In our afternoon reading: an interview with Nate Lippens, checking in with Desert Island, and more.
J.M. Tyree on Hitchcock, Horror, and “The Haunted Screen”
There’s a long and storied history of tales of American academics becoming unmoored far from home. J.M. Tyree’s The Haunted Screen is an impressive entry in this literary lineage: its protagonist is dealing with the erosion of his marriage and a the echoes of a past relationship, even as he muses on the influence of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. There’s also a possibly malevolent presence lurking in the woods and a sense that several characters know more than they’re letting on; it’s a concentrated dose of heady musings and travels into the uncanny. I spoke with Tyree about writing the book, the ways film can inform literature, and the nature of haunting.
Morning Bites: Alan Moore’s Latest, Horror Fiction Recommendations, Bruna Dantas Lobato on Books, and More
In our morning reading: thoughts on new Alan Moore books, recommended horror fiction, and more.
Sunday Stories: “Inheriting It”
Inheriting It
by Garrett Crowe
I have to call an 800 number cause my father’s oxygen machine starts buzzing. Lights go red. The whole alert. My father tells me he thinks the machine has “blown a rod.” He’s just breathing tube-air. Turns out, the machine’s been acting this way for weeks. My stepmom hasn’t done a thing except power the machine off, then power it back on, she’s fighting her own cancer, has her own cigs to smoke. My brother is nowhere to be found. And my father assures me he’s breathing just fine, even when his oxygen machine whines in a high-pitched frequency. I eventually track down a service.
Weekend Bites: Remembering Gary Indiana, Poems in Space, Bryan Charles Nonfiction, and More
In our weekend reading: a remembrance of Gary Indiana, new writing by Bryan Charles, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Kaveh Akbar on Writing, Danzy Senna on Publishing, Revisiting Lou Reed, and More
In our afternoon reading: a chat with Kaveh Akbar, Lou Reed’s solo work, and more.
Alex Ries On the Creation of “Other Worlds”
Alex Ries’s illustrations encompass everything from prehistoric life to video game concept art and storyboards. The forthcoming book Other Worlds: The Art of Alex Ries includes an impressive overview of his work in all of its myriad dimensions. Here’s what Ries had to say about the creation of some literally otherworldly beings, along with a selection of images from the book, which is on Kickstarter now:
Morning Bites: Interviewing Kristopher Jansma, Raymond Roussel Fiction, Bruna Dantas Lobato on Translation, and More
In our morning reading: interviews with Kristopher Jansma and Bruna Dantas Lobato, fiction by Raymond Roussel, and more.