Black Girl
Tracy K. Smith, in her memoir "Ordinary Light," urgently insists on the nuances of African-American identity.
Memoir & Essay
"The older one grows, the more one likes indecency." — Virginia Woolf
Poetry and Persona
The essays in Queen of the Fall describe, with wrenching precision, a woman's inability to have children.
Jessica GrossMay 25, 2015
Finding Your Shambolic Magic
"In the All-Night Café" describes the year before the release of "Tigermilk" and helps to explain how Belle and Sebastian's sound was a product of their environment.
Ben AshwellMay 20, 2015
Questionable Candor and PTSD
Could a woman's desire to get close to a convicted murderer stem from PTSD?
Liz ArnoldMay 20, 2015
Rules and Rituals, Time Capsules and Tap Handles
Heidi Julavits talks with Chantal McStay about keeping a diary and "The Folded Clock."
Chantal McStayMay 14, 2015
The Method Singer
In his new biography, John Szwed argues Billie Holiday was a method actor: she burrowed to the core of the song, determined what type of person might be voicing such sentiments in what kind of situation, and let that guide her interpretation of it.
Stephen DeusnerMay 12, 2015
What I Was Flying Toward: An Interview with Helen Macdonald
I realized that the story wasn’t just about a miserable woman and a bird, it was about life and death.
Christine Fischer GuyApr 29, 2015
The Significance of Philip Glass
“Philip Glass has become, whether he likes it or not, a name on a list of sound-material used to induce states of mind.”
Michael MarkhamApr 27, 2015
Queering the Momoir
Is there something inherently queer about pregnancy itself?
Apr 26, 2015
Bad Dad
Tomlinson hasn't overcome the pain of yearning for a father who was unavailable. But she has taken that pain and used it to make herself a writer.
Elizabeth SchwyzerApr 21, 2015
Our Diaries, Ourselves
Moving fluidly between the trivial and profound, Julavits shows what a diary can do. It’s a vivid counterpoint to Manguso’s serious disavowal of the form.
Mythili G. RaoApr 19, 2015
Cloudbusting
The cloud buster would give us rain. My father would be proven right about everything.
Sarah TomlinsonApr 17, 2015