Monthly Archives: April 2010

Last week (?) I posted a quote from Marisa Silver. As a guest blogger at The Elegant Variation, she recently posted an article called “Advice for the lovelorn… I mean writers.” Here’s something that hit home: “Your work will often … Continue reading →

Carol Keeley’s essay “The Culture of Fire.” Carol is a friend and wonderful writer/person. She also has a story (“Cremains”) in the current issue of Ploughshares. The issue was guest edited by Elizabeth Strout, and features some big names: Joyce … Continue reading →

Driving with my four-year-old son Ethan yesterday, a story came on NPR about the funeral for the Polish president who died in a plane clash last week… E: He died? Me: Yes. He was the president of a country called … Continue reading →

Ever wondered which words David Foster Wallace circled in his dictionary? Wonder no more. I now realize that I suffer from abulia (loss or impairment of the ability to make decisions or act independently). I used to call it daddy … Continue reading →

Quote from poet Louise Glück: The fundamental experience of the writer “is helplessness… Most writers spend much of their time in various kinds of torment: wanting to write, being unable to write, wanting to write differently, not being able to … Continue reading →