Writing

Though there probably are exceptions, I think that the worst thing an author can do is to read his/her own work. In almost every case, this is a very bad idea.

I loved this book so much that I held it to my lips and kissed the back cover a moment after I read the last page.

If I write a blog about my cute dog, then I court The Dog Problem. I have been aware of The Dog Problem for some time (it is a relative of the Cat Video or an F bomb – not a lowbrow easy laugh, but a lazy emotional conveyance) but I had never heard that name put to it until a workshop last spring with Meg Wolitzer…

It happened that I was travelling when I heard the news that Mavis Gallant had died. And it bugged me that I had no one to talk to about her. As a writer, she was more to be admired than loved.  Her prose was terribly dense, her themes rarely transparent....

I know a fair amount about Philip Roth. I’ve seen two films based on his work – namely Goodbye Columbus, years ago, and The Human Stain, recently (and holy moly, what an incredible amount of PLOT there is!)…