~
While I was at the conference in New York, I bought a copy of Late Wife by Claudia Emerson (from the Southern Messenger Poets series, Louisiana State University Press, 2005). This book also won The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2006, though I was (ever shallow) first drawn to its appearance.
These four were my favorites from the collection:
"Pitching Horseshoes" (originally published in Blackbird, Spring 2003, Volume 2, Number 1)
"The Practice Cage"
"Driving Glove"
"Buying the Painted Turtle" (originally published in Shenandoah)
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Two Stories from One Story, One from Steve Almond, and a Novel
~
Given the reasonable subscription price and the time-friendly format, it's not difficult to read everything published by One Story. The stories are also consistently excellent, so I feel like it's saying something that these two have stood out in my mind:
"Culottes" by Eileen FitzGerald (One Story, Issue Number 82, October 20, 2006)
"What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us" by Laura van den Berg (One Story, Issue Number 102, March 10, 2008)
I finally finished Steve Almond's The Evil B.B. Chow and Other Stories (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2005). Steve Almond's stories typically feature great beginnings and witty, acerbic observations. I'd read some of his other writing (e.g., the novel he co-wrote with Julianna and many of his dead-on essays for Poets and Writers) and admired his style. In The Evil B.B. Chow, though, he does use language and subject matter that are more graphic than he might use in, say, a P&W essay. At any rate, the story that really got me was one toward the end: "Wired for Life," which originally appeared in The Missouri Review.
And I'm going to add one other book here, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (first published in 1847). I just find it remarkable that this novel, comprised of plot points that make it seem almost impossibly dated, can still strike a chord.
Given the reasonable subscription price and the time-friendly format, it's not difficult to read everything published by One Story. The stories are also consistently excellent, so I feel like it's saying something that these two have stood out in my mind:
"Culottes" by Eileen FitzGerald (One Story, Issue Number 82, October 20, 2006)
"What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us" by Laura van den Berg (One Story, Issue Number 102, March 10, 2008)
I finally finished Steve Almond's The Evil B.B. Chow and Other Stories (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2005). Steve Almond's stories typically feature great beginnings and witty, acerbic observations. I'd read some of his other writing (e.g., the novel he co-wrote with Julianna and many of his dead-on essays for Poets and Writers) and admired his style. In The Evil B.B. Chow, though, he does use language and subject matter that are more graphic than he might use in, say, a P&W essay. At any rate, the story that really got me was one toward the end: "Wired for Life," which originally appeared in The Missouri Review.
And I'm going to add one other book here, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (first published in 1847). I just find it remarkable that this novel, comprised of plot points that make it seem almost impossibly dated, can still strike a chord.
Monday, July 21, 2008
"The Happy Memories Club"
~
Best of the South: From the Second Decade of New Stories from the South (1996-2005), edited by Shannon Ravenel, with stories selected and introduced by Anne Tyler, has been on my nightstand for years now. It sounds silly, but there are certain books that I've looked forward to so much that I don't want to spoil the anticipation by actually reading them.
Anyway, I've read some real clunkers lately and needed something good. So I finally opened Best of the South yesterday, and immediately read a short story that I've read numerous times: "The Happy Memories Club" by Lee Smith. It was originally published in The Atlantic Monthly, and it's one of my all-time favorite stories.
The writing is good, of course--sharp, sometimes funny, perfectly wrought--but there is also something about this story that is just so poignant.
LINKS:
"The Happy Memories Club" at The Atlantic Monthly online
Lee Smith reading "The Happy Memories Club" in the audio archive for the WUNC 91.5 FM show "The State of Things"
News of the Spirit (a collection of short stories by Lee Smith), New Stories from the South (1996), and Best of the South (1996-2005), all of which include "The Happy Memories Club"
Best of the South: From the Second Decade of New Stories from the South (1996-2005), edited by Shannon Ravenel, with stories selected and introduced by Anne Tyler, has been on my nightstand for years now. It sounds silly, but there are certain books that I've looked forward to so much that I don't want to spoil the anticipation by actually reading them.
Anyway, I've read some real clunkers lately and needed something good. So I finally opened Best of the South yesterday, and immediately read a short story that I've read numerous times: "The Happy Memories Club" by Lee Smith. It was originally published in The Atlantic Monthly, and it's one of my all-time favorite stories.
The writing is good, of course--sharp, sometimes funny, perfectly wrought--but there is also something about this story that is just so poignant.
LINKS:
"The Happy Memories Club" at The Atlantic Monthly online
Lee Smith reading "The Happy Memories Club" in the audio archive for the WUNC 91.5 FM show "The State of Things"
News of the Spirit (a collection of short stories by Lee Smith), New Stories from the South (1996), and Best of the South (1996-2005), all of which include "The Happy Memories Club"
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead
~
It's taken several weeks, but I've finally finished every story in the anthology I've been reading: My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead: Great Love Stories, from Chekhov to Munro edited by Jeffrey Eugenides (HarperCollins, 2008).
