The Human Voice to the Rescue
At the Atlantic, Joe Fassler speaks with author Kevin Barry about the future of fiction. According to Barry, the “best hope” for building interest in fiction in a world “distracted” by…
Posts by author
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.
Writers Versus Censorship and Repression
For the Guardian, Sian Cain reports on recent efforts from high-profile writers to push China to release Nobel Laureate and poet Liu Xiaobo from prison. According to Cain, Xiaobo was detained for…
The Role of the Critical Writer
For The Awl, Maria Bustillos sits down for lunch with writer Teju Cole in Bali, where Cole recently spoke at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival. The two discuss art, colonialism,…
On Pandering—to White Women
For the Guardian, Sian Cain investigates Marlon James’s recent series of criticisms that accuse publishers of “pandering to white women.” James, the 2015 Man Booker prize winner, has been particularly vocal about…
Fanfiction Can Be Literary Too
For Book Riot, Vanessa Willoughby explores the benefits of writing fan fiction, and how notable works are often imitations of timeless stories: Literature that is unforgettable incites a dialogue at the…
Subverting Sexism
For Electric Literature, Sigal Samuel suggests that reading sexist male writes is “compulsory for women writers,” as sexist works can “give insight into the history and logic of sexism”: If reading…
A Dark and Stormy Dystopia
For the New Yorker, Kathryn Schulz analyzes “meteorological activity in fiction,” and how recent questions about climate change has led to a reemergence of weather related fiction, particularly in dystopian works: Our…
To Copyright, or Not to Copyright
For the New York Times, Doreen Carvajal reports that in order to extend the copyright of Anne Frank’s diary to 2050 in Europe, the Swiss foundation that holds the book’s copyright…
Libraries Aren’t Just About Books
For Slate, Jacob Brogan suggests that despite “shrinking book racks,” libraries play an important political and social role. This is particularly true in low-income areas, as libraries provide computer access for…
The “Myth” Of Dead Young Writers
At the New York Times, Dana Stevens and Benjamin Moser debate whether or not we romanticize writers who die young. While Moser argues that we should not remember a writer for his…
Mary Gaitskill Procrastinates Too
For The Millions, Chelsea Voulgares talks to Mary Gaitskill about her new novel The Mare and how to establish productive writing habits: I’m not consistent like some people seem to be. Sometimes I…
Lydia Davis Not a Love Junkie
Over at Electric Literature, John Freeman shares his experiences working as an editor with Lydia Davis and investigates what makes Davis “such a tremendous writer on love”: Her stories tighten and…