Entries from November 2009
Nov. 29, 2009
As if they had been around all along
The best new movies carry intimations of permanence along with their novelty and very quickly start to seem as if they had been around all along. — A. O. Scott, “Screen Memories” in last week’s Times Magazine That odd feeling you get when you first run into great artworks — they “very quickly start to [...]
Tags: art criticism
Nov. 25, 2009
Title Trouble
I remember the moment I came up with the title “Mission Flats” for my first novel. It was late, long past midnight. The house was quiet. I lay in bed unable to sleep, which is common for me. (I am a chronic insomniac.) I had been playing around with the word “mission” for the title. [...]
Tags: Defending Jacob · Mission Flats · The Strangler
Nov. 20, 2009
“This Is Where I Leave You”
“This Is Where I Leave You” by Jonathan Tropper is a terrific novel, smart, raunchy, touching, keenly observed, and very funny.
Tags: Jonathan Tropper
Nov. 15, 2009
Cormac McCarthy: “My Perfect Day”
“Your future gets shorter, and you recognize that. In recent years, I have had no desire to do anything but work and be with [my son] John. I hear people talking about going on a vacation or something and I think, what is that about? I have no desire to go on a trip. My [...]
Tags: Cormac McCarthy · quotes for writers
Nov. 10, 2009
F. Scott Fitzgerald: “Swimming under water”
“All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald, from an undated letter to his daughter Scottie, reprinted in The Crack-Up (1945)
Nov. 9, 2009
Ted Kooser: “Daddy Longlegs”
Here, on fine long legs springy as steel, / a life rides, sealed in a small brown pill / that skims along over the basement floor / wrapped up in a simple obsession….
Tags: poems · Ted Kooser
Nov. 6, 2009
“Productivity Stems From Passion”
A poster by graphic designer Frank Chimero. Writers (and other creatives), take note.
Tags: Frank Chimero · writing tips
Nov. 5, 2009
Book 3 Update: The Final Push
As a deadline looms, an update on a novel in progress
Tags: Defending Jacob · My Books · writing life
Nov. 3, 2009
Walt Whitman for Levi’s
A cool ad for Levi’s jeans features a Walt Whitman poem, Pioneers! O Pioneers! (video)
Tags: advertising · video · Walt Whitman
