One can only assume that Franzen decided against friending me after nearly choking on his lunch.
Two days ago, Mr. Bryant thought to mock the good Mets fans within the litblogosphere. Oh, but what a difference a few days make! In…
Jonathan Franzen has accepted my Facebook friend request! My work here is done. I shall now direct my attentions to Dwight Garner, who has yet…
If one must have an “opinion on Ed Champion,” a phrase that places me in an extremely bizarre position of importance, I’d hope that one…
The Guardian‘s James Buchan has asked the question, in all seriousness, “Is there any purpose in translating poetry?” Which is akin to asking the following…
Jeff VanderMeer and M. John Harrison: how can you go wrong with that conversation? I couldn’t make the Lethem-PKD event, I’m afraid, but Matt Cheney…
Okay, after considerable coffee, a crazed ten-hour reading session, and several additional hours of research for one of two crazy deadlines, I’ve managed to grab…
I don’t know what’s funnier: the mad genius who teamed up Amy Sedaris with Martha Stewart in the kitchen or the fact that Stewart doesn’t…
The sleeping schedule has gone to hell. So here goes. Scott McLemee and Peniel E. Joseph discussed Harold Cruse’s The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual,…
I received a mysterious text message earlier in the week from a British phone number. I was confused. I thought they all hated me in…
Correspondent: In this title essay, you write, “Observation is my weakness.” And in the second essay, while you openly confess to stalking many of the……
I’m not dead. / ‘Ere, he says he’s not dead. / Yes, he is. / I’m not. (via Jeff, who also finds this news quite…
BBC: “Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani has been criticised over a fundraising party at which participants are being urged to donate $9.11. The International Association…
Jonathan Franzen does not want to be my Facebook friend. He is, however, Howard Junker’s Facebook friend. This is understandable, because Howard Junker is Howard…
PROGRAM NOTES: (1) Our Young, Roving Correspondent claimed that Milton Friedman supported the New Deal. Naomi Klein claimed that he did not. As it turns…
Condition of Mr. Segundo: Feeling a little dead down there. Author: George Saunders Subjects Discussed: Writing fragmentary travelogue pieces, trying not to pre-process experiences, observational…
This year’s MacArthur fellowships include Stuart Dybek. Oh, Norman Mailer, just go away. The Internet is set to overtake television as the largest medium by…
Associated Press: “A federal judge sentenced Hollywood director John McTiernan to four months in prison Monday after refusing to allow him to withdraw his guilty…
Rachel Kramer Bussel: “Garnering publicity for your book should not be the ‘wait and see’ situation Sacks seems to paint it as. There is always…
I can assure you. The J is pronounced like Alaska’s capital. Foolish thinking debunked by Weeks. First Committee Purges: “James Flint and Hari Kunzru are…
Violet Blue: “As I told the producer (who I saw quite quickly), I will not lie about my appearance or who I am, for anyone…