Items tagged with literary criticism.

Prominent Newspapers Change Book Coverage

by Adrian Versteegh

Daily News

Two of the country’s most prominent newspapers announced significant changes to their book coverage last week. The Chicago Tribune not only reformatted its Saturday books page but officially launched Printers Row, a literary blog featuring expanded content and contributions from readers. The San Francisco Chronicle, meanwhile, scrapped its usual best-seller list on Sunday in favor of lists provided by the Northern California Independent Bookseller Association.

Books Editor Sharma-Jensen Leaves Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

by Adrian Versteegh

Daily News

Critic Geeta Sharma-Jensen penned her final column as books editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Saturday after announcing last week that she has accepted a voluntary buyout offer from the newspaper’s publisher. Similar deals—part of a cost-cutting plan to address flagging ad revenue—have been accepted by thirty-six other employees at the paper, including four arts and entertainment writers.

The Art of Reading Andre Dubus: We Don’t Have to Live Great Lives

by Joshua Bodwell

The Literary Life

July/August 2008

Despite two award-winning film adaptations based on his stories and numerous literary honors, the late Andre Dubus is relatively unknown to general readers. Contributor Joshua Bodwell explores the fiction behind this “writer’s writer” whose characters are as deep and complex as the man who created them.

Imperative: The Pressure to Be Exotic

by Azita Osanloo

The Literary Life

September/October 2006

Let me be the last—the absolute dead last—to point out that we're in the midst of a memoir craze. My favorite form of procrastination used to be computer solitaire, but now I prefer to chat on the phone with my writing friends and discuss the ongoing boom in autobiographical literature. We speculate like housing developers prognosticating on the real estate market. Will the bubble pop? Will prices continue to rise? Will market trends ever again veer toward literary fiction?