She said something to me, then, that has been a great comfort. “You had a choice,” she said, “but you did not have free will.” A choice that was no choice at all....more
Meeting that freemartin was a revelation for me: justification for my off-gender mannerisms and body, another creature bridging the space between male and female....more
Poet Stephen Mills discusses his first two collections, He Do the Gay Man in Different Voices and A History of the Unmarried, teaching writing, and what's next. ...more
Sharon Harrigan discusses her memoir, Playing with Dynamite, writing through the gaps in memory, and how the book has changed real-life relationships. ...more
Colin Winnette discusses his new novel, The Job of the Wasp, the nature of horror and his approach to writing it, and the fear at the heart of the book. ...more
Traumatized by dramatic, often violent change, American men become sleepwalkers precisely in order to flee the anxieties and responsibilities of life in democratic America....more
I just want to share a little bit about myself—because despite the fact that my horrific death is the point of the show you’re enjoying, you’ve never actually heard my voice....more
Melissa Fraterrigo discusses her new novel-in-stories, Glory Days, writing speculative fiction, and how our formative years influence us later in life. ...more
Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. An American Marriage is a masterpiece of storytelling, an intimate look deep into the souls of people who must reckon with the past while moving forward—with hope and pain—into the future.
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Sunday 1/28: It’s the ModernWell 2018 Writers and Readers Conference! ModernWell is a conference for readers and writers to connect with one another, be inspired by, and have an opportunity to meet with guest authors, agents, publishers, and editors. This year will feature keynote and panel discussions, classes, and workshops. Attendees will enjoy snacks and beverages throughout the afternoon and appetizers and wine at 5:30. Keynote speakers are Lorna Landvik, Andrea Jarrell, and Jodi Livon. ModernWell, 1 p.m., $45–$60.
Though I am a voracious consumer of memoir––a genre in which a reader can find no shortage of authorial struggles––I’m not sure I’ve ever read a memoir in which the writer had to endure so much for the final product as The Glass Eye, by Jeannie Vanasco.
On the surface, it appears to be about grief, but its plot is actually composed of many strands that curl around and into themselves like a sailor’s knot: the investigation into the life and premature death of Vanasco’s half-sister, with whom she shares a name; her devotion to her father (the titular glass eye is his) and her protracted grief over his death; the development of her mental illness; and her quest to write the book itself, which she promised her father on his deathbed she would do. (more…)
Friday 1/26: Corporeal Voices hosts its annual Voice is a Muscle grant recipient and finalists reading. This year’s grant focused on LGBTQ Oregon writers. Readers include winner Caitlin Bagwell and finalists Jessica Mehta, Laura Stride, Mary Mandeville, Naima Karczmar, Noelle Myers, Ravyn Gerri Stanfield, and Sara Jaffe. 510 SW 3rd Ave., 6:30 p.m., free.
Welcome to This Week in Trumplandia. Check in with us every Thursday for a weekly roundup of the most pertinent content on our country, which is currently spiraling down a crappy toilet drain. You owe it to yourself, your community, and your humanity to contribute whatever you can, even if it is just awareness of the truth.
45 starts his trade war, and his new tariffs punish many for the sake of three companies.