A “Voiceless” India
For the New York Times, Aatish Taseer argues that English has left Indian literature “voiceless,” as writers are often asked to produce work with western audiences in mind: India, if it…
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Jake Slovis
193 posts
Jake Slovis is a writer and educator. He holds an MFA in creative writing from Rutgers University-Newark and is currently a lecturer in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at New Jersey Institute of Technology, where he teaches courses focused on visual narrative and composition. His work has appeared in The Millions, Carolina Quarterly, and elsewhere.
Rationalizing Friendship
At the Guardian, A.D. Miller wonders why writers struggle to describe the “bonds” of friendship in fiction. What he finds is that close friendships are often difficult to “rationalize” because they…
The Mystery Of Misleading Titles
For the Guardian, Moira Redmond considers the prevalence of “misleading” book titles. The article references a number of well-known texts including Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping, which Redmond suggests is “sublimely about non-housekeeping.” However, Moira argues…
Camus And Orwell’s Hypothetical Coffee Date
In 1945 George Orwell was scheduled to meet Albert Camus at a café in Paris. However, Camus became ill and the two authors never met. Now, for the Los Angeles Review of…
Sex Novels in Public Places
For The Millions, J.C. Hallman shares his experience listening to the audiobook version of Nicholson Baker’s phone sex novel Vox in public places. What Hallman learns is that while the book might have…
Mario Vargas Llosa: Artist or Politician?
In advance of the release of Mario Vargas Llosa’s new book The Time of the Hero, Thomas Mallon investigates the relationship between the Noble Prize-winning author’s work and the political movements of…
Ishiguro Doesn’t Take Breaks
For the Telegraph, Gaby Wood speaks with Kazuo Ishiguro about his new release The Buried Giant. The novel is Ishiguro’s first book in ten years, however the author has not been taking a…
The Multitalented Victor Hugo
Although Victor Hugo is best known for his novels, the author had an avid interest in the visual arts as well. However, Hugo didn’t publish his visual artwork, fearful that…
Agatha Christie Was a Good Pen Pal
Agatha Christie was never shy to reply to her fan mail, and now the notable crime writer’s letters will be collected and published in celebration of her 125th birthday. The collection…
Stop Worrying About What Comes Next
At The Millions, Jonathan Russell Clark analyzes several last sentences from well-known novels by Hemingway, Tolstoy, Morrison, and Roth. He pays particular attention to the craftsmanship necessary to write these sentences, and…
The Unhappy Marriage Rule
For the New York Times‘s Bookends column, authors Charles McGrath and Leslie Jamison share their thoughts about what they perceive to be the best portrayals of marriage in literature. While McGrath argues…
The Freedom of Fiction
At Booth, Susan Lerner interviews Jonathan Franzen about a range of subjects including the influence of the YA novel, social media, and the different “forms of exploration” associated with essays and…