September 23, 2006
On a blustery Gambier day: “Prayer”
You will have noticed by now that, one by one, we’re drawing your attention to various pieces of the fall 2006 issue of The Kenyon Review, which hit bookstores and […]
September 23, 2006
Short Takes
For those of you who also voted in Ohio last election: Diebold election machines–lots of smoke; is there fire? Critical Mass interviews Martha Gellhorn’s biographer about Gellhorn, Hemingway, and being […]
September 22, 2006
Two for the Road
PEN on Free Flow of Information Act: “We would support such a bill,” says Larry Siems via email. Via Bookslut: the weekend funny page.
September 22, 2006
Short Takes
PEN talks to Elif Shafak, recently acquitted of charges of “insulting Turkishness” in Turkey. Under Turkey’s laws, at least eighteen other authors are awaiting trial for “insult.” Also at PEN: […]
September 21, 2006
Short Takes
Gaming the media: HP studies the feasibility of spying; the White House tries to control scientists’ interactions. Yet another memoir upsets people; this time, it’s the memoirist’s family. I was […]
September 21, 2006
On Writing
In his essay “Writing,” William Stafford emphasizes that a writer is not so much a person with a message to deliver as one engaged in a process that generates something […]
September 20, 2006
Death by Tuba
Others have written on this site about the dreary weed-pulling of reading through the slush pile, but I want to take a moment to describe that moment all editors live […]
September 20, 2006
Short Takes
YouTube used for good, not evil. The literary equivalent of eating other people’s food (in case you were curious, I do both–via fade theory). Kiran Desai at Critical Mass. Holy […]
September 19, 2006
How Bookstore Chains Keep Small Presses Small
Major bookstores ought to be a good thing (except for mom-and-pop booksellers), right? They’re huge, it’s well-lit, the books are on sale every once in a while, and there’s usually […]
September 19, 2006
Short Takes-The Socially Conscious Edition
Take that, Larry Summers. John Derbyshire on race at The England Review. Lev Grossman and Ed Champion take potshots at each other, politely. James Wood takes on Michele Houellebecq‘s moral […]
September 18, 2006
Short Takes
Prize for unpublished authors charges reading fee of $85 dollars. Sounds fishy to me. (via Arts Journal) How to get published–not foolproof (via Booksquare). Lady Macbeth wanted clean hands for […]
September 16, 2006
Contests & rejection
Our lovely managing editor, Meg, has pointed me to this. Keep in mind, though, that sometimes perserverance pays off. 580 Split is taking submissions (website is, as of this writing, […]