“Over the course of our conversation, I’ve come to understand that he has not written (Thomas Jefferson Dreams of Sally Hemings) to provoke or to engender a self-serving sense of shock; he has written with a belief in the possibilities of liminal space and in the revelations that occur at the point of tension. The result is a book that jars, unequivocally, and that disquietingly brings to the surface the anguish of past and present America.” Stephen O’Connor’s poetic reimagining of the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and the enslaved Sally Hemings has certainly raised some eyebrows. This interview with Melody Nixon at BOMB gives O’Connor a platform from which to explain his idea.
Significant Thinking
Slave Driver
Recommended Reading: Katherine Sunderland on Michael Bundock's The Fortunes of Francis Barber.
Round One is In the Books
As round one of the Tournament of Books wraps up, The Morning News offers some statistical analysis as well as some commentary that addresses the competition and controversies thus far. Round two commences next week!
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I’d Prefer the Footnotes
Recommended Reading: This slick, new, annotated version of Herman Melville’s classic Bartleby, the Scrivener from the folks over at Slate. For more on Bartleby’s occupation of Wall Street, here's a piece that should suffice.
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Guilty As Charged
"Why do readers, those who are bereaved and those with happy families alike, love orphans?"
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I’ma read I’ma read I’ma read
Hip-hop lyrics repurposed as book blurbs. Also, if Ron Swanson blurbed books. And of course, our own history of the blurb.
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How to Write Like a Man
“She can write like a man, they said, by which they meant, She can write.” Claire Vaye Watkins writes for Tin House about the problem that has no name. Also check out this Millions piece on sexism in the age of the internet.