As I write in my latest feature for the Chronicle (UPDATE: the link is now free), translation is “having a moment, or a series of moments.” It was the presidential theme of the Modern Language Association’s most recent convention. Two university-affiliated publishing ventures, Dalkey Archive at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Open Letter… Continue reading »
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Old Year, Old Biz, New Year, New Media
Happy New Year, everyone. Like a lot of people I know, I was not sorry to see the back of 2009, a year in which some very unpleasant things–personal, financial, global–occurred. There were good moments, too, which I try to remember to be grateful for–catastrophes narrowly avoided, for instance, and some fiction published. Even though… Continue reading »
More Fiction: Flash Forward Edition
The Collagist is a new online magazine published by Dzanc Books and edited by the writer Matt Bell. I have a flash-fiction threesome (“Twenty Questions,” “It’s Me,” “It’s You”) in the Decmeber issue. Please take a look if you have a chance. You can also read an interview with me here. It feels good to… Continue reading »
How to Talk to the Media: Tips for Scholars
I was down in New Orleans late last month to give a talk at the Society of Biblical Literature conference. The topic: How to Talk to the Media. It was useful for me to think about the transactions between experts and journalists. I heard some eye-opening war stories from scholars who feel that they have… Continue reading »
Ten More Things I’m Thoroughly Sick Of
In no particular order of magnitude or irksomeness: The Tiger Woods non-story The White House party crashers barely-a-story story Malcolm Gladwell-bashing Kindle sales-figure updates Pronouncements about The Future of News The rise of the memoir genre “The Nutracker” already (and it’s only Dec. 1) The word “provocative” applied to claims or assertions made by authors… Continue reading »
