Author: Brenna Dixon

Fitzgeraldpalooza!

Fitzgeraldpalooza!

This month Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby came out in all it’s extravagant glory. One thing I especially love about the film is its soundtrack. Setting the story to a backdrop of current music (Jay-Z, Lana Del Rey, Jack White) is true to Fitzgerald’s own inclusion of pop culture in…

photograph of a beach at sunset with a choppy ocean

“He Had Crossed to Arrive There”: A Playlist for Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities

Every time I read Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities I get something different from it.  Like NPR’s Eric Weiner writes, “I leave it, again and again, and yet never discover it—never really know it.” This latest reading, for me, boils down to one thing: the act of searching, of trying to grasp something that’s always just…

photo of a mound of oranges at an outdoor market

“Look Who Made It:” A Playlist for Karen Russell’s Vampires in the Lemon Grove

  To me, a new Karen Russell book is literary Christmas. Her new collection tells the stories of characters doing their best to conquer insurmountable odds: addiction, enslavement, the aftereffects of war. The stories explore the strengths and frailties of people; below, I’ve tried to match each one with a song that does it justice….

photograph of the exposed bricks of a destroyed wall, overgrown with ivy

“The Word River Doesn’t Know Edges”: A Playlist for Patricia Smith’s Blood Dazzler

Patricia Smith’s Blood Dazzler, a 2008 poetry collection inspired by Hurricane Katrina, reads like a broken heart.  It is open and honest and raw.  The voices of those who survived Katrina, and those who did not, are both unspeakably sad and incredulous.  “Louisiana,” says one nursing home resident in the poem “34,” “goddamn. You lied to…

series of white footprints

“Bring Me Back”: A Playlist for George Saunders’ “Tenth of December”

The characters in Tenth of December, George Saunders’ newest collection of stories, struggle with maintaining innocence (and ultimately losing it) in a world that drives people further from each other; they struggle with doing good in a consumerist society.  These are flawed characters—people who make mistakes and are terrified to rectify them.  These are characters…

photograph of a road in a rural landscape--there is a large, snowcapped mountain on the horizon

Ploughshares Playlists: When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Moving

  In our new regular series, we’ll recommend the ideal music to accompany some of our favorite books. If you have Spotify, make sure it’s open and you can listen along below; otherwise, buy the songs, find a comfy chair, and get reading! —Andrew Ladd, blog editor. Cheryl Strayed’s 2012 memoir, Wild: From Lost to Found…