The Sentimentalist: In Defense of Feeling
Emphasizing the distinction between sentiment and sentimentality, a poet makes his case for writing with genuine emotion.
Department: The Literary Life
Where We Write: Appalachia
A novelist who grew up in southwest Virginia and who writes of the mountains of her youth examines what it means to be an Appalachian writer.
The Exiles: Report From Literary Syria
In a continuing series examining the state of literature abroad, poets Amjad Etry and Hala Mohammad and filmmaker Muhammad Bayazid discuss the challenges that writers and artists face amidst ongoing political turmoil in Syria.
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Writing the Sex Scene: Nothing Throbbing, Nothing Turgid
One of the most difficult scenes to write in fiction—and as such, one that gets tackled less and less—is the sex scene. Beth Ann Fennelly, a poet who recently cowrote her first novel with her husband, gets down and dirty to find out why.
Modulation in the Moment: Striking a Narrative Balance
Mastering the art of modulation—the ebb and flow of suspense, action, and meditation—can be the key to writing a truly great story.
Why We Write: Life Seems Inconceivably Rich
Diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease more than two years ago, an author considers the many inspirations that have kept him writing in the face of tremendous challenge.
The Art of Reading Denis Johnson: The Enduring Appeal of Jesus’ Son
The strange and beautiful universe of Denis Johnson’s fiction is marked by the enduring appeal of his 1992 story collection, Jesus’ Son.
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Where We Write: Hannibal, Missouri
In the second installment of Where We Write, a fiction writer takes a trip back home to Hannibal, Missouri, the boyhood home of Mark Twain and the town that still inspires her work, long after she's moved away.
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The Art of Reading Rosmarie Waldrop: Language in Motion
An experimental poet with more than twenty books of poetry to her name, Rosmarie Waldrop has always been interested in the way language works and in the lacunae within language where silence shows through.
Why We Write: A Topic Too Risky
Memoirist Tracy Strauss explains how writing honestly about trauma has allowed her to not only process her childhood sexual abuse, but to better understand life.
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