“One of the traditional functions we have allocated to poets is that of outscale desirer.”
“Vituperation is a defense against vapidity.”
A rash of tweets on the future of American fiction—and responding to n+1’s “MFA vs. NYC” essay—transcribed and repackaged as a “Twitter essay.”
Declassified documents show that the U.S. paid money to support Hugo Banzer’s 1971 coup. Excerpted by Harper’s, HNN, and 3 Quarks Daily.
A novel about Chilean poets by someone not named Bolaño.
Excerpted by, responded to, and argued with at
The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Guardian, The Millions, and The Rumpus. Translated in collaboration with Wes Enzinna.Featuring Madeleine Albright, James Woolsey, Bob Kerrey, Michele Flournoy, Nathaniel Fick, Andrew Bacevich, and others.
With Joshua Kotin. A survey of gender (in)equity in poetry publishing. See here for a long list of responses to the “Numbers Trouble” suite of which this note was part.
An essay on religion, a road trip, and a brilliant book of poetry.
An appreciation of a brief moment in the
Vita Nuova.What the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia might mean for Uganda’s presidential election.
A review of the 2009 National Book Award winner in Poetry.
Finalist for the 2010 3 Quarks Daily Arts and Literature Prize.
A response to Kent Johnson’s “Some Darker Bouquets.” (See other responses here.)
A review of the 2008 NBCC award winner in Poetry.
A review of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize winner in Poetry.
Horrifying knowledge does not make horrifying poetry.
See McGrath’s response here.
Homage to a writing hero.
On Buddy Miller, Jim Lauderdale, and country music in New York City.
On the secret legacy of Bolivia’s political past.
Poetry editors Christian Wiman and Don Share discuss it here.