Interviews Photo by Diane Picchiottino / Unsplash That Famous Abyss (Wunderkammer, 2020) is a book of exclusive interviews with Enrique Vila-Matas by cultural journalist Anna María Iglesia, covering such themes as why write, the places of literature, the art of disappearing, and the poetics of failure. The result is a text that is equally reflective as it is biographical and intimate, filled with the great names of literature and art alongside personal anecdotes and memories of the author. The following exchange appears in chapter 1, “Why Write?” Anna María Iglesia: Why do you write? Enrique Vila-Matas: Do I need to tell the truth? Iglesia: Of course not. In fact, this is not a biography. Vila-Matas: Much better, then. Iglesia: A few years ago, when asked this same question by a journalist, you answered: “In some remote time, some ancestor made that first loop. We are nothing but their imitators, a link in the uninterrupted chain of tradition. So the one who needs to be asked as to why I write is that ancestor; ask him why he wanted to move beyond that knot.”[i] Vila-Matas: Well, I imagine that finding that ancestor will prove impossible for you. I see it like someone who spoke in the name of God. As far as I can go, I think, is to try to speak in the language of poetry, that language without name. Look, in reality, I’ve spent my whole life unaware of why I write, to the degree that, when my parents died, I discovered in... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2021-11-29 21:46:44 UTC ]
The Best American Series is a literary institution. But just in case you’re stumbling upon it for the first time: Each book in the annual series showcases of best short fiction and nonfiction in a given year, from short stories to essays, science and nature writing, to food writing. Each... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-06-11 14:00:24 UTC ]
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Hello, readers! I’m your host, Kristen Arnett, advice columnist (and Dad) extraordinaire. I’m excited to welcome you back to yet another special episode of Am I the Literary Asshole?, an advice column that asks if “head empty, just vibes” is simply a nice way of describing a hangover. My head?... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-05-30 13:32:53 UTC ]
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As Asian American Pacific Islander Month comes to end, it’s important to remind ourselves that the Asian American identity is more than just race or shared affinity. Born out of political activism and the anti-war movement to protest and rally against injustice, warfare, imperialism, and... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-05-30 11:00:00 UTC ]
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What short stories have your favorite YA writers published? This guide will help you find them. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-05-21 11:30:00 UTC ]
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The Nobel Prize-winning author specialized in exacting short stories that were novelistic in scope, spanning decades with intimacy and precision. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-05-14 16:13:08 UTC ]
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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) The short stories of John Cheever (1912-82) are among the greatest American short stories of the twentieth century. His Collected Stories runs to 900 pages and contains tales which are by turns realist, borderline magic-realist, and downright... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2024-04-17 14:00:45 UTC ]
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In WEIRD BLACK GIRLS, Elwin Cotman delivers seven short stories that go long on the absurdity and anxiety of modern Black life. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-04-16 13:00:00 UTC ]
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I have always loved the versatility of the short story, how it can so easily take on the forms of other things. There are playlist short stories, recipe short stories, diary and epistolary-style short stories. There are flash fiction stories, short short stories, and long short stories that... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-04-15 11:00:00 UTC ]
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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) I’m often surprised by how little serious critical attention some of the work of J. G. Ballard (1930-2009) has received. ‘Having a Wonderful Time’ is a good example. Like many of the short stories from the 1982 collection Myths of the Near Future,... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2024-04-03 14:00:45 UTC ]
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Short stories can do things novels cannot because they’re short. They’re limber and can dart in and out of close-fitting places. They can be weird and daring in ways that novels cannot always sustain. Joy Williams writes in, “8 Essential Attributes of the Short Story (and one way it differs from... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-03-28 11:00:00 UTC ]
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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) Of all of the short stories by H. G. Wells (1866-1946), ‘The Apple’ is perhaps the most allegorical. First published in the Idler magazine in October 1896, the story concerns a schoolmaster who meets a man on a train; this man gives the teacher an... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2024-03-27 15:00:31 UTC ]
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Graphic designer whose distinctive typographic work graced Penguin book covers, museum signage and London monumentsPhil Baines, who has died aged 65 of multiple system atrophy, was one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary British graphic design. His work included books, posters, art... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-03-12 15:46:29 UTC ]
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From one girl’s aspiration to Olympic gymnastics glory, to a boy’s stint living in the Idaho wilderness in hopes of fixing his unruly behavior, something that remains a guiding principle in Black storytelling is the breadth of our lives. These stories, a collection of some of EL’s most-loved... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-02-22 12:00:00 UTC ]
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In “The Book of Love,” the Pulitzer finalist and master of short stories pushes our understanding of what a fantasy novel can be. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-02-12 10:00:46 UTC ]
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HarperVia will publish 'The Last Dream,' the debut collection of short stories by Spanish film director Pedro Almodóvar, translated from the Spanish by Frank Wynne, on September 24, in print and audiobook formats. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-29 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The If I Survive You author on the suspense of the Booker ceremony, Americans’ warped view of the Caribbean, and writing his next novel on the roadJonathan Escoffery, 43, was born in Texas and lives in Oakland, California. His debut, If I Survive You, about a second-generation Jamaican in Miami,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-27 18:00:42 UTC ]
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Our annual pick of the most exciting debut fiction has previously tipped Sally Rooney and Louise Kennedy, Tom Crewe and Douglas Stuart. Here the class of 2024 tell us their storiesEach year since 2014, the Observer New Review’s writers and editors have read scores of forthcoming debut novels... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-14 07:00:20 UTC ]
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A Rush of Indian Stories: A Review of Redolent Rush, by Dustin Pickering Book Reviews [email protected] Mon, 01/08/2024 - 14:12 In Redolent Rush, a recent short fiction collection published by Hawakal, based in New Delhi, India, we have nineteen... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2024-01-08 20:12:06 UTC ]
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Short stories and anthologies can open up new horizons in reading. If you want to explore more short fiction, here are some tips. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-08 11:32:00 UTC ]
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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘Good Country People’ is one of the best-known and most widely studied short stories by Flannery O’Connor (1925-64). The story, which focuses on a woman with a wooden leg who is befriended by a young and innocent-seeming bible salesman, takes in many... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2023-11-20 15:00:15 UTC ]
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