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Zeljka Marosevic details what it was like to work for Victoria Barnsley, who announced yesterday she is leaving HarperCollins; Amit Majmudar describes how he reads the work of Byron in his dreams; Slate features a coded World War I postcard written by poet Wilfred Owen; and other news.
Babe Elliott Baker brings poet Tishani Doshi’s poem "The Dream," from Everything Begins Elsewhere (Copper Canyon Press, 2013), to the small screen in the latest Motionpoem.
In honor of Independence Day, take another look at the great document that was signed by Jefferson, Adams, Franklin and the others on July 4, 1776. Reread that most famous sentence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Use it—or rewrite it—in a short story that takes place at dusk on July 4, 2076. Happy Tricentennial?
Charles McGrath speaks with author Alice Munro about her retirement; John Brownlee investigates the inner workings of an Amazon fulfillment center; Stephen Burt responds to a recent Harper’s essay by Mark Edmundson; and other news.
The author of thirteen books of essays, short stories, and nonfiction—winner of the National Book Award, the Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and numerous other honors—talks about the landscape of his home in western Oregon and the art of storytelling in this video from Open Road Media.
"For the poetry reader...there are certain emotions you are allowed to feel—sadness, love—but this is such a miserable choice of all the emotions one feels," writes Craig Raine in the English Review. "One feels anger, boredom, chilliness—quite strong emotions, but they don't get much of a run in poetry, and I think they should." Write a poem about anger or boredom or any other "nonpoetic" emotion. If you have trouble getting started, try using the first line of John Berryman's devastating "Dream Song 14": "Life, friends, is boring. We must not say so."
The merger of Penguin and Random House is complete; Ron Rosenbaum examines what mysteries can be gleaned from the letters of J. D. Salinger; Anna North explains why she hates books; and other news.
Based on Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Cormac McCarthy's debut screenplay, The Counselor is the story of a lawyer who gets in over his head when he gets into the drug-trafficking business. Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Cameron Diaz, and Penélope Cruz, The Counselor is scheduled to open in theaters October 25.
At what point is an author justified in ending his relationship with his agent?
Writers leave their agents, and vice versa, for any number of reasons, so the point at which to do so varies. If you do decide it’s time to end the relationship, it’s wise to do it gracefully. If that agent has sold any of your work, chances are you’ll have ongoing contact regarding that project or projects. It’s good to apply the law of diminishing returns. Also, ask yourself: Do you have serious misgivings about the quality of service you’re receiving? Do you believe the agent’s goals are aligned with yours? At the same time, remind yourself that no one is perfect—the grass is not always greener—and that presumably you and your agent began the relationship by working toward a common goal, and to do so again could simply require a discussion and renewal of vows, so to speak.
New online platforms like Hostr are bridging the gap between virtual and in-real-life communities.
