Author Archives: Matt Borondy

Jonathan Lethem and Better Literary Conversations: Monday’s Margins

By Matt Borondy | Published: September 9, 2013

New books this week from Jonathan Lethem, Alice McDermott and others. Also: creating better literary conversations, lying about reading books, and ending the publishing industry’s long war on technology.

Posted in Book Rate | Tagged Jonathan Lethem, Monday's Margins, Roxane Gay | Leave a comment

Is Obama Dissing Indie Bookstores?: Monday’s Margins

By Matt Borondy | Published: August 19, 2013

Serena movie still with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper

Is Obama dissing indie bookstores? Why is self-publishing still scorned by literary awards? Why should anyone make words in the age of the image?

Posted in Book Rate | Tagged Barack Obama, McSweeney's, Monday's Margins, Ron Rash, Serena | Leave a comment

The Girlfriend Game: 5 Questions with Nick Antosca

By Matt Borondy | Published: July 30, 2013

“Spin the wheel and get a girlfriend. Will she be Vera Nabokov, or will she be Zelda Fitzgerald? Just be nice to her.”

Posted in Author Interviews | Tagged 5 questions, Nick Antosca, Short Story Writers, The Girlfriend Game | 1 Response

Interview: Emily Rapp, Author of The Still Point of the Turning World

By Matt Borondy | Published: July 17, 2013

“I think experiences of joyfulness are more magnified, more fully experienced, when you have known true suffering, because you understand that all of these great epic feelings are blips, really.”

Posted in Author Interviews | Tagged Buddhism, Emily Rapp, Memoirs, parenting, Philosophy | 1 Response

Interview: Elliott Holt, Author of You Are One of Them

By Matt Borondy | Published: June 12, 2013

“I have to write the stories I want to write, in the way that I want to write them. The motivation has to come from me, not from other people.”

Posted in Author Interviews | Tagged Elliott Holt, Novelists, Russia | Leave a comment

Author Q&A: Kyle Minor (In the Devil’s Territory)

By Matt Borondy | Published: May 15, 2013

“I think I’d rather spend time with people who read broadly and deeply. They tend to be smarter, more interesting, more likely to have a little societal compassion (but not always).”

Posted in Author Interviews | Tagged Kyle Minor, Short Story Writers | 3 Responses

Bookslut’s Little Sister and a Son’s Journey into His Father’s Life: Monday’s Margins

By Matt Borondy | Published: May 13, 2013

Bookslut has created “a monthly literary magazine, devoted to the strange and to the wise.” Also links to new books by Stephen Rodrick and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Posted in Book Rate | Tagged Bookslut, Monday's Margins, Stephen Rodrick, Walter Mosley | Leave a comment

Interview: Heather Donahue, Author of Growgirl

By Matt Borondy | Published: April 18, 2013

“Free, right? That’s the best of our national brand. America: Home of the Babysat. Just doesn’t have the same ring.”

Posted in Author Interviews | Tagged Blair Witch Project, Dogs, Growgirl, Heather Donahue, Marijuana, Memoirs, Mike Doughty | Leave a comment

Tragic Stories About Children, Nothing Gold Can Stay: Monday’s Margins

By Matt Borondy | Published: February 25, 2013

Notes on new books from Ron Rash and Emily Rapp, plus a well-deserved award nomination for a memoir.

Posted in Book Rate | Tagged Emily Rapp, Kent Haruf, Kristen Iversen, Ron Rash | Leave a comment

Author Q&A: Vanessa Veselka (Zazen)

By Matt Borondy | Published: February 25, 2013

“We’re narrative-making machines…so the stories we tell ourselves about what is happening shape our actions. Nothing is as dangerous as a story.”

Posted in Author Interviews | Tagged Novelists, Vanessa Veselka | Leave a comment

5 Questions: Allworth Press Founder Tad Crawford on A Floating Life

By Matt Borondy | Published: February 18, 2013

The unnamed narrator is adrift in his life. His marriage has fallen apart, he fails to get a new job, and not even the magic of modern medicine can cure his erectile dysfunction.

Posted in Author Interviews | Tagged 5 questions, Tad Crawford | Leave a comment

Author Q&A: Anis Shivani (My Tranquil War and Other Poems)

By Matt Borondy | Published: January 21, 2013

Anis Shivani's My Tranquil War and Other Poems

“Printing is more than a technology. It generates a certain attitude toward the self that is irreplaceable with any other technology. It demands a certain type of writing.”

Posted in Author Interviews | Tagged Anis Shivani, Poets | Leave a comment