Articles Index
What is Poetry?
Poetry is many things to many people. Homer, John Milton, Christopher Marlowe, and of course Shakespeare have each given us enough to fill textbooks. Poems from the Romantic period include Goethe's "Faust", Coleridge's Kubla Khan and Keats' Ode on a Grecian Urn. Shall I go on? Because in order to do so, I would have to continue through 19th century Japanese poetry, early Americans that include Emily Dickinson and T.S. Eliot, postmodernism, experimentalists, slam... so what is poetry?
Interview with Andre Dubus III, Author of 'The Garden of Last Days'
Andre Dubus III is the author most recently of the best-selling novel, 'The Garden of Last Days' (2008) and the National Book Award finalist, 'House of Sand and Fog' (1999). John Formy-Duval was fortunate enough to sit down with Dubus at Raleigh, North Carolina's Quail Ridge Books during the author's recent tour.
William Gibson Interview
The texture of William Gibson's landscapes, his ability to construct fascinatingly compelling characters, his eye for design and culture - historical, present and future. William Gibson was gracious enough to speak with me over the phone from his home in Vancouver, and what resulted was a riveting discussion of design, culture, and "Pattern Recognition."
"The Original Idea: The Heart of Your Story"
Bob Mayer's "The Original Idea: The Heart of Your Story," live-tweeted by Johanna Harness. This wealth of writerly advice came in 140 character chunks from Bob Mayer's session at the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Summer Conference.
The Rock Bottom Remainders
The Rock Bottom Remainders are a rock band composed mainly of writers including Dave Barry, Sam Barry, Stephen King, Ridley Pearson, Scott Turrow, Amy Tan, Matt Groening, James McBride, Mitch Albom, Roy Blount, Jr., Kathi Kamen Goldmark, and Greg Iles.
Elizabeth Kostova
Elizabeth Kostova is the author of The Historian, a chilling historical mystery that reaches from the present day into the medieval past of Vlad the Impaler, Wallachia’s hideously barbarous 15th century ruler whose gruesome deeds gave rise to the legend of Dracula. Kostova’s intricately researched novel traces the paths of a modern-day father and daughter plunging obsessively from ancient village to dank crypt in a quest to destroy the vampire.
Interview with Salman Rusdie
Salman Rushdie is the critically acclaimed author of numerous novels including 'Midnight’s Children,' winner of the Booker Prize. His engaging style of magical realism has thrilled audiences the world over for the past twenty-eight years, and his 2009 period piece, 'The Enchantress of Florence,' is a tour de force of historical fiction.
The Time Traveler's Wife - Prologue
Audrey Niffenegger's debut novel, 'The Time Traveler's Wife,' is one part science fiction and one part love story. It is the compelling tale of Henry DeTamble, a man afflicted with a genetic disorder which causes him to slip sporadically through time, without warning and naked. It is also the story of Clare Abshire, the woman who loves him. Read the prologue.
Audrey Niffenegger Interview
Audrey Niffenegger is the author of "The Time Traveler's Wife," the inventive and unconventionally rendered tale of Clare, a luminously beautiful artist, and Henry, a time-traveler. In our interview, Ms. Niffenegger discussed her art and writing, among other things.
Interview with Joe Meno, author of The Great Perhaps
2009 - Joe Meno speaks about 'The Great Perhaps,' his latest and greatest novel. At 35, Joe Meno is the author of seven books. He also writes short stories, poetry, and plays.
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Amazon's Kindle
Amazon claims to hold the future of reading with an e-book reader called the Kindle. Kindle - as in kindle a fire, kindle your imagination. No, I'm not in love with the name either. Thankfully, Amazon invested more in the design of the product than they did in its naming.
Interview with Neal Stephenson author of Anathem
2008 - Neal Stephenson (Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon) talks about 'Anathem,' his highly anticipated return to science fiction, the very Earth-based philosophy woven into his new novel, and his writing regimen.
Neal Stephenson: 7.9.2003
Bestselling author Neal Stephenson's latest book, Quicksilver, follows the fortunes of an unforgettable cast of vagabonds and geniuses in the 17th and 18th centuries. Quicksilver is a funny, smart, and engaging historical novel, part of the larger story of Stephenson's Baroque Cycle.
