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"A writer is lucky because he cures himself everyday." In this recorded talk from November 1970, Kurt Vonnegut shared his thoughts on writing as a guest speaker for a class at New York University. This animated video by Patrick Smith is part of PBS Digital Studios' Blank on Blank series.
"I believe in following your dreams—being incredibly passionate, and being ruthlessly practical about what it takes to get there." Molly Crabapple, whose memoir Drawing Blood (Harper, 2015) features her illustrations, talks about how to succeed as an artist and a creative entrepreneur.
"Can we reclaim a word? Can we take a word and drop it and crack it open, or are we always a prisoner to it?" Poets Terrance Hayes and Saeed Jones talk about craft, the evolution of language, and why America needs poetry for HEArt, a journal of contemporary literature and art that challenges discrimination and promotes social justice. Jones will join the Why We Write panel on January 9 at Poets & Writers Live in Austin, Texas.
"A novel is a historic reenactment and a short story is a diorama." Elizabeth McCracken discusses the different challenges of writing a novel and a short story, and reads from her latest collection of short stories, Thunderstuck (Dial Press, 2014), at the 2014 Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. McCracken will deliver the keynote on January 9 at Poets & Writers Live in Austin, Texas.
Matthew Stadler, cofounder of Publication Studio, one of the innovative presses featured in the new issue, gave this talk at Richard Hugo House's first writers conference, on May 22, 2010. The theme of the event was "Finding Your Readers in the 21st Century."
On Monday Stevie Wonder addressed the UN's World Intellectual Property Organization to request improved accessibility to copyright protected works by the visually impaired.
Governor Steve Beshear last month appointed Frank X Walker to serve as Kentucky's poet laureate. Walker, who will promote the arts and lead the state in literary endeavors through readings and public presentations at meetings, seminars, conferences and events, including Kentucky Writers' Day, was formally inducted at a public ceremony and reception on April 24 in the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort.
Gerry Cambridge, founder of Dark Horse, and contributors Claire Askew, Douglas Dunn, Vicki Feaver, Alasdair Gray talk about the importance of the journal at its twentieth anniversary issue launch in Edinburgh, Scotland. Dark Horse is featured in Literary MagNet in the November/December issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
"I feel like it's my personal mission to keep those stories as present as I am possibly able to keep them present." Claudia Rankine appeared on PBS NewsHour last week to discuss the recent upheaval involving unarmed black men and white police officers, and how these events influenced her book Citizen: An American Lyric (Graywolf Press, 2014).
Novelist and screenwriter Tom Perrotta, author most recently of The Leftovers (St. Martin's Press, 2011), offers advice to writers and debunks the maxim of always writing what you know.
