Sandy’s Aftermath
The hurricane may be over, but for many areas of Staten Island, New Jersey, Brooklyn, and Queens, the recovery is just beginning. Here, a reminder of the devastation visited on just one of these areas....
View ArticleWalker Percy’s Hurricane
As Sandy lashed my bay windows last week, I, like much of the northeast, spent my days mostly staring outside. Trees nodded and bowed in their ancient submission. Debris sped past. On the radio, the...
View ArticleA Man Walks into a Voting Booth, and Other News
This. Election-themed poetry, whatever your mood. Teams anyone can get behind: author-editor pairings. The epic Moby-Dick marathon reading is nigh. Paul Dano, who kicks it off, obviously gets the...
View ArticleLetter from Coney Island
I spent the night in Coney Island and there are no mermaids on Mermaid Avenue right now, but the machinery of New York’s recovery from Hurricane Sandy is everywhere to be seen. The streets teem with...
View ArticleSan Francisco vs. New York, and Other News
The bestseller lists from two beloved bookstores show what San Franciscans and New Yorkers, respectively, are reading. (Spoiler: everyone loves Junot Díaz.) But which book about Lincoln? Experts help...
View ArticleDefiance: A Literary Benefit to Rebuild Red Hook
Last week, the waterfront neighborhood of Red Hook, Brooklyn, was one of the areas shattered by superstorm Sandy. On Wednesday, November 14, join host Kurt Andersen; musicians Steve Earle and Stew;...
View ArticleWhat We’re Loving: Dune, Anno, Common Prayer
Not long ago I had the honor of officiating at the wedding of a Swede and a Russian Jew. It was not a religious ceremony (unless you count the Universal Life Church), but when the three of us sat down...
View ArticleDallas, Part 2: Up Close
[Read part 1 here.] Have you ever seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night? Dallas is a jewel, Dallas is a beautiful sight. And Dallas is a jungle, but Dallas gives a beautiful light. —Jimmie Dale Gilmore,...
View ArticleHow to be a Bureaucrat, and Other News
How to query an agent: a guide. If you’d rather be a Chinese bureaucrat, well, here’s a guide to that. “However disgraceful or unprincipled you may think the scribblers of today, rest assured that...
View ArticleThe Joys of Yiddish Dictionaries
One of the best things I’ve ordered on the Internet recently is a Yiddish translation of The Hobbit. After getting lost in the mail in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, it finally arrived: a medium-sized...
View ArticleWhen Mary Oliver Signed Books
I didn’t know Mary Oliver as well as I would have liked, though our poetry paths crossed a few times. We were introduced more than once, but it wasn’t until one evening in October 2012 that we were...
View ArticleWalker Percy’s Hurricane
As Sandy lashed my bay windows last week, I, like much of the northeast, spent my days mostly staring outside. Trees nodded and bowed in their ancient submission. Debris sped past. On the radio, the...
View ArticleA Man Walks into a Voting Booth, and Other News
This. Election-themed poetry, whatever your mood. Teams anyone can get behind: author-editor pairings. The epic Moby-Dick marathon reading is nigh. Paul Dano, who kicks it off, obviously gets the...
View ArticleLetter from Coney Island
I spent the night in Coney Island and there are no mermaids on Mermaid Avenue right now, but the machinery of New York’s recovery from Hurricane Sandy is everywhere to be seen. The streets teem with...
View ArticleSan Francisco vs. New York, and Other News
The bestseller lists from two beloved bookstores show what San Franciscans and New Yorkers, respectively, are reading. (Spoiler: everyone loves Junot Díaz.) But which book about Lincoln? Experts help...
View ArticleDefiance: A Literary Benefit to Rebuild Red Hook
Last week, the waterfront neighborhood of Red Hook, Brooklyn, was one of the areas shattered by superstorm Sandy. On Wednesday, November 14, join host Kurt Andersen; musicians Steve Earle and Stew;...
View ArticleWhat We’re Loving: Dune, Anno, Common Prayer
Not long ago I had the honor of officiating at the wedding of a Swede and a Russian Jew. It was not a religious ceremony (unless you count the Universal Life Church), but when the three of us sat down...
View ArticleDallas, Part 2: Up Close
Today marks the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. With all eyes on Dallas, it seemed fitting to re-run one of our favorite pieces from 2012, an ode to the city and its...
View ArticleHow to be a Bureaucrat, and Other News
How to query an agent: a guide. If you’d rather be a Chinese bureaucrat, well, here’s a guide to that. “However disgraceful or unprincipled you may think the scribblers of today, rest assured that...
View ArticleThe Joys of Yiddish Dictionaries
One of the best things I’ve ordered on the Internet recently is a Yiddish translation of The Hobbit. After getting lost in the mail in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, it finally arrived: a medium-sized...
View Article
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