June 30, 2018
Against the Single Effect
A common theory widely taught in creative writing classes is Edgar Allen Poe’s idea of the single effect, which argues that short stories should build towards producing one pre-conceived emotional […]
January 24, 2016
Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and the Death of God
The connection hinges on the meanings of the word mystery, but it’s worth considering. Creation, after all, is the scene of the greatest whodunit of all time—theoretical physicists and speculative metaphysicians […]
September 13, 2013
Taxonomy, Interrupted
One pleasure of my job is I get to interview English department faculty. The interviews serve a number of purposes, but two, one historical, one ephemeral, are paramount: to create […]