Nora Okja Keller is a politically committed writer whose new novel, Fox Girl, tells the story of two young women working as prostitutes in a GI recreation camp during the Korean War and their struggle to rise above degradation.
March/April 2002
Features
Novel History Lessons: A Profile of Nora Okja Keller
An interview with the Hawaiian novelist Nora Okja Keller.
Poems Are Never Finished: A Final Interview With Agha Shahid Ali
A tribute to Indian poet Agha Shahid Ali.
The Trouble He's Seen: A Profile of John Dufresne
So how did John Dufresne—the eldest of four children of French-Canadian parents, a boy who grew up in the Catholic, blue-collar Grafton Hill neighborhood of Worcester, Massachusetts, a boy for whom it was beyond imagining that a man might find his vocation in words—become a noted short story writer, a sought-after teacher of creative writing, and the author of three acclaimed novels, two of which are set well below the Mason-Dixon line? In part, the answer is a keen ear for the music of language and an eye for the telling detail.
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Conferences and Residencies
Slovenia: Days of Wine and Poems
Days of Poetry and Wine for poets in Medana.
Ireland: Victorian Charm on the Emerald Isle
The Tyrone Guthrie Centre in rural Ireland houses writers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians.
Costa Rica: Buddha in the Mango Grove
Hidden in Costa Rica's Central Valley is the Julia and David White Artists' Colony.
Montana: Refugees on the Continental Divide
Rural and isolated Montana Artist Refuge is popular for its inspirational vistas.
Minnesota: Cultural Exchange at Front and Main
John Davis transforms abandoned farm in New York Mills to studio spaces for artists and writers.
News and Trends
The Anatomy of Awards
Over the past 30 years, creative writing contests have proliferated.
FSG, Graywolf Ink Distribution Deal
Graywolf Press, a 26-year-old literary nonprofit publisher based in St. Paul, has entered into a new distribution deal with New York publishing giant Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
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E-book Publishers Get Mixed Signals
Now that the explosive growth of the dot-com industry has abated, many are wondering if the same fate awaits electronic publishing. At the annual Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, where a sober crowd gathered in October 2001, just weeks after the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., the Pollyannaish predictions of recent years about e-books were replaced by a more uncertain tone.
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Celebrating Steinbeck's Centennial
Thirty-six years after his death, John Steinbeck—the Nobel Prize–winning author of American classics like The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden—is the focus of the largest-ever centenary celebration for a single author. Born in Salinas, California, on February 27, 1902, Steinbeck is being remembered with a yearlong program of over 175 events in 39 states.
The Practical Writer
How to Get a Grant: Cracking the Code
Tips on how to secure a grant or fellowship.
First: The Brutal Lyricism of Viken Berberian
Profile of Viken Berberian, author of The Cyclist.
The Literary Life
Why We Reread: Once Is Rarely Enough
Reasons we reread.
The Art of Reading Barbara Comyns: Gather Your Hats While You May
Author Maud Casey reflects on her admiration for novelist Barbara Comyns.