Recent Articles
April 22, 2013
Losing Iain Banks 6
by John McIntyre
Watching news of Iain Banks’s diagnosis spread was remarkable. He had meant a great deal to many discerning readers. A feeling of sudden urgency surprised me. The only response that seemed appropriate was to read his work.
April 22, 2013
The Congenital List-Maker 0
by Thomas Beckwith
In true Seinfeldian fashion, Arthur Martine, the Victorian writer behind Martine’s Handbook of Etiquette, drew up a detailed taxonomy of the various species of bore. These include the Loud Talker, who “silences a whole party by his sole power of lungs;” the Malaprop, who masters the art of inappropriate conversation; and the Life-Sharer, who may [...]
April 22, 2013
“The closest analogy for me is Woody Allen” 0
by Thomas Beckwith
Following in the footsteps of Amy Poehler, The Office star B.J. Novak has signed a book deal with Knopf. Unlike Poehler, who plans to write a memoir, Novak will publish a collection of comedic short stories.
April 22, 2013
Composition Lessons: Learning About Your Own Book From Other People’s Paintings 4
by Ben Greenman
The moment when I can work no more, when the novel or collection of short stories or book-length essay is as done as it’ll ever be, I go looking for works of art that match it tonally. I listen to music with an acquisitive ear. I watch pieces of movies whose titles intrigue me. Most of all, I scan through dozens of websites that collect images by contemporary artists. And then I try to solidify the relationship by using those works as my cover art.
April 21, 2013
Bard Bloomberg 0
by Nick Moran
Mayor Mike Bloomberg: billionaire, philanthropist, corn syrup’s nemesis, and… poet?
April 21, 2013
Well, She Should Know 0
by Nick Moran
“Here is a rare recording of Flannery O’Connor reading an early version of her witty and revealing essay, ‘Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Fiction’”