On odd reading habits, the problem with “brave” writing and being a writer in LA: an interview with Meghan Daum, whose essay collection The Unspeakable was reviewed by our own Hannah Gersen.
The Problem with “Brave”
Summer Marketing Season
It's that time again. Out come the bathing suits and beach-focused marketing campaigns. Allison Duncan dissects the category of the "beach read."
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Good Fortune is Good Fortune
Our own Garth Risk Hallberg’s City on Fire is almost here. While we wait, read Boris Kachka’s profile of Hallberg for Vulture, about the expectation surrounding his highly anticipated 944-page debut novel and the experience of writing a book that is “unpublishably long.” We’ll be publishing our own illuminating interview with Hallberg on Monday.
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McCarthy, Literary Idol
“In addition to fearing, as a young person, that I lacked sophistication, I also feared that I lacked courage. It was hard for me to say something even mildly tough about someone else or their work; hard for me, generally, to be critical. Mary McCarthy had no such trouble.” Meg Wolitzer, author of The Interestings, writes about her literary idol for the LA Times.
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Rimbaud in Ethiopia
From The New York Times Travel section, a look at the Ethiopian city where Rimbaud, the poet behind A Season in Hell, “finally found a kind of peace.”
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P.S.
The summer issue of Prairie Schooner has a short story of mine in it, as well as other good stuff, for most of which a subscription is required. You don’t need one, however, to read this short interview (very much in keeping with the Where We Write theme).
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A Beautiful Alternate World
Kaveh Akbar interviews poet Wendy Xu about oppressive syntax, imaginary realms, and poems as ecosystems. As she puts it, “Poetry validates the emotional realness of the imaginary.” Pair with Andrew Kay’s Millions essay on the power of poetry.