Poetry Across the Nations, Digital Dante, and More
Poet wins Minneapolis City Council seat; John Kulka named editorial director of the Library of America; wildlife sculptures made from recycled books; and other news.
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
Publishing a Book in Trump’s First Year, the Contradictions of Philip Roth, and More
The proliferation of bestseller lists; writers speak out against pirated e-books; a profile of Emily Wilson, the first woman to translate the Odyssey; and other news.
National Novel Writing Month, Zadie Smith on New York City, and More
Jonathan Franzen on the state of the essay; Roxane Gay to edit anthology on rape culture; a massive library opens in Tianjin, China; and other news.
An Interview With Paul Auster
Caption:
“I work on the paragraph as if it’s a little poem, as if it’s a musical composition...” In this interview with Louisiana Channel, Paul Auster talks about his writing habits, aging, creative obsession, his recent and upcoming projects, and the one-on-one intimacy that makes books different from other art forms.
Kirkus Awards, the Lives of Discarded Books, and More
Camille T. Dungy talks writing, race, and motherhood; bookstores recover from Hurricanes Irma and Harvey; the enduring inspiration of Nancy Drew; and other news.
Civil War Books, Defining Good Writing, and More
Patrick Rosal on being mistaken for the help; the rise of Spanish-language curriculum in graduate creative writing programs; a film adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians; and other news.
Lover’s War
In “The Art of Reading James Baldwin: The Truth of Our Pain” in the November/December issue of Poets & Writers Magazine, William Giraldi quotes Baldwin’s 1962 essay “The Creative Process”: “Societies never know it, but the war of an artist with his society is a lover’s war, and he does, at his best, what lovers do, which is to reveal the beloved to himself.” Think of a current social issue you have conflicting feelings about, and write a personal essay that approaches the issue as you might a lover’s quarrel. While sharing your own specific experiences and emotions, how might you aim to reveal a piece of society to itself in a tender and loving way? From a lover’s point of view, what kind of stipulations, exceptions, or assumptions might strengthen or weaken your argument?
Book World to Close All Stores, Seattle Named City of Literature, and More
Scholastic publishes series based on ten-year-old reporter Hilde Lysiak; film versus book trilogies; Mohsin Hamid on optimism; and other news.
Myriam Gurba
Caption:
“If you were walking down the street and you came across yourself, what would you do? Stop and talk with yourself, or make out with yourself?” Myriam Gurba, author of the debut memoir, Mean (Coffee House Press, 2017), reads several short prose pieces for the Radar Reading Series at the San Francisco Public Library.
Genre:
A Horror-Writing Bot, Literary Halloween, and More
Jacqueline Woodson signs two-book deal with Riverhead; Austin Central Library opens; poet Fay Chiang has died; and other news.
Pages
