“Saul Steinberg, the artist, said one of the major problems for the creative person is to avoid boredom. . .…
A Response to Flavorwire’s “New York’s 100 Most Important Living Writers”
List-making can be a thorough waste of time, and by “waste,” I mean, excess, dross, detritus, and not necessarily something…
A Sequence on Sequence, Part 6: Peter Tieryas Liu
I stuffed too many stories into the first draft of Watering Heaven. There were originally thirty of them and I…
Noy Holland’s Swim for the Little One First
Noy Holland’s new collection of short fiction, Swim for the Little One First, came out in September. I would…
Feature Friday: “Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles” (1975)
I was trying to think of the most perfect Thanksgiving Holiday film. While peeling my hundredth potato, I remembered Jeanne…
The Steaz Sell-out
Some of you have been curious about my drink fixation, and kind enough to leave comments. You’ve read the remarks…
All That Distance Between Us: A Review of Michael Kimball’s Big Ray
In Michael Kimball‘s books, writing is an act of quiet devastation. By treating emotionally charged subjects in a matter-of-fact, direct…
Feature Friday: “Eden and After” (1970)
Here’s something odd. Both Alain Robbe-Grillet and Catherine Jourdan (pictured above) died on 18 February (Robbe-Grillet in 2008, Jourdan in…
Creative Engagement with Kate Durbin’s The Ravenous Audience (Black Goat/ Akashic Books, 2009)
Lately I have been obsessing over feminist reframes of historical events and fairy tales. Part of this obsession is rooted…