Quick Hits
November 10, 2011
Of Fracking and Franzen: Is Strong Motion Coming True in Oklahoma? 12
by Brian Ted Jones
I cannot imagine the circumstances under which I would discover that my actions had caused an earthquake. But I think if I did, my next move would probably be to stop doing whatever it was I was doing — not to figure out a way to live with the earthquakes. Because if energy companies actually believe that fracking causes earthquakes — and if they continue to frack — where does it end?
November 4, 2011
A Small Gallery of Literary Giants 20
by Bill Morris
Since I’m convinced that people tend to be more interesting once they’re dead, obituaries have always been my favorite part of the newspaper. So whenever a noteworthy writer died, I started drawing the picture that accompanied the obit, eventually adding drawings of noteworthy long-dead writers. Here, then, is a gallery of a few of those literary giants, along with brief explanations of what was going through my head as my pen was fashioning their heads.
August 4, 2011
Older and Wiser 17
by Martha Southgate
Hot debuts, Young Lions, 5 Under 35… the publishing biz has decided that the kids are all right. But where does that leave those of us on the far side of 40?
July 27, 2011
Original Sin 8
by Miles Klee
If you can’t be a unique writer, have the markings of a generic. Glamorize your squalid room in the bohemian part of a bright metropolis. Peddle opinions on the books you read (if you read). Consort with other writers.
July 20, 2011
On Treating Books Badly 20
by Bezalel Stern
Books as books – as tangible things you can hold in your hands and show off to curious onlookers on the subway and friends who visit your apartment – are something I hold in high esteem. But there is, as I say, some pleasure in letting go, in allowing a book to get wet, in treasuring a book not for what it looks like but for what it says.
July 18, 2011
Exclusive: The First Lines of Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84 16
by C. Max Magee
Classical music and a taxi ride kick off Murakami’s long awaited novel.
