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Our man from New England talks to one of the Carolinas’ favorite sons about the strengths of southern writers, the benefits of teaching welders, and the crushing reality that awaits MFA grads.
A reactionary shudder is sweeping through the book world as the status quo realizes it’s terrified of literature. Our man in the mountains speaks with author Jonathan Lethem, who tears into the idea of “realist” vs. “anti-realist” fiction.
Our man in Boston gets nostalgic for his Chicago roots in this wonderful conversation with short story master Stuart Dybek about the city of Daley, Bellow’s turf, and the difficulty of writing in a sentimental, nevermind linear fashion.
What happens when traditional instruments won’t produce the sound the composer wants? Then new instruments have to be invented. A discussion about deconstructing, reconstructing, and ways to break the barriers of sound.
Do fiction writers put their best face forward in their work or in their private lives? Will the next story always be the one that maybe gets it right? A conversation with the extraordinary author about the craft.
A simple statement but a nightmarish one: we can no longer expect to have more energy, only remorselessly less energy. An intense chat with author James Howard Kunstler about the chaos that will rattle our society once the energy disaster takes hold.
The humanities are ruined, and the universities full of crooks. Art in America is neglected, coddled, and buried under chatter. The right looks down on artists; the left looks down on everyone. Our man in Boston has an electrifying conversation with Camille Paglia.
It can take six weeks to write six minutes of fiction, and that’s not so bad. A conversation with the author of Saturday about taking the time to do your thing, the changing face of literary culture, and how everybody really can write a novel.
Queens may sport the most languages spoken in New York City, but Brooklyn certainly has the most writers. Our man in Boston talks with Brooklynite Elizabeth Gaffney about her new book, set in 19th-century New York, and her 16 years editing the Paris Review with George Plimpton.
Do genre writers have more fun than plain old novelists? Is it possible to embed philosophical thought in a thriller? For an all-around TMN smorgasbord, our brain in Boston chats with Contributing Writer Kevin Guilfoile about his new novel.
Prejudice cannot be defeated entirely, but it can be fought with courage and stamina, and with really good lawyers. Our bookish reporter in Boston has a fascinating conversation with scholar Deborah Lipstadt about her six-year battle with Holocaust denier David Irving.
Are we comforted by the official account of Sept. 11—the victims, the heroes, the assigned roles of good and evil—or do the generalizations shortchange our experiences? A conversation with novelist Jonathan Safran Foer about his new book, the writing life, and what it’s like to be reviewed by Updike.