Monthly Archives: September 2009
Shaun Tan is one of the most interesting comics creators working now. Last year he broke through with his picture novel The Arrival, seen above. This is from an interview with the Guardian, in which he comments on fiction writing: … Continue reading
Filed under fiction, graphic novels
High Fives All Around
Dear MacArthur Foundation Fellows Committee: I am just walking around smiling about what I’ll get to read from Deborah Eisenberg in a few years. Your job must be amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Alex * * … Continue reading
Filed under letters to you
Daeji Bulgogi Tacos
A few weeks back I was having friends over for my birthday. I wanted to try making some Korean tacos LA-Kogi-BBQ-truck-style, which is to say, inspired by them—they ARE the masters. So I sat and read their online menu and … Continue reading
Using Ford Madox Ford to Fix Wolverine
This last summer, at the same time that I was thinking about Ford Madox Ford’s theory of fiction writing, I went to go see maybe the most disappointing of the summer films, X-Man Origins: Wolverine. It’s just come out on … Continue reading
Filed under animal savagery, fiction, film, novels
Why Must the Novel Be Boring?
Yesterday, in my Fiction II class, as the students introduced themselves I asked them to speak about what they’d been reading over the summer. One student impressively admitted to reading both Underworld and Infinite Jest. Another, though, shyly said she … Continue reading
Mary Gaitskill, circa 2000
Mary Gaitskill, on victimization and personal responsiblity in viewing art.
