In our afternoon reading: thoughts on “Gogmagog,” an interview with Sam Sax, and more.
Todd Dills on “Shining Man,” Southern Literature, and the Search for Joy
Some of the first readings I ever did were with writer Todd Dills, who was and is one of the most engaging people to see read from their work in front of their audience. (I still have fond memories of watching Todd shaking an upside-down mic stand at an event at an Atlanta coffee shop.) The guy’s a fantastic writer as well, and when his latest novel Shining Man was published in 2019 — it’s a followup to his earlier Sons of the Rapture, which I also highly recommend — I eagerly read it and sent him some questions on it. And then the pandemic happened and the interview was paused for a bit. And now it’s complete — and features Dills discussing everything from the literary influence of Ralph Ellison to the role NASCAR plays in his work.
Afternoon Bites: Sun Ra’s Poetry, Ingrid Rojas Contreras on Writing Spaces, Roberto Bolaño’s Novellas, and More
In our afternoon reading: Sun Ra’s poetry, thoughts on writing spaces, and more.
Weekend Bites: Roberto Bolaño, Bram Stoker Award Nominees, Premee Mohamed, Inside Clash Books, and More
In our weekend reading: thoughts on Roberto Bolaño novellas, the Bram Stoker Awards final ballot, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Maryse Condé, Valeria Luiselli Interviewed, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Angela Readman’s Playlist, and More
In our afternoon reading: new writing from Maryse Condé, an interview with Valeria Luiselli, and much more.
Afternoon Bites: Mark Doten, Revisiting Roberto Bolaño, Ross Gay Interviewed, Snowden Wright’s Playlist, and More
In our afternoon reading: an excerpt from Mark Doten’s new novel, an interview with Ross Gay, and more.
Weekend Bites: Roberto Bolaño, “The Dog of the South” Revisited, Hala Alyan, Lynn Steger Strong Nonfiction, and More
In our weekend reading: reviews of books by Roberto Bolaño and Hala Alyan, new writing by Lynn Steger Strong and Bud Smith, and more.
Structures and Mirrors: Jonathan Russell Clark on His Book About “2666”
It’s been a decade since Natasha Wimmer’s translation of Roberto Bolaño’s 2666 was first published in the United States. Given this amount of time, several writers have begun exploring the impact and influence of Bolaño’s bibliography, with a particular focus on this mammoth work. That’s the case with Jonathan Russell Clark’s An Oasis of Horror in a Desert of Boredom, which does an excellent job of explaining why Bolaño’s work continues to resonate today, even as it also critiques aspects […]