What kind of writer was Raymond Carver? As the new Library of America collection of his work shows, it’s complicated, largely for reasons having to do with Gordon Lish.
Related: “When Novelists Sober Up”
Portnoy: Gay?
“Publishers don’t like to publish short story collections in general unless they are VERY high concept or by someone very strange or very famous or Indian.”
Alice Hoffman on how Fahrenheit 451 rejuvenated her.
A musical about the last days of Ernest Hemingway (“complete with a cheery song about how to load a gun”) stinks, and it’s closing early.
William Kennedy is finishing his first novel since 2002’s Roscoe; it’ll be an addition to the Albany Cycle.
Amitav Ghosh would love to hang out more with his neighbor Jhumpa Lahiri, but she tends to be busy.
An inventive approach to book shelving. But heaven knows where my Robot Chicken DVDs would fit in this scheme.
George Pelecanos‘ UK publisher sure is pushing the Wire angle hard with the cover of his new novel, The Way Home. He’s so popular in England that they let him open for the Pogues:
On that note, I’ll be taking some time off from the blog for a few days, enjoying some time off the grid, listening to music, and spending a little more time reading books than chattering about them. We’ll get this thing plugged back in around the middle of next week.
markathitakis.com 
Thanks for posting NPR’s All Things Considered link of Alice Hoffman. After garnering some bad press from the Twitter scandal, I’m thrilled to see her receiving positive coverage. She’s an insightful writer and genuine woman. And her tribute to “Fahrenheit 451” was right on the money.
http://www.sarahmccoy.wordpress.com