Intimidated by Eugenides's introductory description of Robert Musil's "difficult and rather punishing 'Tonka,'" I read it last, though I mainly found the story intriguing. There were quite a few familiar stories in the anthology (Chekhov's "The Lady with the Little Dog," Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," Nabokov's "Spring in Fialta," Raymond Carver's "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love") combined with several authors/stories which were refreshingly new, at least to me (Eileen Chang's "Red Rose, White Rose," David Bezmozgis's "Natasha," Richard Ford's "Fireworks," Milan Kundera's "The Hitchhiking Game").
This was a strong collection overall, but my two favorites were "Something That Needs Nothing" by Miranda July and "The Bear Came Over the Mountain" by Alice Munro. One other story that stood out in my mind was "Jon" by George Saunders.
Amazon's page for the book includes Q & A with Jeffrey Eugenides, including a note about a story he selected but wasn't able to include ("Brokeback Mountain" by Annie Proulx) and information about the student writing programs offered by 826 Chicago (which will receive all author proceeds from sales of the anthology).
It's taken several weeks, but I've finally finished every story in the anthology I've been reading: My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead: Great Love Stories, from Chekhov to Munro edited by Jeffrey Eugenides (HarperCollins, 2008).
Intimidated by Eugenides's introductory description of Robert Musil's "difficult and rather punishing 'Tonka,'" I read it last, though I mainly found the story intriguing. There were quite a few familiar stories in the anthology (Chekhov's "The Lady with the Little Dog," Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," Nabokov's "Spring in Fialta," Raymond Carver's "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love") combined with several authors/stories which were refreshingly new, at least to me (Eileen Chang's "Red Rose, White Rose," David Bezmozgis's "Natasha," Richard Ford's "Fireworks," Milan Kundera's "The Hitchhiking Game").
This was a strong collection overall, but my two favorites were "Something That Needs Nothing" by Miranda July and "The Bear Came Over the Mountain" by Alice Munro. One other story that stood out in my mind was "Jon" by George Saunders.
Amazon's page for the book includes Q & A with Jeffrey Eugenides, including a note about a story he selected but wasn't able to include ("Brokeback Mountain" by Annie Proulx) and information about the student writing programs offered by 826 Chicago (which will receive all author proceeds from sales of the anthology).
Monday, June 30, 2008
Short fiction by Thomas Kearnes
~
I recently read "The Game of Memory," a short story by Thomas Kearnes, at Pequin (where the writing is "hotter than habanero"). I liked the story so much that I looked around for some of his previously published work. Below are links to a few other stories:
"Last Dance" by Thomas Kearnes (SmokeLong Quarterly, Issue 15)
"A Failed Story About My Father" by Thomas Kearnes (Thieves Jargon, May 11, 2008)
"Girl on the Floor" by Thomas Kearnes, read by Ann Rushton (Bound Off: Literary Audio Podcast, Issue 11, December 15, 2006)
I recently read "The Game of Memory," a short story by Thomas Kearnes, at Pequin (where the writing is "hotter than habanero"). I liked the story so much that I looked around for some of his previously published work. Below are links to a few other stories:
"Last Dance" by Thomas Kearnes (SmokeLong Quarterly, Issue 15)
"A Failed Story About My Father" by Thomas Kearnes (Thieves Jargon, May 11, 2008)
"Girl on the Floor" by Thomas Kearnes, read by Ann Rushton (Bound Off: Literary Audio Podcast, Issue 11, December 15, 2006)
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Eat, Pray, Love
Well, I think I've finally caught up with everyone else in America by reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. For some reason, I was under the impression that this was a self-help book, but it is (of course) really a memoir about divorce, depression, travel, enlightenment, spirituality, and amazing Italian food, among other things.
This is a book that has really stuck with me; I've been reading it since the end of April, when I picked up my sister-in-law's half-finished copy and couldn't put it down. I ended up thinking about it for the entire hour that I was stuck in traffic in Toronto on the way home, and as soon as possible I got a copy for myself so that I could continue reading. It was slow going, though; there was too much to think about and process. It may not be a self-help book per se, at least not in the sense that I thought it was, but it did speak to a lot of things I've been thinking about over the last couple of years.
For anybody who's already read Eat, Pray, Love and was as bewitched by it as I was, Elizabeth Gilbert's website has a page of frequently asked questions about the journey she took. There are also photographs of some of the people and places she described in the book. Good stuff.
