In our morning reading: an interview with The Softies, the Booker Prize shortlist, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Erika Kobayashi’s Fiction, Jonathan Lethem Revisits Jonathan Lethem, Carola Dibbell’s Novel, and More
In our afternoon reading: thoughts on novels by Erika Kobayashi and Carola Dibbell, an interview with Andrea Barrett, and more.
Morning Bites: Leland Cheuk Fiction, Chelsea Hodson, Philip K. Dick Revisited, Thou, and More
In our morning reading: new work from Leland Cheuk and Chelsea Hodson, thoughts on the latest installments of the Object Lessons series, and more.
The Best Debut Novels of 2015 So Far
So far, 2015 has offered more than its share of excellent debut novels. Some of these were the first works we’d heard of from the authors in questions; in other cases, we found ourselves looking at works that fulfilled the promise of the fantastic short fiction that preceded it. Whether on presses large or small, these are some of the debut novels that have caught our attention so far this year.
Afternoon Bites: Basquiat’s Poetry, David Byrne, The Clash and Soccer, and More
In our afternoon reading: notes on Jean-Michel Basquiat’s poetry, thoughts on revisionist Westerns, checking in with David Byrne, soccer’s influence on The Clash, and more.
Morning Bites: Carola Dibbell Interviewed, Writers on Twitter, Meredith Graves’s Advice, Tim Horvath on Norman Rush, and More
In our morning reading: an interview with Carola Dibbell, advice from Meredith Graves, new writing from Mensah Demary and Jenny Zhang, Tim Horvath on Norman Rush, and more.
Weekend Bites: Carola Dibbell’s Playlist, Alejandro Jodorowsky, A Knausgård Excerpt, Evergreen Review Returns, and More
In our weekend reading: a playlist from Carola Dibbell, excerpts from books by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Karl Ove Knausgård, Evergreen Review returns, interviews with Kazuo Ishiguro and Akhil Sharma, and more.
Language For the End of Time
How do you write about the end of the world? Take that question at face value: how does one’s prose suggest that something cataclysmic has occurred in society, some rupture that has altered our means of communication? Consider it the flip side of Octavia E. Butler’s short story “Speech Sounds,” in which society as we know it crumbles after a biological condition causes humans to lose the ability to speak. The landscape that emerges in Butler’s story is an combination […]