March/April 2006

Poet Franz Wright has ascended over the past decade from the abyss of personal crisis to the pinnacle of a writer's career—winning the Pulitzer Prize. It's a distinction shared by only the brightest literary lights, among them, his own father.

Features

The Son Also Rises: A Profile of Franz Wright

by Henry Stimpson
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Poet Franz Wright talks about his newest book, God's Silence, and his father's legacy.

The Art of Adaptation: A Profile of Terese Svoboda

by Timothy Schaffert
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Poet and novelist Terese Svoboda ventures beyond the conventions of genre.

Conferences and Residencies

Virginia Center for the Creative Arts

by Jane Ciabattari
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The Blue Ridge mountain retreat expands to the south of France.

The FLIP Festival

by Joelle Hann
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A literary festival shakes up Brazil's literary scene.

Strangers in a Strange Land

by Jen Karetnick
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When writers retreats don't live up to expectations.

News and Trends

NEA Responds to "Reading at Risk"

by Kevin Canfield

In response to its 2004 report "Reading at Risk," which found that significantly fewer people read serious literature now than in years past, the National Endowment for the Arts recently launched an ambitious program designed to reverse the trend.

 

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Q&A: Chang Signals New Era in Iowa

by Doug Diesenhaus

On the eve of her departure from Somerville, Massachusetts, for Iowa City, Lan Samantha Chang spoke about her new role as the leader of the country's oldest creative writing program.

Literary MagNet

by Kevin Larimer

Literary MagNet chronicles the start-ups and closures, successes and failures, anniversaries and accolades, changes of editorship and special issues—in short, the news and trends—of literary magazines in America. This issue's MagNet features Fairy Tale Review, Alimentum, Lost, Dislocate, Tameme, Double Change, Storie, and Terra Incognita.

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Comic Adventure Takes Poetic Form

by Daniel Nester

Among the many poetry collections that have been published in the weeks leading up to National Poetry Month, Jim and Dave Defeat the Masked Man, a collaborative book of sestinas by James Cummins and David Lehman released by Soft Skull Press in February, features perhaps the most prestigious and, simultaneously, zany cast of characters to appear in a book of poems since Alan Kaufman's Outlaw Bible of American Poetry was published by Thunder's Mouth Press seven years ago.

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Small Press Points

by Kevin Larimer

Small Press Points highlights the happenings of the small press players. This issue features Hourglass Books, Hanging Loose Press, and Chiasmus Press.

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Four-Legged Fiction

by Joe Woodward

It used to be that when a writer bestowed human qualities on an animal—the ability to speak, for instance—it almost always meant trouble. Today, animal lit is broader in scope and occasionally even benevolent in nature.

Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin

by Staff

In celebration of National Poetry Month, we present this all-poetry edition of Page One, featuring excerpts from Black Lab by David Young and Drive: The First Quartet by Lorna Dee Cervante.

The Written Image: "Categories"

by Staff

In an effort to promote scientific literacy, foster an appreciation of the humanities, and encourage readers to make "informed and imaginative connections" between the sciences and the arts, New York City–based Vernacular Press recently launched a series of books titled "Categories."

The Practical Writer

First: Janice Erlbaum's Memoir, Girlbomb

by Amy Rosenberg
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An author's hard-knock life leads to the publication of her memoir.

Inside Publishing: A Publicist's Guide to the Business

by Jessica George Firger
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When I first began working in book publishing—an odd job somewhere between editorial and production at a big commercial house—I remember being intrigued by the department that sent e-mails, company-wide, in large font, announcing a particular...

The Literary Life

In the Field: Writing Lessons at 826NYC

by Merrill Feitell
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The nonprofit writing center 826NYC helps kids with their writing.

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