Although John Updike has written twenty-one novels, it's not just literature that inspires him. His new book of essays aims to define what's "American" about American art.
November/December 2005
Features
Still Playing the Game: A Profile of John Updike
Even in his seventies, with twenty-one novels behind him, John Updike still feels the thrill of inspiration. But writing isn't the only art form that gets his creativity flowing.
More to the Story: A Profile of Paula Fox
In a follow-up to her critically acclaimed Borrowed Finery, Paula Fox's memoir The Coldest Winter: A Stringer in Liberated Europe, documents how resilience, talent, and energy can become the makings of art.
You Never Know: A Profile of Ernest J. Gaines
With the publication of his first book in twelve years—a collection of talks and short stories—Ernest J. Gaines proves that writing is a lifelong journey, and an unpredictable one at that.
That Glittering Possibility: Eighteen Debut Poets Who Made Their Mark in 2005
The eighteen poets featured here represent only a fraction of the debut books published in 2005, yet they are emblematic of the diverse community of poets who have recently forged their own paths to publication.
News and Trends
Amazon Starts Publishing Program
In August, Amazon.com launched a program that offers customers short stories and essays in a digital format for forty-nine cents each.
The Contester: Series Editor Retires Amid Controversy
Fueled by allegations of unfairness, Bin Ramke announces his retirement after twenty-two years as editor of the Contemporary Poetry Series.
Considering the Value of a Book
During a recent trip to New York City, Joseph Bednarik, the marketing director of Copper Canyon Press, noticed something while riding the subway that got him thinking about the ways in which poetry is distributed.
Literary MagNet
Literary MagNet chronicles the start-ups and closures, successes and failures, anniversaries and accolades, changes of editorship and special issues—in short, the news and trends—of literary magazines in America. This issue's MagNet features Poetry Northwest, the Alaska Quarterly Review, Fence, Black Clock, Ninth Letter, and Eleven Eleven.
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Small Press Points
Small Press Points highlights the happenings of the small press players. This issue features Other Voices Books, Soho Press, Paris Press, Curbstone Press, Limberlost Press, Aralia Press, Ugly Ducking Presse, A Rest Press, and Atelos.
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The Literature of War
As long as there has been war, there have been writers trying to understand it, turning battlefield horrors into narrative, trying to make something useful out of its debris, but in recent months an unusually high number of soldier memoirs have been released by American publishers.
The Written Image: Chip Kidd
Images from a new collection of graphic art by Chip Kidd, an associate art director at Knopf, who has designed nearly eight hundred book jackets for the publishing house during the last twenty years.
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Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin
Page One features a sample of titles we think you'll want to explore. With this installment, we offer excerpts from The Jungle Law by Victoria Vinton and Mother’s Milk by Edward St. Aubyn.
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The Practical Writer
The Virtual Book Tour
Writers promote their books online from the comfort of their own homes.
On Submitting Short Stories: Ten Things Never to Do
Steve Almond recounts the "misdemeanors" he committed in the process of submitting his short fiction for publication.
On the Road: The Do-It-Yourself Book Tour
Reading at a barbecue dinner at the small Tennessee university where my father-in-law teaches, addressing an audience in Amarillo that included the high school English teacher who inspired me to write, visiting Flannery O’Connor’s peacock farm...
The Literary Life
Talking It to Death: The Best-Laid Plans Often Go Awry
Writers who talk about their work risk never finishing it.
The Art of Reading Saul Bellow: An Unfinished Symphony
Saul Bellow's work widely influenced American Literature in the years after World War II.