The Great Man and The Wife: On Controlling the Narrative in Sarah Manguso’s Liars
Marriage and motherhood become like invasive species that coil around Jane’s career, leeching her of energy and creative drive.
Features & Reviews
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This is a Meditation on Survival: A Conversation with Emily Raboteau
These works of public art are gifted, if you notice them, if you’re in a state of wakefulness.
Life is Tragicomic: A Conversation with Essie Chambers
There are two Post-its on my computer at all times: "Tell the truth" and "Make yourself laugh."
The Poetic Heart: A Conversation with Emily Jon Tobias
My job is to channel the character and it doesn’t matter if I like it or not, or if I agree with them or not.
PT Porn and Transfiction: Ann Rower’s If You’re A Girl
Ann Rower was 53 when she made her literary debut with this collection of personal essays and stories. Initially published by Semiotext(e) in 1991 as the first entry of their Native Agents series that platformed women in an overly male literary landscape, If You’re a Girl captured the spit and vinegar of mid-late twentieth-century female bohemia.
“Poetry’s Invitation to Spend Time in a Small Moment:” A Conversation with Rahul Mehta
I can make connections across different times in my life, connections between different selves, and somehow that makes everything feel more whole.
Frederick Douglass was a Complicated Human Being: A Conversation with Sidney Morrison
As a novelist, you have to decide, what doesn’t serve the drama at that particular point. Even biographers have had to make serious decisions about what to include.
Letting Go of What We Should Have Had: Adam Phillips’s On Giving Up
We first must recognize the path not taken as a burden that controlled us and will not surrender easily.
Feeling My Way Along a Metaphorical Ledge: A Conversation with Nancy Miller Gomez
There’s always so much happening around us—we can’t possibly take it all in—but certain things seem to be a beacon for my attention.
The First Book: Uche Okonkwo
Going out of one's way to write what's currently trendy, just because it's trendy, can be counterproductive and take the pleasure out of writing.
“There has to be peril”: A Conversation with Andromeda Romano-Lax
Suspense, as a genre, can be a Trojan Horse. It’s a strong vehicle that you can hide things within [to] explore ideas about culture, gender, language, or place.
Unearthing the Past in The Safekeep
There is an elegant cadence to the prose, a slight twist in language to create a dynamic image of a simple nighttime scene. Two proud firs. The single star as the sky’s beauty mark.