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Dear Memory, expands the field of the memoir for readers to explore a full-color archive of family photos and historical documents collaged between lines of poetry and letters.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 ]
“Second Place” borrows its story line from a 1930s-era memoir about D.H. Lawrence, but its themes are quintessential Cusk. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-04-26 17:28:26 UTC ]
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In an excerpt from her memoir Negative Space, Lilly Dancyger writes about moving back to New York City as a teenager and grappling with her father's death. Continue reading at Guernica
[ Guernica | 2021-04-26 13:00:05 UTC ]
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A memoir of life in Silicon Valley, a capitalist satire, a novel that envisions a better future, and more: Your weekly guide to the best in books Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2021-04-23 14:30:00 UTC ]
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In Crying in H Mart, Michelle Zauner—also known as the indie-pop musician Japanese Breakfast—writes of her mother’s battle with terminal cancer and the caretaking process. The mother-daughter relationship is the beating pulse of this memoir, presented in all of its uncomfortable complexities.... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2021-04-22 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Former President Barack Obama and filmmaker Ava DuVernay discuss "A Promised Land" at the L.A. Times Community Book Club. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-04-21 21:09:15 UTC ]
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Simon & Schuster president Jonathan Karp says seven-figure book deal will go ahead, after open letter from employees accuses publisher of being ‘on the wrong side of justice’Simon & Schuster has said it will not pull out of a seven-figure book deal with Mike Pence after some of its... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-04-21 12:05:44 UTC ]
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In “I Am a Girl From Africa,” the former U.N. adviser Elizabeth Nyamayaro retraces her life story from childhood starvation to NGOs. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-04-20 09:00:07 UTC ]
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Sheridan Smith has written her first memoir, Honestly, to be published by Ebury Spotlight this autumn. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-20 02:37:35 UTC ]
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Culture Street mural for Grenfell Tower, with poem by Ben Okri, North Kensington, London, image courtesy of IranWire and #PaintTheChange. London-based writer Malu Halasa canvasses the Middle Eastern and North African culture scene in London,... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-04-19 19:22:28 UTC ]
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The author of the memoir Blow Your House Down talks about secrecy, accountability, and resisting happy endings. Continue reading at Guernica
[ Guernica | 2021-04-19 13:00:21 UTC ]
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The 41st annual Los Angeles Times Book Prizes were awarded in a livestreamed virtual ceremony last Friday. The awards are presented in 12 categories; 56 books were shortlisted overall. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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At a Times Book Festival panel on Black YA fiction, Dean Atta, Morgan Parker, Yusef Salaam and Ibi Zoboi discussed stories of teens making it through. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-04-18 01:13:11 UTC ]
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Deesha Philyaw, Victoria Chang and Isabel Wilkerson are among the winners of the 2020 L.A. Times Book Prizes, announced Friday. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-04-17 01:06:54 UTC ]
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The 26th Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is going virtual again this year. The event kicks off April 17 at 10 a.m. Here's how to watch. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-04-16 12:00:30 UTC ]
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What am I supposed to do with autofiction? Where is it shelved, literally and mentally? Is it memoir or fiction? Pick a lane. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-04-16 10:36:00 UTC ]
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Manga makes its mark: 'My Hero Academia, Vol. 27' by Kohei Horikoshi is the #6 book in the country. Plus chef Erin French's memoir finds its way onto our hardcover nonfiction list, and we spy Flynn Berry in hardcover fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Pamela Dorman buys a debut novel by a longtime Knopf editor, Holt signs a memoir by Ronnie Spector, Hanya Yanagihara re-ups with Doubleday, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-16 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Barack Obama and filmmaker Ava DuVernay will discuss the former president's memoir "A Promised Land" April 21 in a livestreamed event for the L.A. Times Community Book Club. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-04-16 01:25:03 UTC ]
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Brittany Higgins' forthcoming memoir will allow her to tell her story in her own words. She'll join a group of strong women who've done just that. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2021-04-15 03:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins has acquired a book by journalist Alix Sharkey exploring his experience growing up with a brother now imprisoned for the murder of teenager Danielle Jones. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-04-13 19:59:28 UTC ]
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