We’ve talked about great opening lines before, but what about the rough starts? The American Scholar has listed the “Ten Worst Opening Lines” and believe it or not, they’re well worth reading.
Rough Starts
The Best of Peter Matthiessen
To honor Peter Matthiessen, who passed away over the weekend, The New Yorker unlocked part of one of the author’s best pieces of travel writing. The piece, titled "The Last Wilderness," follows Matthiessen as he travels down the Amazon River. (His last novel comes out this week, as well.)
Excerpt from The Lola Quartet
Joyland’s got a sweet excerpt from our own Emily St. John Mandel’s latest novel, The Lola Quartet.
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Dispatch from Kolkata
Over at Electric Literature, Megha Majumdar writes about the changing architecture in Kolkata, the quest for authenticity, and nostalgia. Pair with Olena Jennings’s Millions essay on nostalgia for a life never lived.
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Secret Space
Recommended Reading: Over at Aeon, Tiffany Jenkins writes about the importance of secrets for a child’s development and in children’s literature.
Young Eliot
There's a new biography of T.S. Eliot out, and this one concentrates on the poet's American childhood and his transition from a youthful Tom to the now-famous T.S. (just in case you needed some context for that new writer's retreat.)
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