Here’s a snippet: “I asked him if he said to remove the sticker and he said, ‘Yes, I did.’ I told him he couldn’t tell me who to vote for. When I told him that, he told me, ‘I own this place.’ I told him he still couldn’t tell me who to vote for.” Gobbell said Gaddis told her to “get out of here.” … Read More Woman FIRED for Kerry Bumpersticker
I heard Mark Childress read from his latest novel (or a novel in progress, maybe?) at Squaw Valley and was taken by his humor, poignancy and sense of drama. All of that is played out in his novel “Crazy in Alabama” which I read yesterday. The narrative is a juxtaposition of a coming of age story and an awakening—both of a woman who has … Read More "Crazy in Alabama" by Mark Childress
The New Yorker for September 13th has some great stuff. Calvin Tomkins’ “Recollections” about his childhood summers in the Adirondacks and the first girl he made out with is funny, heartbreaking and poignant. I enjoyed it quite a lot and was moved by the ending. I was enraptured by David Remnick’s profile of Al Gore (“The Wilderness Campaign”). Enlightening and entertaining, Remnick gets just … Read More The New Yorker–September 13, 2004
Maggie O’Farrell’s second novel, My Lover’s Lover, is a complex and interesting narrative. Part ghost story, part stalker story, part thriller and part love story—the narrative keeps the reader on his toes from start to finish. Just as you think you’ve got it figured out, something shifts and you’re left wondering—just as the characters are–whether you know what’s real and what’s not. Important themes … Read More My Lover’s Lover, by Maggie O’Farrell
Waking Jeffrey is an excellent new flash by Ellen Meister in Dicey Brown.
Poets&Writers online features an inspirational interview with Pulitzer-Prize winning poet Stephen Dunn. When asked how he came to write poetry, Dunn replied: It has something to do with—and this will sound melodramatic—saving my life. I felt that I was living a soulless life. My first job out of college was writing in-house brochures for Nabisco in New York, and I kept getting promoted. I … Read More "The poem of the solipsistic error"
pindeldyboz is back with a nifty redesign and some killer stories.
My sister and her family in Jacksonville are prepared and waiting to see if they need to evacuate for the arrival of Hurricane Frances. I am worried for their safety. She tells me that the highways are jammed with folks from southern and central Florida trying to get the hell out of Dodge. Here’s hoping the storm takes a turn out to sea instead … Read More Hurricane Frances
myfanwy collins 