“Facing the daily avalanche of stories about outrageous corruption, writing about timely political issues can often feel pointless. It can be easy to lose faith in the creative process.” For LitHub, an essay by Tom McAllister on writing about politically-charged traumas with humanity and his new novel, How to Be Safe. Pair with: our 2010 interview with McAllister.
How to Be A Writer
Get Your Tissues
The first trailer for the film adaptation of Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief is out. Expect a lot of Oscar nominations and tears.
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Back When Poets Had Drivers
Chilean Communists want to exhume Pablo Neruda’s body to determine his actual cause of death. The endeavor is being undertaken because Neruda’s “former driver said he received an injection which provoked a heart attack.”
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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Aspen Public Radio’s First Draft Radio Show
Forgive us for being slow on the uptake, Colorado residents, but this is the first I’m hearing of Aspen Public Radio’s First Draft radio show, which features interviews with numerous authors of wide acclaim. A casual glance at the show’s online archives, for instance, turns up the likes of Paul Harding, Kevin Barry, Laura van den Berg, Edwidge Danticat, and Ben Fountain. (h/t Edan Lepucki)
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Rainy Day Books
Someone left a manuscript out in the rain. On their tumblr blog, Doubleday Books share two pictures of their offices repurposed to dry it out.
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The Books That Break Reading Slumps
Michael Seidlinger asks authors about the books and writers that got them out of particularly tough reading slumps.
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Poetry in a Box
Recommended Reading: On poetry about poem-making and the poetics of assemblage.
Letters to Jerry
Novelist Joanna Smith Rakoff once handled J.D. Salinger’s fan mail. (via.)
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