Emma Cline discussed writing her sophomore novel, The Guest, with the Guardian.
Cline calls the long gestation period of The Guest normal for the way she writes novels, a process of bumping up against the initial idea countless times. “A novel is so long haul, you have to psych yourself up for it. You have to trick yourself into writing a novel, ease into it.” In the early stages, she says, a lot of the thinking happens “in the corner of my eye. OK, the novel’s there, but I’m not going to freak myself out too much by going to work on it.I’ll write a little bit; keep loose notes. Allow myself to sneak up on it a little.”
The Creative Independent interviewed musician Scout Gillett.
What fosters your creativity and what hinders it?
What fosters it is love and staying connected with my sense of self. I try to be really intentional about what I listen to and who I surround myself with.
eBook on sale for $2.99 today:
The Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker
eBook on sale for $3.99 today:
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
All Songs Considered, Bandcamp Daily, Pitchfork, BrooklynVegan,and Paste recommended the week’s best new albums.
Hua Hsu and Hernan Diaz discussed their books and being awarded Pulitzers with the New York Times.
SMITH covered Victoria Williams’ “Crazy Mary.”
Kelly McMasters recommended books about the lives of single mothers at Electric Literature.
Dave Davies discussed Kinks songs with Vulture.
The BBC listed New York City’s best literary venues past and present.
Stream a new song by Sparks.
Janika Oza discussed her debut novel A History of Burning with Electric Literature.
I wanted a title that spoke to the themes of complicity and resistance running through the book. I landed on burning because when we think of a burning, what usually comes to mind is something that’s destructive or harmful or violent. Very often that’s true. But a burning can also be something that is purposeful or regenerative, like a controlled burning of a forest to encourage new growth. Throughout my novel, both of those possibilities are there.
Bandcamp Daily profiled the Scottish experimental pop duo Comfort.
The New York Times interviewed author Samantha Irby.
Stream a new song by Rob Moose and Phoebe Bridgers.
minor literature[s] shared an excerpt from Bhanu Kapil’s novel Incubation: A Space for Monsters.
Lucinda Williams discussed her new album with Entertainment Weekly.
The Millions shared a new essay by Erica Berry.
Stream a new song by Miya Folick.
The Baffler shared new fiction by Kate Zambreno.
Fresh Air interviewed Everything but the Girl’s Tracey Thorn.
R.F. Kuang discussed her new novel Yellowface with the New York Times.
“Reading about racism should not be a feel-good experience,” she said. “I do want people to be uncomfortable with the way that they’re trained to write about and market and sell books, and be uncomfortable with who’s in the room, and how they’re talking about who’s in the room.”
Stream an unreleased demo from Grandaddy’s 2003 album Sumday.
Olga Ravn talked to the New Yorker about her story in this week’s issue.
Stream a new song by Pere Ubu.
Literary Hub shared an excerpt from Mona Awad’s forthcoming novel Rouge.
NYCTaper shared a live recording of a recent Chris Forsyth performance.
The New Yorker shared Medar de la Cruz’s graphic diary of a Rikers Island library worker.
Muzz covered Spacemen 3’s “Lord Can You Hear Me.”
Are medical mysteries the new true crime?
Animal Collective covered Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.”