An Egg with a Horse Inside
Vintage Barthelmismo
Thomas Pynchon defined what he termed “vintage Barthelmismo” as “fictions thoughtfully concocted and comfortably beyond the reach of time.” This moving tribute to Donald Barthelme by Padgett Powell from the forthcoming anthology, A Manner of Being: Writers on Their Mentors, is right in line with Pynchon’s sentiment. Here’s another Barthelme mention from The Millions that you may be interested in.
Vasily Grossman’s Two Major Acts
Sam Sacks takes a look at the “two major acts” in the life of Vasily Grossman, the Jewish-Russian author perhaps best known for his monumental account of the Stalingrad siege, Life and Fate. (Bonus: Life and Fate was picked by Stephen Dodson as his Year in Reading pick back in 2011.)
●
●
Billy Pilgrim Is Unstuck
"How can a horrific event, so monstrous it seems incomprehensible, be told? How does one even find the words to write about it?" For The Paris Review, Matteo Pericoli takes a look at Slaughterhouse-Five and the bridge between fiction and architecture.
●
●
Special Feature: Kathryn Stripling Byer
The new issue of Story South dedicated its “Special Feature: Southern Poets” section to the work of Kathryn Stripling Byer. To wit, you can check out two of her poems – “Waiting for Bob” and “Making Myself at Home” – as well as an interview between her and Terry Kennedy, and a review of her latest collection, Descent.
●
●
Infinite Jest Inspires Infinite Tributes
First Poor Yorick Entertainment emerged as a "visual exploration of the filmography of James O. Incandenza and the world of David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest." Then, as The New York Times reports, "Parks and Recreation" co-creator Michael Schur paired up with The Decembrists to direct a music video inspired by the book. (You can watch the video on YouTube.) Now, thanks to this Radiolab podcast (and an alley-oop from @nateharris), another one of the novel's scenes is brought to life.
●
●
Like Reading How-To Manuals
James Hynes discusses the books he read when writing his latest novel, Next: "I wanted to see if I could write a day-in-the-life novel, a narrative that would be set in a single day, or part of one, and by working backwards and forwards through flashbacks, encompass the entire life of a single character."
●
●