nomadreader

The backstory: I've really been enjoying collections of essays lately, and MFA vs. NYC  is perhaps this year's most buzzed about edited volume. It's theme also echoes many of the essays in  Goodbye to All That , which I adored . The basics: Divided into two large sections (MFA and NYC) and three smaller ones, MFA vs. NYC takes its name from an essay editor Chad Harbach originally wrote for n+1 . The other essays are a mix of those written for this collection and those adapted from earlier pieces. My thoughts: Part of what has drawn me to personal essays lately is the fascination with what it means to be a writer. In MFA vs. NYC , that theme is on full display, but it's bigger picture is the current state of American fiction. Obviously, writers are critical to that, and each essay offers different ideas and insights into what exactly it means to be a writer. I've never seriously thought about enrolling in an MFA program, and what surprised me most about thi...

The basics: When Regina Gottlieb begins a graduate program in English at a prestigious upstate New York university, she was familiar with the rumors about Professor Nicholas Brodeur. When she accepts a job as his teaching assistant, the novel takes off. Note: This review references some minor spoilers. All spoilers discussed are mentioned in the publisher's summary, which means some may not consider them spoilers, but as I reader, I did. My thoughts: I have somewhat complicated thoughts about My Education . I adore novels about higher education, and this one started off thoroughly enmeshed in the culture of both the university and a town that sound very much like Cornell and Ithaca, New York to me. Regina is a fascinating enough character, and as Choi makes her intentions clear, my interest was certainly piqued. As a reader, I was surprised the first twist of sorts was soon followed by my own disengagement with the characters. The middle of My Education  was at times tough-...

Last Thursday, I reviewed If You Follow Me by Malena Watrous. I loved the book, and I've read quite a few interviews with her on blogs, in old media and the one included in the back of the book itself. With most of my questions having already been asked and answered, I asked Malena if she would be willing to write a guest post for this blog instead of doing another interview. I mentioned I was interested in the process of how she turned a short story into a novel, and she quickly and graciously agreed to tell that part of the story here. One of the questions that I have been asked since my novel came out is what I learned from the process of writing it, and what I would do differently the next time around.    The short answer is that I wouldn’t want to turn a short story into a novel ever again.   I wrote “Gomi” (garbage), the story that became  If You Follow Me ,   when I was a student in Marilynne Robinson’s workshop at the University of Iowa. ...