Tag: writers

Essay

Maybe The Most Remarkable Element About Misery Now is the Notion That a Writer Could Have a Stalker

Although Stephen King created Annie Wilkes, it was Rob Reiner who truly brought her to life by making the executive decision to cast Kathy Bates in the 1990 adaptation of the novel. For while it was screenwriter William Goldman who recommended the then relatively unknown theater actress for the part, it was Reiner who had the final say in greenlighting her for the role (which … Continue reading Maybe The Most Remarkable Element About Misery Now is the Notion That a Writer Could Have a Stalker

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Poetry

The Collar by Frank Freeman

in despair—about my writing—why couldn’t I ever get a lucky break?—like when Sherwood Anderson toldHemingway—to go to Paris—and wrotea letter for him to Gertrude Stein—orwhen Jim Harrison met Denise Levertovat a party—and she said—send me some of your poetry—voilà his firstpublished book—believe me—Icould go on—and on—I’ve readall the biographies of famous writers—each had a lucky break—or two—or more—but me?—what aboutme, goddammit!—then I looked atthe calendar—above my … Continue reading The Collar by Frank Freeman

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Essay

Most Writers Can Relate to Wednesday’s Aversions to Being Edited

In many ways, writing is the act of saying I, of imposing oneself upon other people, of saying listen to me, see it my way, change your mind. It’s an aggressive, even a hostile act.  -Joan Didion While Tim Burton’s interpretation of Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) in, what else, Wednesday can be more than occasionally too mawkish for comfort, there is one thing he and … Continue reading Most Writers Can Relate to Wednesday’s Aversions to Being Edited

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Essay

Sally Rooney, Palestine Action and What Writers Are Supposed to Do (Particularly the Errant Few Rich Ones)

Something is rotten in the state of Britain. Well, many things actually. But the thing that’s taken center stage of late is the ongoing arrests of hundreds of people—mostly over sixty—for their support of the recently proscribed organization known as Palestine Action, founded in the apocalyptic year of 2020. Then again, every year since has felt pretty apocalyptic, with ‘25 being no exception. This year, … Continue reading Sally Rooney, Palestine Action and What Writers Are Supposed to Do (Particularly the Errant Few Rich Ones)

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Essay

The Plight of Q Is Something Artists Who Keep Going Despite No Positive Reinforcement (Critically or Financially) Can Relate To

In the first episode of Julio Torres’ HBO series, Fantasmas, one of the many digressions in the “A” (letter pun intended) plotline arrives in the form of Julio’s alphabet story. Specifically, a story about Q. He explains to Chester (Tomas Matos), his “Chester” driver (instead of Uber), Amina (Eudora Peterson), a teacher riding in the Chester cab, and Vanesja (Martine), a performance artist performing as … Continue reading The Plight of Q Is Something Artists Who Keep Going Despite No Positive Reinforcement (Critically or Financially) Can Relate To

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Criticism, Essay

Coraline’s Underlying Warning to the Unborn: Don’t End Up With Writers for Parents

There are a number of key messages to take away from Coraline. At the top of the list is the old platitude, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” (Until it isn’t.) Or, as Ovid once put it, “The harvest is always richer in another man’s field.” However one chooses to phrase it, the point is that everything else seems … Continue reading Coraline’s Underlying Warning to the Unborn: Don’t End Up With Writers for Parents

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Criticism, Essay

What Should You Do When You’re Accused of Plagiarizing But Don’t Really Feel That You Have Based on Your Own Set of Values?, Or: I Can’t Believe Plagiarism Is Incontrovertibly, Inarguably Objective!

Everyone always wants to speak from the outraged and victimized perspective of a person who has been plagiarized, never taking into account the perspective of the one accused. The following is coming from the latter standpoint. The people who believe what they believe (i.e., “plagiarism fundamentalists”) will not be convinced otherwise long enough to open their mind even a single iota about this. But still, … Continue reading What Should You Do When You’re Accused of Plagiarizing But Don’t Really Feel That You Have Based on Your Own Set of Values?, Or: I Can’t Believe Plagiarism Is Incontrovertibly, Inarguably Objective!

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Essay

One-Two Punch: American Fiction and The Other Black Girl Lampoon the Publishing Industry for Its Views on What a “Black” Book Is

Perhaps because so few people care about the publishing world outside of, well, the publishing world, there aren’t nearly enough “taking the ‘literature business’ to task” movies (instead, there are plenty of “taking the movie business to task” offerings [see: Sunset Boulevard, Singin’ in the Rain, The Player, Barton Fink, Adaptation, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Babylon, among others]). Though it could be quite a … Continue reading One-Two Punch: American Fiction and The Other Black Girl Lampoon the Publishing Industry for Its Views on What a “Black” Book Is

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Essay

There Is Absolutely No Empathy For the Writer When It Comes to Construction Work Infecting Their Space

I don’t know how it always seems to happen to me. I find myself in a living condition where, out of nowhere, the building will suddenly “require” (as if) some massive overhaul on its exterior. The kind of overhaul where the coterie of workers is staring you directly in the face right outside the window, liable to make lewd gestures if you look back for … Continue reading There Is Absolutely No Empathy For the Writer When It Comes to Construction Work Infecting Their Space

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Essay

“Try to make it sound like you wrote it that way on purpose”: The French Dispatch is a Bittersweet Reminder of the Bygone Era That Fortified Writers Through Literary Magazines

Edgar Wright might be of the belief that the notion of there being “better days” is a fallacy, but that really doesn’t seem to be true when it comes to literary magazines. An enterprise that long ago achieved its heyday, never to really do so again. For it is a decidedly antiquated medium that is difficult to make “sexy” to anyone except pretentious East Coast … Continue reading “Try to make it sound like you wrote it that way on purpose”: The French Dispatch is a Bittersweet Reminder of the Bygone Era That Fortified Writers Through Literary Magazines

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