The New Narrative, the writer’s life and, yes, cats
Readings from writers of the New Narrative at the Poetic Research Bureau. Behind-the-scenes tweets get real about the writing life. And my favorite part of the New Yorker’s new fiction issue: the personal essays. Whether you’re racing against the clock or limping toward the weekend, the literary Web’s got something to keep you going. (There’s only one GIF this time, but fear not — I make up for it in excess kittens.)
The work you do
The New Yorker’s fiction issue is out, stacked with stories from the likes of Sherman Alexie and Curtis Sittenfeld — as well a bunch of those little one- or two- page personal essays they sometimes pepper throughout the magazine in longer issues. (You know, the ones you flip to first because you know you can finish them.) Their theme is “On the Job,” and, unsurprisingly, Toni Morrison’s entry is particularly lovely.
When I first read the title “The Work You Do, the Person You Are,” I misunderstood it. I took it to mean that the work you do is the person you are, but there’s a comma there — not a colon. Read through for some work/life advice from one of our most cherished writers.
Writers online vs. IRL
An accurate headline from the brilliant (and satirical) account @newsforpoets on #thewritinglife and cultivating that oh-so-tricky writer’s social media persona.
And a slightly more revealing tweet from Courtney Maum about the reality of life on book tour.
Books and cats
As promised, a shameless assortment of books and cats. Fun fact: the hashtag #booksandcats currently has 11,217 posts; #booksanddogs only 2,599 — a statistic that will surprise literally no one.
Writers who love too much at the Poetic Research Bureau
Working for the weekend? On Saturday night Chinatown’s Poetic Research Bureau hosts the launch of “Writers Who Love Too Much: New Narrative Writing 1977-1997,” with editors (and cult icons) Dodie Bellamy and Kevin Killian in attendance. Amazon’s “I Love Dick,” loosely based on Chris Kraus’ novel of the same name, seems to have piqued the uninitiated’s interest in “the movement fueled by punk, pop, porn, French theory, and social struggle to change writing forever.” It’s the hippest ticket in town for my money — especially considering the event is free. Doors at 7:30 p.m. — seats will go quickly.
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