A seasoned poet and short story writer, Sandra Cisneros makes her novel debut with Caramelo, a Mexican-American family's saga nine years in the making.
September/October 2002
Features
Truth, Lies, and Memory: A Profile of Sandra Cisneros
An interview with the Mexican-American writer about her book Caramelo.
In Defiance of Gravity: A Final Interview with Kenneth Koch
A profile of New York School poet Kenneth Koch.
Going for the Bone: A Profile of Elizabeth Evans
An interview with fiction writer Elizabeth Evans about her novella and short story collection, Suicide's Girlfriend.
In Defiance of Gravity
INDEPENDENT PRESSES
24th Street Irregular Press: Books for All
24th Street Irregular Press, a miniature poetry publisher.
Handsel Books: The Other Imprint
A profile of Handsel Books.
Impassio Press: Defining a New Genre
Impassio Press: a publisher of journals, diaries, and literary essay fragments.
Small Beer Press: Going Alternative
Brooklyn-based genre fiction publisher.
Chapbook Roundup
A brief look at chapbook publishers.
News and Trends
Black Sparrow Folds Its Wings
Black Sparrow Press, based in Santa Rosa, California, began in 1966 as a vehicle for John Martin to publish the work that he loved, but went on to become a financial success. It published more than 650 titles, with annual sales eventually rising to more than $1 million, which is why it came as a surprise to many in the publishing industry when Black Sparrow went out of business last spring.
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 One Story, Chicago Review, Boston Review, Agni, Ploughshares, Poetry, Blackbird, and Creative Nonfiction.
Linguaphiles Unite
A Word A Day: A Romp Through Some of the Most Unusual and Intriguing Words in English—a collection of 273 unusual, obscure, and exotic words inspired by Anu Garg's linguistic e-mail service, A.Word.A.Day—will be published by John Wiley & Sons in October.
When Literature Goes Hollywood
Three new films based on books of fiction are scheduled to be released in October: Ethan Canin's The Palace Thief, Michael Cunningham's The Hours (which features an all-star cast including Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Claire Danes, and Ed Harris), and Janet Fitch's White Oleander.
Anthologies Mark Year of Reflection
Over three hundred poems, short stories, and essays written in response to the events of last September have been collected in three new anthologies: September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond, Poetry After 9/11: An Anthology of New York Poets, and 110 Stories: New York Writes After September 11.
The Practical Writer
The Glossies: Eight Fiction Editors Reveal Trade Secrets
How to publish short stories in high-profile magazines.
False Light: An Illuminating Look at Libel
How writers can protect themselves from libel.
The Literary Life
Paths and Pearls: A Poet Ponders Memoir and Lyric
The capabilities of memoir versus poetry.
Stuff: The Power of the Tangible
How to minimize abstractions and use concrete nouns in your writing.