It was particularly exciting this year, Nobel-Genius Season.

Of course, it’s thrilling every year, when we take a break from the grinding horrors of the news—mass shootings and civil wars—to watch the Nobel Prizes handed out, one a day, for six days, not long after the MacArthur Foundation awards its so-called “genius” fellowships. Continue reading “Champions of the Mind”

The literary world’s been having a bit of fun lately, pummeling novelist Jonathan Franzen.

In a recent interview, the author of The Corrections revealed that he was unsettled by his feelings of disconnection and bewilderment toward the Milennial generation. He wanted to understand 20-somethings better. So he decided to learn about younger people…by adopting an Iraqi orphan. Continue reading “What If?”

“It needed to be [published], and you did it.”

They’re probably not going to start inscribing it on Pulitzer letters anytime soon; still, those words are among the highest praise a writer could receive, especially when spoken by Stan Abbott. Continue reading “Keep Trying”