May 5, 2016
Another National Poetry Month might be in the books, but here at EPL we’ve got a fever, and the only prescription is more poetry! So if you’re like us and April was merely an appetizer for your poetry hunger, you might enjoy feasting on this historic tidbit: on May 5th exactly 200 years ago, the […]
May 16, 2013
How to Kill a Vampire (Series) Fans’ outrage over the end of the Sookie Stackhouse series is chronicled by the Wall Street Journal. Despite her best attempts at a satisfying finale, author Charlaine Harris was so overwhelmed by taunting emails and death threats she was frightened into canceling her Dead Ever After book tour. Self-Portrait […]
August 24, 2012
Better Late Than Never An F. Scott Fitzgerald story rejected 75 years ago is finally published in The New Yorker. Recently discovered by Fitzgerald’s grandchildren, “Thank You for the Light” is a short, fable-like vignette turned down in 1936 for being too unlike his other work. See what you think. Reports of My Death are […]
July 14, 2012
Waiting for the King Writer Dave Eggers talks about his new novel A Hologram for the King with the NY Times. Along with discussing his differing approaches to fiction and nonfiction, the Zeitoun author explores how Waiting for Godot, Willy Loman, and a visit to Saudi Arabia subtly influenced the book. Superheroes for the Silver Screen […]
March 24, 2012
The Private Lives of Great Writers The extent to which an author’s personal life sheds light on their work is debated by Salon. Weighing in on Jonathan Franzen’s controversial New Yorker essay, the article explores just how relevant Edith Wharton’s looks and Saul Bellow’s marital problems are to appreciating their novels. Beyond The Art of […]
January 21, 2012
Tom Cruise is… Jack Reacher? Hollywood’s decision to cast the diminutive star as Lee Child’s rugged 6’5″ ex-Army hero is fiercely debated in the Wall Street Journal. Inviting you to vote for your ideal choice, the in-depth story retraces Reacher’s long road to the big screen and peeks behind the scenes of One Shot. Baby, […]
August 27, 2011
Portrait of the Artist Shelf Awareness talks to The Magician King author Lev Grossman about his many creative influences including his obsession with C.S. Lewis’s Narnia Chronicles, his mother’s British heritage, the traditions of fantasy writing, and the midlife crisis that inspired his debut The Magicians. Literary T.V. Word & Film offers this tantalizing teaser for book-based […]
June 6, 2011
Young Adult Realism EPL’s own Jarrett Dapier talks with author Walter Dean Myers in this fascinating interview for In These Times. The legendary YA writer candidly discusses “the debt he owes to James Baldwin” along with the importance of mentoring teens. The Stockholm Syndrome Theory of Long Novels Mark O’Connell examines his newfound love of doorstop-sized […]
February 4, 2011
The Newly Complicated Zora Neale Hurston The discovery of three “lost” stories by the Harlem Renaissance author is detailed in this engrossing essay from the Chronicle of Higher Education. Differing dramatically from her better known works, the stories unearth an intriguing new side to the Southern folk writer. A Bestiary of the Evolving Book The influence […]
January 27, 2011
The Case of the First Mystery Novelist The NY Times solves the mystery of who wrote the first detective novel. Published in 1865, The Notting Hill Mystery received rave reviews from Victorian critics as it pioneered the popular new mystery genre. Until now, however, the author’s identity has never been known. The Best Poetry of 2010 NPR’s picks for the […]
