by Marin Sardy
There was also something rigid about Gram Julia, a staunch inflexibility about how she behaved and how she interpreted things—traits associated with schizophrenia…. Later an uncle recoiled at the idea. The family already had a story in place to explain Gram Julia. “Selfish,” they said. “A character.” Continue reading
by Juhi Singhal Karan
What do authors need “in order to release [their] imagination,” as Toni Morrison put it? . . . The process of writing is as fascinating as the written word itself, as will be evident from these five bloomers, each of whom had their own unique ritual. Continue reading
by Kaulie Lewis
Cathe Shubert considered both Ozick’s and Bovy’s essays as reflections on that essential question: “Why do we write? . . . Perhaps, she seems to suggest, the answers of “young” and “old” authors are more similar than we think. Continue reading
I believe that intentions matter. They matter in life and they matter in writing fiction. If you sincerely want to explore the humanity of a character who happens to be of a different race, that sincerity will shine through. Readers are so awesomely smart. Continue reading
by Kaulie Lewis
But a darker side of Wilder’s semi-autobiographical children’s series is revealed in the new version of her first work, Pioneer Girl . . . This restored autobiography includes details and stories judged too adult for the Little House books. Continue reading
by Bonnie ZoBell
I was quite the voyeur as a babysitter. Even then, I wanted to know what made people tick. I looked through closets, under beds, trying to discover folks’ secrets, who they really were. Were other families more normal than mine? Continue reading
by Edward Porter
This democracy of narrative importance makes The Known World a favorite in the academy . . . [W]hat’s more, the novel’s egalitarian agenda extends to the worst of its characters as well as the best—it levels in both directions. Continue reading
