“Sauerkraut Soup” from Stuart Dybek’s 1986 debut collection Childhood and Other Neighborhoods begins with a narrator waxing philosophical on the cathartic nature of bodily purge. “Puking felt like crying,” he…
I’ve been in love with people who’ve had excerpts from Lord Jim scrolling up their arms, and Faunia Farley tattooed on their chest with an arrow going through a heart. …
Over at <HTMLGiant>, Adam Peterson and Dave Madden talk about The Cupboard, “a quarterly pamphlet of creative prose.” “…we do really take the ‘Pamphlet’ part of our name seriously. We…
Nancy Balbirer’s hilarious, soulful memoir about acting, Hollywood, art, fame, and misguided relationships, Take Your Shirt Off and Cry: A Memoir Of Near-Fame Experiences is told from the perspective of…
My housemate just sent me a link to a fascinating web site called The Book Seer. The site asks you to enter the last book you read, and then it compiles…
In this article about the political fortunes of writer, country singer and gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman, The Guardian reminds us that if history is any indication, writers should be wary…
Mark Trainer publishes an excerpt of a note he received from a “thoughtful, well-respected agent” on his blog. “I have no confidence in being able to place a collection at…
This week, the book blogs have went and gone political! Maybe it’s that it’s the off year in the election cycle and they miss the rabid infighting and corruption, or…
This week, Rumpus books reviews two novels, a book of short stories, and a collection of poetry. We’ve also got an interview with Rebecca Solnit, plus essays on Borges, Douglas…