Piece

So I think I’m writing an essay–or a series of essays–but I keep calling it a collection of prose poems. At what point to I have to admit to myself that I might just be writing prose? Prose terrifies me. Can’t I just cling like a sloth to my poet moniker forever? Does this contradict my…… Continue reading Piece

Genre

I’m republishing a series of pieces that I wrote for the now-defunct Juniper Bends Author Collective. Since I can safely assume that none of my readers are big enough fans to take issue with this–much less to notice–I have few qualms about this course of action. The joke goes that genre only exists so that…… Continue reading Genre

Post

Reid and Leah have left Seattle, as have the hordes of writers from all over. I could act like it was thrilling to see folks from NC–and it was–but I’ve ensured that I am never without access to liberal Southerners, even here in WA state. AWP was much sillier than I anticipated; the longer I…… Continue reading Post

Bone

The Bone People by Keri Hulme My rating: 5 of 5 stars Still probably the most overwhelming and spectacular novel I can conjure up. The prose is sometimes whimsical, sometimes bizarre, but always breathtaking. Hulme stirs up the overlays of dreams, fantasies, ghostworlds, violence, and healing in this massive, indomitable novel. A must for hybrid…… Continue reading Bone

Wright

Native Son by Richard Wright My rating: 5 of 5 stars Phew. This novel is exhausting. I needed to go for a run and have a drink after this unbearable tale of grief, hopelessness, ennui, and racism. Wright’s prose is sparse and philosophical, resulting in the sort of haunting, detached narration that makes this novel…… Continue reading Wright

“50 Books” – Flavorwire

50 Books That Define the Past Five Years in Literature – Flavorwire. Another interesting list from Flavorwire on literature. This one includes my writer-crush Kate Zambreno’s Heroines and Sheila Heti’s How Should A Person Be? (which I obsessively gobbled up in two days, but everyone in the universe still loves to hate), so I forgive some of their…… Continue reading “50 Books” – Flavorwire