This post is about an overlooked classic of American literature, which I stumbled upon by accident through an old essay by Tom Cox. It's the debut novel by Evans Connell, Mrs. Bridge, which was published in 1959. It's unlike anything I've ever read. The sheer simplicity of Connell's prose is paralleled by the simplicity of … Continue reading Mrs. Bridge — On the Quiet Desperation of Ordinary Life
This post is an op-ed by Ben Bratt that was originally published in the Wall Street Journal in March, 2017. It draws on his book, Nabokov’s Favorite Word Is Mauve: What the Numbers Reveal About the Classics, Bestsellers, and Our Own Writing. Here's a pdf of the original. In this essay, he reports on some of … Continue reading Ben Bratt — Men Shout and Women Scream, at Least in Fiction
This post is an essay by Hilary Mantel published in London Review of Books in 2013. Here's a link to the original. I love this piece for two reasons. First, it's a stunning piece of writing by one of the great writers in the English language. If you've never read her trio of novels about … Continue reading Hilary Mantel — Royal Bodies
David Labaree on Schooling, History, and Writing 