Our chum “Churm” interviews poet Brian Turner.
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Deonne gives us a glimpse into the recent Literary Writers Conference in New York City.
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And I’m sorry to end on a down note the day before Thanksgiving, but Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has asked its editors to stop buying books.
Remember way back (OK–last December) when I mentioned I’d recently read Jean Thompson’s story collection, Throw Like a Girl?
Well, I’ve now had the chance to read some of Thompson’s work more recently, too. That’s because Thompson’s story, “Wilderness,” is the latest release from the ever-reliable One Story.
Check out editor Hannah Tinti’s take:
Jean Thompson’s “Wilderness” came to us through One Story reader Jason Watt, who once studied with Jean, and has been talking about her incredible skills and pursuing her for a story for a while. When “Wilderness” finally was passed to me, I brought it on the subway, where I do most of my reading. Well, I not only missed one–I missed two stops before realizing the F train had taken me way past my home. This seemed appropriate, since Anna’s narrative begins and ends on a train. In any case, I knew this story was for One Story. It’s very difficult, I think, to use letters properly in a short story, without distracting from the action or forward momentum of the piece. Somehow, Ted’s letters in “Wilderness,” even though they do not touch on the current action of Anna’s Thanksgiving trip to visit Lynn, weave their way through the emotional underpinnings of the story, so that when Anna comes to her conclusion, at the end, it feels completely on target. This story is beautifully crafted, and hits all the complicated feelings of trying to connect in middle age, whether in a marriage, a friendship, with children, or with lovers.
True to custom, One Story has published a complementary Q&A with the story’s author, too. Love that feature!
Time to take thyself to a newsstand and buy The Atlantic‘s summer fiction issue. On the other hand, you can read all the contents, plus Web-only material, online. (And poets, you aren’t left out here–check for poems and more, such as this Web-only interview with Mary Jo Salter, too.)
In the New York Times, Claudia Dreifus (no relation) interviews mathematician-novelist Manil Suri.
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Also in the NYT: L’effet Obama on arts and culture in France.
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I’ve been meaning to write about a new NEA report on “artists in the workplace” (because of the arts-related aspects of my job, I was able to download and read it at work late last week), but Tayari beat me to it. Go read her analysis; she has also included a link to the full report and to the NYT highlights. One thing I keep wondering about, however: The report focuses on those who identify their primary occupations as artists (including writers), but do all writers who, say, have full-time TT jobs teaching writing at universities identify themselves for census purposes (and the census seems to have a lot to do with how this report was compiled) as professors or as writers? In other words, did the report even scratch the surface of the true numbers and characteristics of the writing population out there?