Dear Nicole, Most of the time, we tend to think of fiction as a mirror held up, facing reality. Never mind if this is a clear mirror,…… Read more “A small tear in the fabric of reality”
Month: March 2018
Nicole Krauss
Nicole Krauss (August 18, 1974) is an American writer. Krauss majored in English at Stanford University. She has a Master’s degree in English from Oxford University and one in art…… Read more “Nicole Krauss”
And if you’re lost enough to find yourself
Dear Robert, Something strong and heavy built upon a void: that’s what your poem “Directive” looks like for me. You are at the heart of paradox, that’s…… Read more “And if you’re lost enough to find yourself”
Robert Frost
Robert Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was an American poet. Frost enrolled at Dartmouth College, in 1892, and later at Harvard University, from 1897 to 1899, but never earned…… Read more “Robert Frost”
That resistance that runs under the surface of so many great female writers’ books
To speak as a man on the page “(…) A young woman grows in the world knowing that she will have to fight for her right to…… Read more “That resistance that runs under the surface of so many great female writers’ books”
Franz Kafka is Dead
Dead “Franz Kafka is Dead He died in a tree from which he wouldn’t come down. “Come down!” they cried to him. “Come down! Come down!” Silence…… Read more “Franz Kafka is Dead”
What can literature do that nothing else can?
This chance to become something “I think there were many things involved, but looking back, there must have been some sense that not only was writing a…… Read more “What can literature do that nothing else can?”
Because what is a question but a voided space?
Lost in the woods “We are as forlorn as children lost in the woods. When you stand in front of me and look at me, what do you know of the griefs that are…… Read more “Because what is a question but a voided space?”
Besides the heart
Three poems by American poet Maggie Smith, from the book Good Bones (2017): * Good Bones Life is short, though I keep this from my children. Life…… Read more “Besides the heart”
Maggie Smith
Maggie Smith (1977) is an American writer, She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Ohio Wesleyan University, and a Master of Fine Arts from The Ohio State…… Read more “Maggie Smith”
the flood of my affection
this silence like ova bursting in my mouth, my eyes windows shivering behind the storm just before the break I lean my face into the glass…… Read more “the flood of my affection”
The point is not to negate reality, but to peel back its scrim,
Dear Chloe, Your novel The Immortalists (2018) seems to be cursed by the very premise it seeks to explore: the interplay between chance and destiny is not…… Read more “The point is not to negate reality, but to peel back its scrim,”
Chloe Benjamin
Chloe Benjamin (1990) is an American author. She graduated from Vassar College and earned a M.F.A. in fiction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She teaches workshops on…… Read more “Chloe Benjamin”
The Classics Spin #17
Hello, lovely readers! It’s time for another Classics Club Spin! Participants post a list of 20 books on their Classics Club list. On Friday morning (March, 9th), a random…… Read more “The Classics Spin #17”
We’re ourselves, and what does it signify?
Dear Elizabeth, Your book The Runaway (1872) is a Victorian children’s novel that quietly subverted everything I normally expect from the genre. The story revolves around a pair…… Read more “We’re ourselves, and what does it signify?”
Elizabeth Anna Hart
Elizabeth Anna Hart (née Smedley, 1822-1890) was an English writer, also known as Fanny Wheeler Hart. Books Try, and you Will: a Story for Youth, 1859 Mrs. Jerningham’s Journal,…… Read more “Elizabeth Anna Hart”