Features & Reviews
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John Updike
In literature there are many figures but few icons. John Updike published over 50 books which dug through the depths of suburban American lives, particularly our sex lives, once comparing…
Lost and Found
I first heard about Stoner back in grad school. I’d been on a Denis Johnson jag (weren’t we all?) and so naturally assumed the novel was a florid account of…
Poetic Lives Online: Random Poetry Links by Brian Spears
Oh, the things I’ve learned since I started doing this little column, the arguments I’ve lurked through, the long-winded defenses of one’s aesthetic choices, et cetera, et cetera. And I’m…
The Shorty Q&A With Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore
Matthew Bernstein Sycamore was one of the early organizers of Gay Shame which, among other things, takes a stance against marriage in all forms.
How My First Book Got Published
How many times do you really face a choice in life? How many times will you get the benefit of arriving at a crossroads, where you don’t have to fight…
WHY I MUST GIVE UP WRITING
First let me say I’ve been a dedicated writer for half a century. I’ve published twenty-five books, and I’ve even won some prizes. I know a real writer is supposed…
Anti-war Poetry and the Oxymoron of Liberal Fathers
Robert Hass, Bush’s War, and the death of a father
Chuck and Charles’ Beautiful Children
Charles Bock’s “Beautiful Children” comes out in paperback today with a new cover by rock and roll poster legend Chuck Sperry. Bock and Sperry have also created their own adult…