Tag: books
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George Plimpton, Graywolf Press and the State of Literature Today
Today’s podcast of The Writing Bull offers you a two-fer: Years ago I had the opportunity to interview one of the founders and the editor of The Paris Review, George Plimpton. You might recognize him, his face popped up all over the place in the second half of the twentieth century, playing in a professional baseball game…
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Summer Reading Begins
The semester is over, the students are heading home, some are hanging around to graduate. It rained last night, and today the clouds reign. A wonderful morning to begin summer reading. I never know what I’m going to start with. I just wander around in the library until something grabs me. And this year, once…
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The Art of Reading
As much as there is an art to creative writing, I also believe there is an art to reading. Most everyone can read. But most of us read only for information. Our eyes run across the Facebook page, taking in the news feeds and other people’s lives. Then our eyes move on. But, real reading–that is, reading…
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To Read, Perchance, to Survive.
There were always books in the house. My father, a mechanic and coal miner, loved history and science. Mom read historical novels and mysteries. Somewhere around fifth grade, I got into the James Bond series. We didn’t own any of these books; Mom and I visited the local library in Rogersville, Tennessee (population 4,802) once…
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Writers: Keep Your Day Job
When I tell someone that I’ve finished writing a novel, sometimes they ask, “So, when’s it coming out?” They know I have a number of novels already published. In their minds, I am an established writer, and each novel I produce ultimately goes to market. This ain’t the case, at all. The writing world is…