Yesterday, our own Elizabeth Minkel pondered if Twitter fiction could be real art. She cited Teju Cole, a literary Twitter master, but what does he have to say about how Twitter affects his writing? “My memory is worse than it was a few years ago, but I hope that my ability to write a good sentence has improved,” he told The New York Times.
Teju’s Twitter
Hard to Categorize
The Naipaul Question, as Morgan Meis calls it, is simple: is V.S. Naipaul too offensive to be taken seriously? His recent biography includes scenes of abuse and moments of straightforward racism. But Meis thinks the issue is more complicated than whether Naipaul is a monster — the author is, in his phrasing, too “protean” to be pinned down.
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When Good Doesn’t Win the Day
Recommended Listening: On NPR’s All Things Considered, Petra Mayer offers advice to “literature’s unpunished villains.”
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Publishing’s Payout
Publishing is a business in which some authors make seven to eight figures, some executives make six figures, most editors make five figures, and most interns make nothing.
The Writers Who Helped Jocelyn Nicole Johnson Find Her Place in the World
Jocelyn Nicole Johnson discusses her debut fiction collection, My Monticello, as well as the writers who influenced her to write about communities surviving racial trauma.
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A Profile of the Profilist
Whether you’re a fan of the Boss or not, David Remnick’s recent 17-page look at the life of Bruce Springsteen is a delight to read and a masterful example of the profile piece. Remnik joins Storyboard to talk about the art of the profile.
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