Interviews Victoria Chang’s new collection, Dear Memory, expands the field of the memoir for readers to explore a full-color archive of family photos and historical documents collaged between lines of poetry and letters. It prompts us to ask, with her, What composes a life and what makes of life art? What makes of memory history, and whose history, and how do we survive loss? We might expect the author of five books of poetry and two children’s books to incorporate the lyric in her first book of nonfiction, but Chang goes further. If her memories arrive at times as poetry, she denies them the protection of a poem. For instance, at the end of a letter that begins, “Do you remember those Fridays in gym class . . . ,” she realizes that memory may be “the exit wound of joy.” Such insights pierce us before we can register surprise. Elsewhere, she covers her mother’s mouth with three Mandarin characters in the photo on her certificate of naturalization, inserting her reservation into the official record along with her daughter’s grief. I reached out to Chang, moved by this book’s innovative form. “It was always my goal as a writer to be able to make whatever I want,” she told me via Zoom video hosted by the low-residency MFA program at Antioch University, which she directs. The winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the PEN Voelcker Award, a Sustainable Arts Foundation... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2022-01-05 19:50:39 UTC ]
Most musicians can only make money on the platform by writing songs inoffensive enough to get on to one of its vapid playlistsIn the hands of some of its most gifted practitioners, songwriting is a kind of emotional alchemy. For the past week, I have been returning to a perfect example: Every... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2025-03-09 16:38:43 UTC ]
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Peter Wolf befriended music legends, married a movie star and led the J. Geils Band. His new memoir reminds us: He was there. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2025-03-07 11:00:38 UTC ]
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A new memoir by the historian Martha S. Jones combines a trenchant analysis of race and the historical record with a homage to other Black women scholars. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2025-03-04 10:00:40 UTC ]
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At the 30th annual Audies, presented by the Audio Publishers Association and held in New York City on March 4, winners across 28 categories were announced. Barbra Streisand’s memoir took home the night's biggest honor, Audiobook of the Year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2025-03-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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At last, it’s official: Andrew Cuomo is running for mayor of New York City.That sentence would have seemed inordinately strange a year or two ago. But Cuomo had been telegraphing for many months that he wanted to launch a comeback. And now he’s running, with a Manhattan launch event and... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2025-03-03 15:46:55 UTC ]
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Sarah Lyall, who writes the monthly thrillers column for The New York Times Book Review, recommends four of her favorite thriller novels. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2025-03-02 10:00:23 UTC ]
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A fantasy epic sells for seven figures at Bramble, Bobbi Brown brings a memoir to Marysue Rucci, Stonefruit and Del Rey pick up two multibook horror projects, and more in this week’s book deals. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2025-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writing memoir is an act of saying I am here. This is what I find beautiful. Troubling. Worth paying attention to. And there is a democratic invitation in this gesture that interests me—the way that writing and reading memoir allow us to push past a monolithic understanding of the world and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2025-02-27 09:58:16 UTC ]
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Out of the Shadows, by Lilach Galil Fiction [email protected] Mon, 02/24/2025 - 15:16 Photo by Lucas Alexandros / Flickr Lilach Galil’s 2009 novel, Betsilo (In its shadow), is a polyphonic novel told by the six main characters. Rona is a poet... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2025-02-24 21:16:13 UTC ]
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On the dedication page of No Offense: A Memoir in Essays, Jackie Domenus writes, “To all the queer and trans folks who have bitten their tongues until they bled: this book is for you.” In this powerful and timely collection, Domenus defends and celebrates identity and love with an unflinching... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2025-02-24 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Fiona Warnick talks to Sheila Heti about AI, writing for children, and the negotiation of public and private selves. | Lit Hub In Conversation How much can—or should—we know about our literary idols? Anna Funder on George Orwell and real life doublethink. | Lit Hub Memoir “I’d always figured... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2025-02-24 11:30:43 UTC ]
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Soon we can all read the late author’s private notes about her therapy. But should we?In 1998, the late journalist Joan Didion wrote a scathing essay about the posthumous publication of True at First Light, a travel journal and fictional memoir by Ernest Hemingway, 38 years after the author... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2025-02-23 09:00:30 UTC ]
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Haley Mlotek’s new memoir finds a fresh way to talk about the dissolution of a marriage. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2025-02-21 17:15:00 UTC ]
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Erin Steele’s memoir, Sunrise Over Half-Built Houses: Love, Longing and Addiction in Suburbia, chronicles the life of an isolated, self-conscious Canadian teenager growing up in middle-class British Columbia to loving parents who are simultaneously present and absent. As young Erin grapples with... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2025-02-21 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The finalists for the 45th Los Angeles Times Book Prize were just announced Wednesday. The list is 61 nominees long ... Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2025-02-20 18:21:26 UTC ]
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The L.A. Times Book Prize finalists have been announced, an executive order shuts down JFK Library, WICKED is coming to streaming, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2025-02-20 16:00:00 UTC ]
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This round of mystery and thriller news is filled with upcoming adaptations. Plus, there’s a must-read memoir and The Da ... Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2025-02-19 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Haley Mlotek’s new book provides neither catharsis nor remedies for heartache, but rather a tender exploration of human intimacy. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2025-02-19 12:30:00 UTC ]
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Susanna Hoffs, along with bandmates Vicki and Debbi Peterson, spoke about new book "Eternal Flame," recalling key events in the Bangles' chart-topping run in the 1980s and how the band shaped their lives. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2025-02-18 18:48:12 UTC ]
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