In our morning reading: interviews with Jeff VanderMeer and Mairead Case, thoughts on Alex DiFrancesco’s forthcoming collection, and more.
The Precise Art of the Essay: A Review of Joan Didion’s “Let Me Tell You What I Mean”
Any discussion about the giants of contemporary American letters must include Joan Didion. In Let Me Tell You What I Mean, a new collection of twelve nonfiction pieces ranging from 1968 to 2000 and gathered together for the first time, Didion tackles the press, art, her college years, writing, and her own self-doubt, which has been constant throughout her career and is to blame for the small number of short stories she has written. Witty, heartfelt, and insightful, the writing in Let Me Tell You What I Mean is always incisive and shows Didion as a perennial chronicler and keen observer obsessed with the present, the palpable, the real.
Afternoon Bites: Emma Copley Eisenberg, Erika T. Wurth’s Recommendations, Writers and Politics, Ramsey Campbell, and More
In our afternoon reading: an excerpt from Emma Copley Eisenberg’s new book, literary recommendations from Erika T. Wurth, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Garth Greenwell, Meg Pokrass Fiction, Maria Dahvana Headley, Joan Didion Adapted, and More
In our afternoon reading: an interview with Garth Greenwell, fiction by Meg Pokrass and Maria Dahvana Headley, and more.
Morning Bites: Idra Novey Interviewed, Ricardo Aleixo Poetry, Joan Didion On Stage, and More
In our morning reading: an interview with Idra Novey, adapting Joan Didion for the stage, and more.
The Making of “Hundreds of Days,” With Literature: An Interview With Mary Lattimore
Hundreds of Days, the new album by Mary Lattimore, is a stunning, sprawling work abounding with moving compositions anchored by Lattimore’s distinctive harp playing. It’s the result of a residency at the Headlands Center for the Arts, located in northern California, and the result is Lattimore’s most moving work to date. Her tour of the US begins today–she’ll be in NYC on May 29th, at Union Pool, for her record release show, and will be back on June 28th for […]
Afternoon Bites: Eileen Chang Revisited, Joan Didion, Brian Evenson’s Nonfiction, Oneida’s Latest, and More
In our afternoon reading: thoughts on an Eileen Chang novel, fiction by Kate Axelrod, music by Oneida, and more.
Morning Bites: Renee Gladman, Patty Yumi Cottrell Interviewed, Joan Didion Documentary, Halloween Reading, and More
In our morning reading: thoughts on Renee Gladman’s fiction, Yahdon Israel on his Sunday routine, an interview with Patty Yumi Cottrell, and more.