“Maybe his spirit will occupy the empty space. Maybe the spirits of other departed relatives will be there with him. I might find a convention of souls.”

“That’s why prisoners are able to write, despite the oppression, the depravation, the discrimination. They’re able to write because they can imagine community.”

The story begins with the main character waking up, and you think, “Okay, this is the kind of story that begins with the main character waking up.”

How did Tennessee Williams’ legal knowledge influence his work?

Mary Oliver’s poetry works in implicit contrast with our daily underestimation of the world.

“Limits,” “Having a Seizure in Front of My Father,” and “Alone Together.”

Annihilation portrays the chaos of “post-truth” in narrative form.

“That book might make you die a little and don’t forget to eat durian ice cream after reading it.”

“I want to believe that reading tunes the mind, that empathy results from the connections forged between a reader and a character…”

“I think the process should be an expression of the product, and vice versa.”