One sunny, spring afternoon about five years ago, Roarke Menzies, a composer, sound artist and longtime Brooklyn neighbor, showed up at my apartment with a laptop, a microphone and a small army of audio pedals. It was the first time we’d hung out and I wasn’t totally sure what to expect. I’d asked him to contribute a theme to a radioplay I was writing. And after listening to a portion of the script, Roarke launched into a captivating vocal improvisation […]
Afternoon Bites: Sharma Shields’s Latest, Kelly Link Interviewed, Amelia Gray Fiction, Joni Mitchell, and More
In our afternoon reading: Paul Constant on Sharma Shields and literary cryptozoology, interviews with Kelly Link and Dolan Morgan, new Amelia Gray fiction, and much more.
Morning Bites: Rudy Wurlitzer, Kim Gordon’s Memoir, Father John Misty, and More
In our Monday morning reading: a look at the writings of Rudy Wurlitzer, talking with Father John Misty, reviews of books by Meline Toumani and Lynsey Addario, and more.
Morning Bites: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Fiction, Larry Wilmore Interviewed, “Broad City,” Drum Battles, and More
In our morning reading: new fiction from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a look at Broad City, an interview with Larry Wilmore, a look at novels where very little happens, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Teju Cole on NYC, Melissa Broder’s Poetry, Catching Up With EMA, Paul Rome & Adelle Waldman at NYU, and More
This afternoon: new writing from Teju Cole, talking with EMA about her upcoming album, reports from the Indie Pop Prom and a Paul Rome/Adelle Waldman reading, the debut of a new journal, and more.
An Enviable Life, Collapsing: Paul Rome on “We All Sleep in the Same Room”
We All Sleep in the Same Room, the debut novel from Paul Rome, follows the life of Tom, a labor lawyer in his forties living and working in Manhattan. He lives an enviable life: happily married, father to a child, and in the prime of his career. And then, piece by piece, he being to make a series of decisions that cause his life to unravel. That contrast, between a publicly heroic face and a collapsing inner life, propels this […]