“How could we possibly trust any creature that comes into the world wearing such a caul of ambiguity? That’s “essayists.” Four hundred and four years later, they continue to flourish.” John Jeremiah Sullivan offers a loose history of the essay, essayists, and all their many contradictions in a piece for The New Yorker.
“A Caul of Ambiguity”
Hello Byliner
Byliner, a sleek new site that features narrative non-fiction from around the web (and for the most part from the usual suspects, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, et al.) has launched. The Nieman Journalism Lab covers the launch.
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Harem Life
Few people have a stranger life story than Jillian Lauren. A former party girl of a royal harem in Brunei, she overcame a heroin addiction to become, among other things, a writer with two memoirs to her name. At The Nervous Breakdown, she talks about her latest book, her religious faith and her adopted Ethiopian son.
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Crystal Methods
Curtis Sittenfeld did some interesting research for her latest novel, Sisterland. “I went to this New Age bookstore in a distant suburb of St. Louis. I basically went there and was like, ‘I’m doing research,’ and then I un-ironically bought some crystals,” she told The Rumpus.
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New David Mitchell Cover
David Mitchell’s anticipated novel The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, now has a cover. It appears rather dreamy and influenced by Japanese art.
Old Writers, New Media
Which convergence between classic author and modern technology is more off-putting: the University of Virginia’s William Faulkner recordings, or this YouTube video of Leo Tolstoy sawing wood?
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Because Reading and Driving at the Same Time is Dangerous, People!
“5 Under 35” honoree Lydia Peelle reads you some “fiction for driving across America” at BOMB.
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Moneyball Movie Back on Track
The embattled film version of Michael Lewis’ baseball bestseller Moneyball, once set to be directed by Steven Soderbergh, is now back on track with Bennett Miller, director of Capote, set to helm. Brad Pitt is still lined up to play Oakland A’s G.M. Billy Beane.
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