In our morning reading: thoughts on Matthew Vollmer’s memoir, new writing by Kate Zambreno, and more.
Books of the Month: April 2023 Edition
Hi. We heard you liked books! We like books, too. We have some we’d like to recommend. All of them are newly out this month. We know, right? What a coincidence! Some new fiction from old friends, some experimental books by writers we’re meeting for the first time. It’s shaping up to be a banner year for books, and our April recommendations are keeping that theme going.
Currents, an Interview Series with Brian Alan Ellis (Episode 74: Matthew Vollmer)
MATTHEW VOLLMER is the author of two short-story collections—Future Missionaries of America and Gateway to Paradise—as well as three collections of essays—inscriptions for headstones, Permanent Exhibit, and This World Is Not Your Home: Essays, Stories, & Reports. He was the editor of A Book of Uncommon Prayer, which collects invocations from over 60 acclaimed and emerging authors, and served as co-editor of Fakes: An Anthology of Pseudo-Interviews, Faux-Lectures, Quasi-Letters, “Found” Texts, and Other Fraudulent Artifacts. His work has appeared in venues such as Paris Review, Glimmer Train, Ploughshares, Tin House, Oxford American, The Sun, The Pushcart Prize anthology, and Best American Essays. He teaches in the MFA program at Virginia Tech, where he is a Professor of English. His next book, All of Us Together in the End, will be published by Hub City Press in 2023.
Morning Bites: GABI Interviewed, Molly Crabapple, John Ashbery’s Art, Kevin Shields, and More
In our morning reading: interviews with GABI and Matthew Vollmer, the art of John Ashbery, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Anuk Arudpragasam Interviewed, Notes on “Atlanta,” Helena Fitzgerald Nonfiction, and More
In our afternoon reading: an interview with Anuk Arudpragasam, new writing from Helena Fitzgerald, and much more.
Afternoon Bites: Amanda Petrusich Nonfiction, Jade Sharma’s Playlist, Lauren Groff, John Langan Interviewed, and More
In our afternoon reading: nonfiction by Amanda Petrusich and Lauren Groff, thoughts on Brian Blanchfield’s work, and much more.
Morning Bites: Ocean Vuong, Voyeurism and Cities, Neil Gaiman and Mythology, Dev Hynes, and More
In our morning reading: poetry from Ocean Vuong, new essays from Maura Johnston and Helena Fitzgerald, news of Neil Gaiman’s next book, and more.
“The Story is This Weird Frankenstein’s Monster”: An Interview With Matthew Vollmer
The stories featured in Matthew Vollmer‘s collection Gateway to Paradise are impressive both in their range and in the stories that they tell. Some explore the lives of characters in the wake of horrific events; others take a more surreal turn, including one of the most unpredictable ghost stories I’ve encountered in a long while. Vollmer is also the editor of A Book of Uncommon Prayer, an anthology of invocations from the likes of J. Robert Lennon, Leslie Jamison, Catherine […]