“Yeah, um, I don’t like to read.”
Some people might think I’m odd, but one of the first questions I might ask a stranger is what she or he is reading.
MoreLoan Le
Author of A Phở Love Story (out now!) / Short Story Writer / Book Editor
Excerpt from a short story that might never come to life
On violence Growing up, Rebecca’s family settled things court style with her mother presiding as the impartial judge. Who had whose boyfriend over for too long? Mary. Who stole Marcia’s blouse? Mary or April. Who gets the car this Friday night? Rebecca. Her father, being second in power, was required to be at these meetings, but he would sit with his hands folded on his lap, watching […]
MoreObligatory New Year’s Resolutions
Yeah, I’m unique because I posted this on Jan. 2 and not Jan. 1. Happy New Year, everyone. I hope everyone finds what they’re looking for, and I hope everyone experiences the joy of stumbling across something unexpected. 2014 was hectic. I graduated from college, got a job in Manhattan, and moved way out of […]
MoreAn editor’s perspective on writing
I went to a brown bag lunch the other day, and it was led by Colin Harrison, the Vice President and Editor-in-Chief at Scribner. Before joining Scribner, he was the deputy editor for Harper’s Magazine. He’s an accomplished novelist but edits mostly nonfiction because he enjoys the challenge, the journey that he takes with the sometimes nervous and overburdened writer.
MoreLetters to myself
A week before graduation (wow, six months ago?), a creative writing professor asked us to write letters to send to ourselves. I’d gotten mine in September, and it’s taped to the wall, right above my writing desk. Whenever I hit a writer’s block, I look up from my computer screen and stare at this letter. […]
MoreFleeting Thoughts: A Spark
Many New Yorkers seem to have resting bitch faces. I see people wearing their masks while riding on the subway and walking down the street. It looks like they’re dead inside. And I’ve been closing myself off, too, when I go back to my Brooklyn apartment alone, when men on the street—with seemingly no other place to […]
MoreAdd to your ‘list of things to do immediately’: Attend a Too Many Zooz performance
Leo P. knows how to move. That was one thing I noticed at last Saturday’s Too Many Zooz concert at SOB’s on Varick Street. It’s not the most important detail, but it might be one that can explain Too Many Zooz’ rising popularity.
MoreCollege and Change
I loved my college experience, and don’t regret much, but there are still a few things that I wish I’d known from the beginning.
More“And you, you ridiculous people, you expect me to help you.”
We say we’ll do something, then we never do it. I always say that I’ll read more short stories that’s been published in journals and collections, but I haven’t picked up a full collection since reading The Paris Review‘s “Object Lessons.” En route to my tap dance class yesterday night, I stopped by Greenlight Bookstore, a Brooklyn […]
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