In Person
November 16, 2012
Sitting with the Longshots at the National Book Awards 5
by Bill Morris
Domingo Martinez didn’t come to New York just wanting and hoping to win a National Book Award. He had come here prepared to win. Like I said, the coolest guy in the house.
November 13, 2012
Mark Binelli Explains Why Detroit City Is the Place to Be 5
by Bill Morris
When Binelli encountered a group of German college student poking through the gutted Packard plant, he asked what had inspired them to vacation in Detroit. One gleefully replied, “I came to see the end of the world!”
October 17, 2012
“The Human Heart is a Chump”: Cataloging The Pale King 21
by Jenn Shapland
I am the cataloger of David Foster Wallace’s final work, The Pale King, and I’m here to tell you that in cases like these, the rules will only get you so far.
September 7, 2012
Train of Thought: Meditations on NYC and the End of Summer 1
by Nathan Deuel
I see a great blue heron, flying north, and as we pass each other, I stifle an urge to say, Turn around, bird, New York City — where anything is possible, where it’s cruel but magical and big things can still happen — that place is SOUTH.
August 30, 2012
Keeping the Faith: Ten Days at Bread Loaf 13
by Michael Bourne
The Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the oldest and most prestigious of its kind in the country, is a curious mix of summer camp, trade convention, and religious retreat.
August 17, 2012
The Writing Life: From Beirut and Cambodia to New York, Florida, and Parts Unknown 8
by Nathan Deuel
It wasn’t easy. I wanted to finish a book. Be a good dad. Get an MFA. Be a good husband. I’d lined up a teaching job at a university in Beirut. Got an essay in a publication that might impress you. Called my mom as much as I could. I couldn’t call my dad, he was dead. When do you know if it’s actually starting to add up, when you can say, OK, yes, this is real, it’s actually happening.