Category Archives: Writing
Shelf Awareness for Readers Review: The Telling Room, by Michael Paterniti
My review for Michael Paterniti’s The Telling Room is posted here. It’s always good to look at other reactions: The New York Times review, while positive, acknowleged its overwrough quality, comparing it to those little handwritten descriptions pinned to cheeses … Continue reading
This review* for Shelf Awareness for Readers was challenging to write, both for the need to capture complex ideas in 250 words and for required refresher on the many interpretations of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It is widely accepted that the core of … Continue reading
Notes on reviewing Books: The Millions, The New Yorker, and Christian Wiman
Critic Michael Bourne in The Millions has an excellent piece on book reviewing, where he discusses how the digital age has changed their purpose and scope. Typical reviews typically opened with a brief context-setting introduction;, followed by a thumbnail outline, … Continue reading
Review: Gish Jen, Tiger Writing
Here and below is my review of Gish Jen”s Tiger Writing: Art, Culture and the Interdependent Self, published by Harvard University Press in March; it ran in today’s Shelf Awareness for Readers. Gish Jen’s elegant and wide-ranging Tiger Writing–a collection … Continue reading
Notes on the Craft of Writing: From story to novel in Anthony Marra’s CHECHNYA and A CONSTELLATION OF VITAL PHENOMENA
That headline is a bit of misdirection, since this post will focus on Anthony Marra’s short story, Chechnya, which was my first introduction to Marra. Chechnya was initially published in Narrative Magazine’s Fall 2009 issue, having won their Spring story … Continue reading
The Second Word 