‘It Requires Genius and He Had It’: Readers on Cormac McCarthy
Reading Time: <1 Min. Cormac McCarthy in 2014.Credit…Beowulf Sheehan The death of the novelist Cormac McCarthy on Tuesday prompted an outpouring from readers, who shared favorite passages, memories of reading his books — and occasionally, encounters with the reclusive writer. Here is a selection of those comments, reflecting the many ways McCarthy’s writing — often […]
A Book About Owls, in Which Each Species Is a Marvel
Reading Time: <1 Min. WHAT AN OWL KNOWS: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds , by Jennifer Ackerman While reading “What an Owl Knows,” by the science writer Jennifer Ackerman, I was reminded that my daughter once received a gift of a winter jacket festooned with colorful owls. At the time I […]
On the Joy of Literary Acceptance (and the Freedom of Rejection)
Reading Time: <1 Min. “It fucks you up,” one of my writing students said to me. They meant all the no’s from agents and editors in response to their submitted work. And it can. Zero question. Still, I had to remind them that you can’t personalize it. Rejection in the writing business is inevitable; but […]