Neil Gaiman on Terry Pratchett
Neil Gaiman shares his memories of Sir Terry Pratchett, who passed away this month, in a conversation with Michael Chabon at the Jewish Community Center in San Francisco.
A curated selection of videos, including book trailers, brief interviews, and other literary curiosities updated daily.
Terrance Hayes
"I'm pursuing a kind of language which is just as complicated, and also as transparent, as human experience." The MacArthur Genius Grant–recipient reads from his new poetry collection, How to Be Drawn (Penguin, 2015), and speaks about his musical influences and how he continues to develop his voice.
Consider the Space
"Consider the white space / between words on a page, not just / the margins around them." This short film by directors Aaron Kotz and Frida Regaza, narrated by Scott Gentle, features Linda Pastan's poem "Consider the Space Between Stars." Pastan's poetry collection Insomnia is forthcoming in October from Norton.
Cave Canem: Poets on Craft
Sandra Lim reads selections from her poetry collection The Wilderness (Norton, 2014) and Frank X Walker reads from his poetry collection Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers (University of Georgia Press, 2013). The Poets on Craft reading series is sponsored by Cave Canem and the MFA Creative Writing Program at the New School.
Jennifer Clement
"I don't even really like to call it research.... It's a process of listening." Former PEN Mexico president Jennifer Clement discusses the writing process behind her novel Prayers for the Stolen (Hogarth, 2015) with City of Asylum Pittsburgh.
Kim Gordon and Carrie Brownstein
In a talk at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, Kim Gordon of the band Sonic Youth discusses her memoir Girl in a Band (Dey Street Books, 2015) with Carrie Brownstein of the band Sleater-Kinney. Brownstein's memoir, Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, is forthcoming in October from Penguin.
Paula Hawkins
"I like the fact that in Rachel's case, she's not just unreliable to the reader and to other characters, but even to herself. She can't trust herself." Author Paula Hawkins speaks about the main character of her debut novel, The Girl on the Train (Riverhead Books, 2015), with Becky Anderson, owner of Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, Illinois.
Ninety-Nine Names for Small Dogs
This short film from the Poetry School in England features Tom Jenks's poem "Ninety-Nine Names for Small Dogs." The poem is from Jenks's poetry collection A Priori (If P Then Q, 2008).
Seamus Heaney
"Late August, given heavy rain and sun / For a full week, the blackberries would ripen." The late Irish poet and Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney reads his poem "Blackberry-Picking."
Jamie Brickhouse
"Reading other people's stories has always helped me with my own story.... I can pull the feelings and emotions away." Author Jamie Brickhouse discusses his memoir, Dangerous When Wet, forthcoming in April from St. Martin's Press.