Book reviews, curated reading lists and literary culture. The essential reads for writers and serious readers of contemporary fiction and poetry.
A close reading of Saunders’ work as a lesson in compression, empathy and the sentence that does more than it looks like it should.
Saunders is the most precise writer working in English today. Every word earns its place. This essay asks what writers can take from his practice.
Read the review →Curated lists built around taste, not algorithms. Flash fiction collections, recommendations by influence, and the year’s best.



“A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it.”
Edgar Allan Poe
Essays on the state of contemporary literature, poetry, and publishing. Opinionated, specific, and grounded in the form.
Essential literary interviews curated from The Paris Review, The New Yorker and beyond. The greatest writers on process, the sentence, and the life behind the work.
The Paris Review
The Paris Review
The Paris ReviewWritten on the road. Sent to your inbox. The writing behind the reading.
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Tumbleweed Words
“Everyone wears black so hard you don’t notice
there are differing shades.”
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