The MFA Octopus: Four Questions about Creative Writing
Is contemporary fiction really so mediocre?
All Essays
Life is Short; Art is Shorter
Every life, properly understood, is compelling.
Black Blood: Ross Macdonald and the Oil Spill
An offshore oil platform stood up out of its windward end like the metal handle of a dagger that had stabbed the world and made it spill black blood.
Flea Market
An essay on the late photographer Miroslav Tichý, excerpted from 'Richard Prince: Collected Writings'.
The Other Nancy Mitford
Let’s pretend that we know no more of Nancy Mitford than we do of Shakespeare.
Buster Keaton and the World of Objects
Given the choice between a book and a baseball bat, there is no choice for Buster. He’ll take the bat every time
The Death of the Book
Pity the book. It’s dead again.