Part 2 of a great interview with George Saunders at BOMBlog discussing new fiction, authenticity, and MFA programs.  Read Part 1 here.

Junot Díaz is at home discussing his native Hispaniola as he muses on the function of apocalypse – New Orleans, Haiti, and Japan – in our global media landscape.

The ever-irreverent Woody Allen weighs in on his all-time faves, among other things.  A Catcher in the Rye unsurprisingly makes the list, as do more obscure picks like The World of SJ Perelman.

“It is all bricolage for personal identity building,” says Rob Horning of N+1, providing a somewhat bleak image of the “fast fashion” industry and social media, and what can be expected from the future.

“Porn, Cyberterrorism, The Russian Mob and the Future of Literature” A piece exploring the coming insurrection: digitization – and thus democratization – of books.

Jonathan Franzen’s 2011 Kenyon commencement speech, published this weekend in the New York Times, covers love, consumerism, and narcissism in the digital age.  If you’re concerned with critical reception, looks like you’re not a creator of “serious art and literature,” in Franzen’s eyes.

New York Times has a cool feature I was unaware of, letting you browse issues from 1851-1922 in all their original grandeur.  Articles are also available for download as PDFs.

Argentina may be offering a $940/month pension plan for writers.  Eligibility requirements include 20 years of work in “literary creation” and five published works with ISBN numbers.  This bill was proposed amidst the festivities of the Buenos Aires International Book Expo, one of the biggest book expos in the world.

George Saunders, author of In Persuasion Nation, has a great dialogue with former student Patrick Dacey on “steering towards the rapids” when writing. (via @BOMBMagazine)