Do They Get Screeners?
In Which F. Scott Fitzgerald Gets Compared to The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson
Kirk Curnutt takes readers on a tour of of F. Scott Fitzgerald's oft-neglected commercial short fiction. Fitzgerald, after all, "produced 160 short stories [in his life]," writes Curnutt, "earning a total of $241,453 off the genre -- more than $3 million in today's dollars." Yet the author didn't think highly of the work, and even referred to himself as an "old whore" because he wouldn't quit.
Angst Extra
Poet Aaron Belz posted the following ad on Craigslist: "Poet available to begin work immediately. Capable in rhyme and meter, fluent in traditional and contemporary forms. Quotidian observations available at standard rate of $15/hour; occasional verse at slightly higher rate of $17/hour. Incomprehensible garbage $25/hour. Angst extra." It worked. So far he's written insults and responses to Aubrey Plaza. At The Atlantic, Micah Mattix wonders if this is a new marketing model for artists.
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“In matters like writing[…], a man does what he has to do—if he has to write, why then, he writes”
Rebecca Davis O'Brien unearths a letter in which Malcolm Cowley tackles the timeless question, "Should I get an MFA?" Just as poignant as Cowley's letter is novelist Helen DeWitt's pointed dismissal of Cowley's advice in the comments section.
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Tom McCarthy Gets Interviewed
"There is a vicious rumor circulating that Tom McCarthy is the writer of our generation," writes Christopher Bollen in Interview as he, ahem, interviews the author and Millions Year in Reading alum.
E is for Edward who mailed you some art
How jazzed would you be if you received mail in one of Edward Gorey's illustrated envelopes?
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Appearing Elsewhere
My piece in memory of novelist and rapier-tongued pundit Gore Vidal, who died Tuesday, appears on Prospero, the online arts & culture publication of The Economist.
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“You may better yourself by reading this, but who cares?”
“Usually, with a novel, you start with no idea what to do because your job is to create convincing characters and then they just run around getting crazy. The problem with writing a memoir, obviously, is you can’t do that because you sort of know what’s going to happen. Because you’re the character.” – Gary Shteyngart