Interview with Manil Suri, Author of The Age of Shiva
Manil Suri has written two remarkable novels. The Death of Vishnu (2001) debuted to universal and well-deserved critical acclaim. The Age of Shiva (2008) is also receiving comparable praise. While the first was a microscopic view of one day in the life and death of one man in India, the second spreads across three decades of Indian independence and one woman's rebellion against tradition. This interview with Manil Suri took place in Raleigh, NC in February, 2008.
A Genius In Flip-Flops: An Interview With Christopher Moore
Christopher Moore is in rare company in the funny business. How many novelists make a big splash with books that are not just witty but laugh-out-loud, tears-rolling-down-your-creeks funny? There's Kurt Vonnegut, John Steinbeck, Tim Sandlin and Carl Hiaasen on the American side, a short list indeed. On the other side of the Atlantic, there's Douglas Adams, who inspired Moore's first book, and a host of other funnymen like Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, and Terry Pratchett, among others.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Excerpt
A young Pakistani's rise to success in America is violently interrupted on September 11. Mohsin Hamid delivers this young man's story as a sustained monologue describing how everything in his life turns upside down from 9/11 forward. Read the excerpt.
Exile on Main St.: A Season in Hell with the Rolling Stones - EXCERPT
Recorded during the blazing-hot summer of 1971 in the basement of Keith Richards's palatial mansion by the sea in the south of France, Exile on Main Street freezes forever in time a moment when the Rolling Stones and their counterculture audience found themselves at a crossroads. Groundbreaking music journalist Robert Greenfield was there.
The Intellectual Devotional - Week 1
Millions of Americans keep bedside books of prayer and meditative reflection—collections of daily passages to stimulate spiritual thought and advancement. The Intellectual Devotional is a secular version of the same—a collection of 365 short lessons that will inspire and invigorate the reader every day of the year. Each daily digest of wisdom is drawn from one of seven fields of knowledge: history, literature, philosophy, mathematics and science, religion, fine arts, and music.
Charles Frazier, author of Thirteen Moons
Quail Ridge Books kicked off Charles Frazier’s national tour on October 3 at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. Nearly 600 fans and media representatives turned out to hear Frazier. The following account is not a verbatim rendering although it captures the essence of Frazier’s message.
Neil Gaiman Interview
Neil Gaiman is the author of the novels Neverwhere (1996), Stardust (1999), Coraline (2002), a childrens' novel, American Gods (2001), and Good Omens (1990), a comic novel co-written with Terry Pratchett; the Sandman (1988-1996) series of comics as well as other comics; Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Companion (1988); many short stories, several childrens' books, and a number of screenplays. His latest novel is Anansi Boys, published September 20, 2005.
Eavesdropping At The Dream Factory
A night with Neil Gaiman, let alone one with his multi-talented partner in crime Dave McKean, is always a bit weird, really. Even though I’ve shot the breeze with Gaiman’s eclectic contemporaries like Christopher Moore and Chuck Palahniuk, those nights still feel like, well, readings. Neil, the bestselling author of “American Gods” and the “Sandman” series, always seems more like a visiting rock star.
All Aunt Hagar's Children by Edward P. Jones
Edward P. Jones has filled this collection of stories with people who call Washington, D.C., home. "All Aunt Hagar's Children" turns an unflinching eye to the men, women, and children caught between the old ways of the South and the temptations that await them further north, people who in Jones's masterful hands, emerge as fully human and morally complex, whether they are country folk used to getting up with the chickens or people with centuries of education behind them.
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
The Memory Keeper's Daughter begins on a winter night in 1964, when a blizzard forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy, but the doctor immediately recognizes that his daughter has Down's syndrome. For motives he tells himself are good, he makes a decision that will haunt all their lives forever. He asks his nurse, Caroline, to take the baby away to an institution. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child as her own.
The Woman at the Washington Zoo - Excerpt
Marjorie Williams wrote political profiles for The Washington Post and Vanity Fair that came to be considered the final word on the capital's most powerful figures. This splendid collection digs into the psyche of the nation's capital, revealing not only the hidden selves of the people who run it, but the messy lives that the rest of us lead.