Fresh Air’s Terry Gross sits down with Jonathan Franzen to talk about Purity, writing, and the possibility of parenthood. “I’ve always thought of myself as a comic novelist. It’s a tough road to hoe because comedy means light in people’s mind. There was an ambitious part of me that kind of chafed and was secretly relieved when the comedy was overlooked, but at a certain point, it becomes wearing for people not to get the humor.” Pair with our review of the novel.
Purely Comedic
The ‘I’ has to become ‘you.’
A great profile of Adam Gopnik and his work as an essayist in the Ryerson Review of Journalism.
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New from Ann Beattie
In the Fall 2015 issue of VQR, check out new fiction from Ann Beattie. You could also read our recent interview with the author.
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The Reindeer Uprising
“There was an inefficient system in place, and what I did was subvert it by an external rotation of reluctant holly jollies. Nasally, I came to understand that light is a thing that is produced through the collision of particulates, and boy isn’t that the truth.” As part of their year-end review, McSweeney’s republished their ten most popular pieces of 2014, including the above. Its title? “Donald Barthelme Narrates the Progress of the Reindeer.”
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Genre, Ctd.
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Pirate King
Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom's capture was widely publicized last month, but this Business Week profile of the man's ascent to "Pirate King" makes for a super entertaining (and informative) read.
Self-Publishing like a Woolf
"History is littered with poets... who set up their own presses to publish their work, because it was so different from the normal forms of the time. Virginia Woolf and her husband Leonard are one example- they started their own press called the Hogarth Press (it is still going today) to publish collections of their work." Self-publishing is something we've written about many times before, but Sarah Gonnet raises a good point - self-publishing isn't truly a new phenomenon, and it does allow for a great deal of creative freedom.
The Best of 19th Century British Lit
If you don't have any weekend plans, we suggest you spend your time on the British Library's new Victorian and Romantic section of Discovering Literature. The site features 1,200 literary treasures, including a manuscript of Jane Eyre and 20 short documentaries.
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