Recommended Reading: On how old age is represented in literature.
The End of the Story
Bodies in Public
Édouard Louis discusses his third book, Who Killed My Father, as well as violence, poverty, and the gilets jaunes movement.
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Not Quite a Novel, Not Quite a Tweet
Melville House’s “Art of the Novella” series gets some major, major love from Joe Fassler in The Atlantic.
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A Postcard from Your Favorite Author
This month The Common launches its sixth annual postcard auction, headlined by André Aciman, Mira Jacob, Ann Patchett, George Saunders, and many, many more
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Appearing Elsewhere
I have an essay in the September issue of Poets & Writers on “The Social Value of MFA Programs.” Sadly, P&W deems the piece too valuable to give away for free on the Web, so if you want to read it, you’ll have to go to your local newsstand and buy a copy.
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Shepard’s Final Word
“He wrote the first drafts by hand, and when that became too difficult, dictated sections of the book into a tape recorder.” Before his death in July, playwright and actor Sam Shepard wrote a novel called Spy of the First Person, which is forthcoming from Knopf in December. From our archives, a list of writers who also act.
Chandler’s Poetry
Before cutting his teeth as novelist and screenwriter, Raymond Chandler tried to make it as a poet. Here are some early poems from the author of The Long Goodbye.
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Edwidge Danticat on Gabriel García Márquez
“I had always felt that [Gabriel] García Márquez’s short stories often took a back seat to his longer works, and that his deadpan dark humor was not discussed often enough,” writes Edwidge Danticat.