This is a book that has really stuck with me; I've been reading it since the end of April, when I picked up my sister-in-law's half-finished copy and couldn't put it down. I ended up thinking about it for the entire hour that I was stuck in traffic in Toronto on the way home, and as soon as possible I got a copy for myself so that I could continue reading. It was slow going, though; there was too much to think about and process. It may not be a self-help book per se, at least not in the sense that I thought it was, but it did speak to a lot of things I've been thinking about over the last couple of years.
For anybody who's already read Eat, Pray, Love and was as bewitched by it as I was, Elizabeth Gilbert's website has a page of frequently asked questions about the journey she took. There are also photographs of some of the people and places she described in the book. Good stuff.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Lars and the Real Girl (and other stories)
~
Last December, I saw Lars and the Real Girl (2007) in the theatre, and then again yesterday on DVD. This film is really charming, with a strong story line and a pitch-perfect cast. Nancy Oliver's screenplay was nominated for an Oscar and several other awards, and Ryan Gosling and Emily Mortimer also received recognition for their respective roles.
One of Ryan Gosling's earlier movies, Half Nelson (2006), is also one of my current favorites. It's a lot darker than Lars but also an intensely well-crafted piece with its own string of award nominations/wins.
To add to this tangential list, one of Emily Mortimer's earlier movies, Lovely and Amazing (2001), also features really strong performances from her, Catherine Keener, and virtually everyone else in the movie, including a young Jake Gyllenhaal. This movie was written and directed by Nicole Holofcener and was described in one quote on the cover as a "witty moving comedy!" Lovely and Amazing was witty, and it was moving, but in my opinion, it was definitely more of a drama.
Stranger Than Fiction (2006) featured Will Ferrell in a straight role. I think the man is a talented comedian, but after watching him on Saturday Night Live and later in a string of occasionally funny comedies, I wasn't sure he could carry this off. I was very pleasantly surprised by his acting in this movie. Maggie Gyllenhaal (Jake's sister) played the baker that Will Ferrell's IRS agent character is auditing, and Emma Thompson played an author with writer's block.
I don't know if I can continue the connect-the-actors element of this post, but there are a few other strong scripts I'd like to add to the list:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004, starring Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, and--in a minor role--Mark Ruffalo),
The Truman Show (1998, also starring Jim Carrey and the lovely Laura Linney, who starred in 2000's You Can Count on Me with Mark Ruffalo),
Love Actually (2003, with a large ensemble cast including Emma Thompson, Laura Linney, Colin Firth, and Hugh Grant),
Sideways (2004, with the underappreciated Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, and Sandra Oh),
and Little Miss Sunshine (2006, with Abigail Breslin, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Alan Arkin as the grandfather you might not want your kids to hear, the incomparable Steve Carell, and Bryan Cranston in a small but pivotal role).
Last December, I saw Lars and the Real Girl (2007) in the theatre, and then again yesterday on DVD. This film is really charming, with a strong story line and a pitch-perfect cast. Nancy Oliver's screenplay was nominated for an Oscar and several other awards, and Ryan Gosling and Emily Mortimer also received recognition for their respective roles.
One of Ryan Gosling's earlier movies, Half Nelson (2006), is also one of my current favorites. It's a lot darker than Lars but also an intensely well-crafted piece with its own string of award nominations/wins.
To add to this tangential list, one of Emily Mortimer's earlier movies, Lovely and Amazing (2001), also features really strong performances from her, Catherine Keener, and virtually everyone else in the movie, including a young Jake Gyllenhaal. This movie was written and directed by Nicole Holofcener and was described in one quote on the cover as a "witty moving comedy!" Lovely and Amazing was witty, and it was moving, but in my opinion, it was definitely more of a drama.
Stranger Than Fiction (2006) featured Will Ferrell in a straight role. I think the man is a talented comedian, but after watching him on Saturday Night Live and later in a string of occasionally funny comedies, I wasn't sure he could carry this off. I was very pleasantly surprised by his acting in this movie. Maggie Gyllenhaal (Jake's sister) played the baker that Will Ferrell's IRS agent character is auditing, and Emma Thompson played an author with writer's block.
I don't know if I can continue the connect-the-actors element of this post, but there are a few other strong scripts I'd like to add to the list:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004, starring Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, and--in a minor role--Mark Ruffalo),
The Truman Show (1998, also starring Jim Carrey and the lovely Laura Linney, who starred in 2000's You Can Count on Me with Mark Ruffalo),
Love Actually (2003, with a large ensemble cast including Emma Thompson, Laura Linney, Colin Firth, and Hugh Grant),
Sideways (2004, with the underappreciated Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, and Sandra Oh),
and Little Miss Sunshine (2006, with Abigail Breslin, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Alan Arkin as the grandfather you might not want your kids to hear, the incomparable Steve Carell, and Bryan Cranston in a small but pivotal role).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)