In our weekend reading: thoughts on Georgi Gospodinov’s fiction, speculative fiction on indie presses, and more.
Morning Bites: Matthew Salesses Interviewed, Lauren Oyler, Ellen Datlow on Short Fiction, Georges Perec, and More
In our morning reading: an interview with Matthew Salesses, poetry by Georges Perec, and more.
Morning Bites: Patti Smith’s New Book, Scott McClanahan, “Conversation Sparks” Party, Lost Perec, and More
In our morning reading: news of Patti Smith’s new memoir and a lost Georges Perec novel, new nonfiction from Scott McClanahan and Elif Batuman, a review of Philip Glass’s memoir, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Mykki Blanco and Kathleen Hanna, William Gibson, Lost Georges Perec Novel, Neil Gaiman at the NYPL, and More
In this afternoon’s reading: interviews with William Gibson and Lindsay Hunter, Mykki Blanco and Kathleen Hanna in conversation, touring literary artifacts with Neil Gaiman, and more.
#tobyreads: Reading in Hudson
I was up in Hudson last weekend with plenty of time on hand before the evening’s music festival kicked off. I also had four hours total on the train to get up there and back; due to my just missing my northbound train, I also had a little extra time in scenic Penn Station to get some reading done. What were my subjects? Heroes, innovators, and figures who left this world far too soon.
Weekend Bites: Eileen Myles, Tom Bissell on William T. Vollmann, The Case Against “Relatability,” Perec and Brainard, and More
Interviews with Eileen Myles and Amber Sparks, a look at the work of William T. Vollmann, Rebecca Mead takes issue with the concept of “relatability,” adapting YA novels as comics, and more.
Poetry in Motion: Canadian Hockey Icon, or Experimental French Writer?
In our continuing unification of the sporting life with that of the bookish, bespectacled square, we bring you our initial foray into the wide world of hockey. Anglo-Norman facial features of the ruggedly handsome were interchangeable between some of the NHL’s all-time greats and some of the most smarty-pants of intellectuals that 1960s France had to offer. Do you think you have what it takes to tell who’s who simply from out of context photos of questionable origin? Play along, […]
Potential Literature, Actual Reading: Regarding Oulipo in 2013
If you like your literature Francophile and theoretical, then the name Oulipo is one that likely resonates with you. And 2013 has already given us numerous reasons to think about this movement’s influence, history, and status: New Directions has released a 65th anniversary edition of Oulipo fouder Raymond Queneau’s Exercises in Style, and Zero Books has published The End of Oulipo? by critics Lauren Elkin and Scott Esposito. Each leaves the reader with much to consider: questions of legacy and influence; […]