Reviewers & Critics: Sam Sacks of the Wall Street Journal
In this continuing series, a book reviewer discusses the art of literary criticism—from the value of negative reviews to critics he admires.
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Article Archive
Articles from Poet & Writers Magazine include material from the print edition plus exclusive online-only material.
Ten Questions for Jos Charles
“In a system that doesn’t value writing, but only the marketing possibility of the writer and the written object, to write is the ‘success’ itself.” —Jos Charles, author of feeld
Ten Questions for Catherine Lacey
“I don’t think beyond the book I’m writing, and I’m always writing one.” —Catherine Lacey, author of Certain American States
Ten Questions for Amitava Kumar
“I write every day and walk every day.” —Amitava Kumar, author of the novel Immigrant, Montana
Craft Capsule: “Unlikable” Characters
The author of If You Leave Me focuses not on a character’s likability but rather on making that character feel true.
Ten Questions for Alexia Arthurs
“I’ve gotten messages from people who tell me that they were waiting on a book like mine.” —Alexia Arthurs, author of the story collection How to Love a Jamaican
Craft Capsule: Multiple Narrators
The pleasures and pitfalls of writing a novel with multiple perspectives.
Ten Questions for Amy Bonnaffons
“I’m coming to believe more and more that the whole body should be engaged in the writing process.”—Amy Bonnaffons, author of the debut story collection The Wrong Heaven
A Space Odyssey of Healing: Brian Turner and the Interplanetary Acoustic Team
Brian Turner is best known for his award-winning poetry collections and memoir about the Iraq War, but with his new project he has pushed into an entirely new dimension of creative expression.
Craft Capsule: The Art of Research
How does a writer tell a story set in another country during a time before she was even born? Research, research, research.
Ten Questions for Keith Gessen
“You can almost always make something better by making it shorter.” —Keith Gessen, author of the novel A Terrible Country
Craft Capsule: Who Are You?
The desire to tell stories is one thing; finding the stories you want to tell is something else entirely.
Ten Questions for Jasmine Gibson
“Get in where you fit in, and where you don’t, break it.” —Jasmine Gibson, author of Don’t Let Them See Me Like This
Craft Capsule: Find Your Voice
A simple exercise to help lead you closer to the fiery core of your own, utterly unique, narrative style.
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Ten Questions for Lillian Li
“Avoid the word ‘it’ whenever possible. Which is to say, specificity whenever possible.” —Lillian Li, author of the debut novel Number One Chinese Restaurant
Craft Capsule: A Form of Salvation
Simon Van Booy writes about opening your whole life to creativity.
Ten Questions for Grady Chambers
“That was the scariest part in making this come together: the endless possible permutations of inclusion, exclusion, order; the fear of endless possibility.” —Grady Chambers, author of the poetry collection North American Stadiums
First Fiction 2018
This year’s debut fiction roundup features emerging writers R. O. Kwon, Fatima Farheen Mirza, Jamel Brinkley, Katharine Dion, and Tommy Orange.
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The Written Image: Kerry Mansfield’s “Expired”
Ex-library books are catalogued in a new home.
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Literary MagNet: Chelsea Hodson
An essayist discusses five journals that published work from her debut collection, Tonight I’m Someone Else.
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Small Press Points: 7.13 Books
A fiction press for first-time authors.
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Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin
The first lines of a dozen new books, including Sick by Porochista Khakpour and Sons of Achilles by Nabila Lovelace.
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Craft Capsule: Tao Te Ching
Simon Van Booy considers writing as a process of instinct rather than thought.
My Past and Future Assassin: A Profile of Terrance Hayes
In his sixth book, a sonnet sequence published by Penguin in June, Terrance Hayes cuts deep, to the marrow of the American moment, in a form with a razor’s edge: love poems for the forces trying to kill you.
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Cornucopia: Report From Literary Bogotá
In a continuing series on international writing communities, contributing editor Stephen Morison Jr. spends time with authors and publishers in Bogotá, Colombia.
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