For The Book Obsessed
[ad_1] Published in the Winter 2022 issue of Michigan Quarterly Review, Joe Sacksteder’s craft essay, “Against Quirky Writing,” captures many of the editorial frustrations I find when regularly reading through submissions. The trend toward defamiliarizing and unconventional prose is not so bad on its own, but when unusual language and complex punctuation are all that … Read more
[ad_1] Around the time that Donald Trump was elected president in late 2016, a phrase began circulating periodically on my social media feeds: “We are the granddaughters of the witches you couldn’t burn.” This pithy rejoinder to patriarchal overreach was taken from a 2015 Tish Thawer novel but has since taken on a life of … Read more
[ad_1] One of my favorite things about reading fiction is that it allows us to study contradictions within people: How we appear to someone who doesn’t know us well can be very different from who we actually are. This disconnect between our public and private selves is a veritable playground for fiction writers to explore, … Read more
[ad_1] For as long as sports shape so much of our culture—globally, nationally, and locally—the stories we tell about them will shape us, too. In the United States, football remains the most popular sport, generating billions of dollars in revenue every year. Women and other people of marginalized genders have been systematically shut out of … Read more
[ad_1] It is tempting to separate the arc of Jhumpa Lahiri’s career in two distinct eras—her early work, sparse, understated fiction of the Indian diaspora, and her later work, in and out of the Italian language and immersed in Italian culture. Yet, upon reading her collection of essays Translating Myself and Others, which focuses primarily … Read more
[ad_1] “Generous reading” is an approach to ideas that was in vogue among my friends in college. In brief, its precepts demand that new and even disagreeable arguments be afforded as much credence as possible. One could be critical only after deeply entertaining the worldview presented, suspending disbelief beyond the confines of fiction. But when … Read more
[ad_1] Captivating and brimming with love for queer life in all its weird glory, Lydia Conklin’s debut collection is by turns exuberant, tragic, funny, and whisper-quiet. Conklin’s luminescent portrayals open a doorway into the queer universe for readers of all stripes. Walk through, Conklin beckons, make yourself at home. This collection takes its title, Rainbow … Read more
[ad_1] After a cold and endless winter, the summer season is finally upon us. Whether that means long-awaited and far-flung travels or sticking close to home, you’ll be in need of a good book by your side. Luckily there’s an abundance of great titles coming out this month. Below are twelve that we particularly recommend … Read more
[ad_1] What is art, and maybe more importantly, what isn’t art? It’s a question that only seems to gain relevance, as more and more narratives come to us in the form of franchises, brand tie-ins, and other forms of marketing disguised as story. Thankfully, Alexander Maksik’s latest novel, The Long Corner, is none of those … Read more
[ad_1] Paige Clark’s debut short story collection, She Is Haunted, considers how we handle loss in the modern world. Whether due to a casual fling mistaken for intimacy, or the death of a loved one, navigating the end of complicated relationships can raise the question of how much control we have over our own identities. … Read more