Monthly Archives: January, 2008
Both Deep and Wide
Like many writers, I wonder sometimes if I should get an official advanced degree in writing. The MFA debate is one that has raged across the pages of many of my favorite journals, and I’m nowhere near ready to make that decision, but I do look at programs and their admission requirements, just to keep …
Edith Wharton: a Life
I’m deep into reading Edith Wharton (Vintage)Hermione Lee’s biography of Edith Wharton, and I’m really enjoying it. I really love reading biographies, especially well-written ones that really delve into a person’s life and character without seeming prurient– another great example is Vera (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov)Stacy Schiff’s biography of Vera Nabokov, which I have read several …
Cookery Tips
There’s a great scene in Frank McCourt’s Teacher Man where he gets his high school students to read recipes and cookbooks out loud and discuss them as if they were poetry. I love cookbooks– in fact, the joy I get from reading cookbooks was one of the big factors in helping become a better cook. …
Slam Dunk
There’s nothing more lovely than a well-turned phrase, no matter where it appears, and here’s my latest favorite, courtesy of Manohla Dargis, film critic for the NYT, who gives new movie Cloverfield a scathing and witty review. When discussing the movie’s characters, she says they are, “Smart as Tater Tots and just as differentiated”. Genius.
Of Procrastination and Google
The New York Times book section’s blog, Paper Cuts, is one of my favorite literary blogs (soon I will link it on the sidebar). Today’s interview with Buzz Bissinger is a gem. He admits that the Internet is a bad influence on his productivity, and also that he Googles his name frequently for no real purpose! …
review: Swivel #5
Recently I went to my favorite local bookstore and bought some literary journals, so I thought I’d favor you with some reviews! Swivel is subtitled “the nexus of women and wit,” and their website says they’re interested in “smart, funny writing by smart, funny women.” Both of those phrases mean this journal should be right …
inspiration
A common tip in writing books is to find inspiration in other mediums. I have found inspiration in music often– I’m working on a poem right now that I want to be in the blues tradition, and I’ve written a few short stories inspired by and about different songs, or with lyrics interwoven through the …
Hit Me with Your Best Shot
One of the reasons I think I lost a little direction with my nonfiction work is that I had formulated a list of target markets a few years back, and over the intervening time, I landed pieces in almost all of them. One has since closed shop, but I’ve been able to become a regular …
true story
One of my writing resolutions this year is to work on one nonfiction piece each month, either a personal essay or a cultural criticism piece My secondary goal on that resolution is to go through my notebooks and either do new drafts of abandoned pieces or flesh out ideas that never made it past the …
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