indispensable Squares
"Nobody there but dirty old men who spit tobacco juice and try to look up your skirt." The city square is one of the biggest architectural differences between the United States and Europe. Over at The Daily Beast, George Packer takes a look at plazas/piazzas and makes a case for why America needs more.
The Particular Pleasures of Literature
At 3 Quarks Daily, Akeel Bilgrami’s essay on the pleasures of literature: “To understand what is special about literature is not to delegate the emotions to literature while retaining thought for philosophy and science. The idea is to find in the distinctly expressive function of literature, a refusal of that tired dualism.” (via Book Bench)
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Listening: Between the Covers
Recommended Listening: Looking for interviews with authors previously featured on The Millions? Check out David Naimon's Between the Covers podcast, which features the likes of Chang-rae Lee, Kyle Minor, Lorrie Moore, Helen Oyeyemi and Gina Frangello.