Has Joan Didion become “the Ultimate Literary Celebrity“? In an article for the New Republic Laura Marsh says “yes,” and then explains how that happened. Marsh’s efforts pair well with Franklin Strong‘s recent Millions essay on “The Manliness of Joan Didion,” Joan Didion being a literary figure who easily adapts to any description.
The Ultimate Literary Celebrity
The Hunted
Veterans of writing workshops will know that a good story has a heavy dose of conflict. One can add it to a story in many ways, but one of the best and most reliable is to add a predator, either in the form of a threatening organisation or an animal or person with malicious intent. At the Ploughshares blog, Year in Reading alum Megan Mayhew Bergman reflects on predatory literature.
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“As a man I am difficult. But I would like to be personless.”
Brooklyn Poets caught up with Danniel Schoonebeek in order to discuss one of his poems, hear about his idea of “a good day,” and take his recommendations for places to read, write, and explore in Brooklyn. I’ll tell you this much: the man knows how to pick a good happy hour.
Ferlinghetti on Folksingers
David Meltzer interviewed renowned Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti for the Poetry Foundation. At 93 years of age, Ferlinghetti still contends that “the real popular poets of America” are not the people writing verse for poetry collections, but rather the folk musicians and folksingers. “A lot of folksingers’ poems are greater than the printed poems!” Ferlinghetti explains. Evidently the American Academy of Arts and Letters agrees: Bob Dylan recently became the first rock musician ever inducted into its ranks.
Fresh Powder
Year in Reading alumnus (and co-founder of The Morning News) Rosecrans Baldwin talks shop with Thomas Stoeckli, a photographer from Switzerland who specializes in photos of snowboarders.
Imaginary Russia
David Satter's It Was a Long Time Ago and It Never Happened Anyway gets reviewed for The Daily Beast. The book is a "sweeping study of how the former Soviet Union's bloody past continues to poison Russia's present and threatens to strangle the country's future."