Novelist Jonathan Franzen talks about his hiatus from writing fiction, the literary influences that helped shape his new work, and the fun of writing his third novel, The Corrections, a lyrical family drama nine years in the making.
September/October 2001
Features
The Pound and the Fury: A Postcolonial Conversation With Hanif Kureishi
A profile of Pakistani British author Hanif Kureishi.
Making the Corrections: An Interview With Jonathan Franzen
An interview with Jonathan Franzen.
Small Press Pride
Soft Skull: Shrieking Buzzbombs, Sizzling Grenades
Profile of radical independent publisher Soft Skull Press and its founder, Sander Hicks.
Brooding Heron: A Working Tradition
Married poets Sam and Sally Green discuss their baby, Brooding Heron Press.
Dalkey Archive: Broadening Book Culture
Dalkey Archive Press is one of the few publishers in the world that keeps books permanently in print.
Sixteen Rivers Press: Collective Consciousness
Sixteen Rivers Press, a nonprofit poetry collective dedicated to San Francisco Bay Area poets.
Six Small Houses and Their Youth Brigade
Profiles of Akashic Books, Versus Press, Algonquin Books, Open City Books, Persea Books, and Graywolf Press.
News and Trends
Celebrity Writers Seek Legitimacy
Ethan Hawke, Jewel, and other celebrities influencing the book publishing industry.
Collins Named New Laureate
Billy Collins succeeds Stanley Kunitz, becoming the eleventh poet laureate of the United States.
Making Frost Sing
Elisabeth von Trapp, granddaughter of Baroness Maria, sets Robert Frost's poetry to music.
The Practical Writer
How to Give a Rousing Reading: Advice From an Amplified Author
Advice on reading your work in public.
Should Writers Kiss & Tell? Revealing the Nonfiction Behind Fiction
A discussion on whether to reveal the true stories that inspire fiction.
11 Ways of Looking at a Contract: How to Secure a Fair Deal
How to secure a fair deal.
The Literary Life
The Art of Reading: Sentimental, Heartbroken Rednecks
A profile of the late Southern writer Breece D'J Pancake.
The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative
An excerpt from Gornick's book about memoir writing.