Moving from New York to Baton Rouge might sound extreme to some, but not to Emily Nemens. Over at Lean In, she explains how she worked her way up from graduate assistant to Southern Review coeditor.
“There was a sort of magic down here.”
What Work Is
Recommended Reading: Leah Falk looks at women’s writing and unpaid labor.
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The Contrived
It’s a common saying among actors that the script does most of the work. Which raises an interesting question: is it possible for a great writer to make art out of a bad story? At The Kenyon Review’s blog, Amit Majmudar says it is, using Shakespeare as proof. Related: five experts on the Bard’s greatest plays.
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‘Confessional Writing’ Is a Tired Line of Sexist Horseshit
"If I’m writing something about my period, it doesn’t mean that I’m not an intellectual. I can write an intellectual essay about my navel or a whole book about my period." The Literary Hub has a transcript of Red Ink's panel discussion on literary misfits, including Marcy Dermansky, Melissa Febos, Michele Filgate, Sarah Gerard, Emily Raboteau, and Lidia Yuknavitch. And we will never, ever miss a chance to mention Yuknavitch's essay in our own pages about grief.
“This is how we trace our paths back to the source of trouble.”
Recommended Listening: Bonnie Jo Campbell reads her poems “Teakettle” and “Scribblers” for The Southern Review’s podcast.
The Art of the Recommendation
Laura Miller at Salon reports on the fine art of recommending books - “too delicate a task to leave to e-commerce robots” - and the literary types who are now stepping in to offer their advice.
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