Blog

cover of Love Star by Magnason

Lovestar

LovestarAndri Snǣr MagnasonSeven Stories Press, November 2012320 pages$16.95 In the not-so-distant future, a team of Icelandic scientists has discovered the revolutionary science of birdwaves, opening up a world of massive, cordless, instantaneous communication. This future is presided over by LoveStar, the cultish leader of the company that bears his name. His empire includes LoveDeath, in…

side by side covers of books by Alice Pung

THAT LIT, LIT LIFE (with global characteristics) 12 (of 14)

32 years away from the city of Melbourne and I return to find it in a different “Australia.” For one thing, all the restaurants downtown were Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian or otherwise distinctly “Asian.” Hidden somewhere down one street was a Greek restaurant, reminding me that 32 years ago, I had been startled to learn…

the words "LOWER DENS" against a black and white backdrop

Fair Pay

Three things coincided recently. 1)  Jana Hunter, the singer for the band Lower Dens, recently wrote about her band’s relationship to streaming music services. 2) Scott Repass, Houston writer and saloon keeper, said in an article in the Houston Chronicle, “Our profit is actually made by a community. You know when you go into a…

photo of Denver's big blue bear, a large statue of a bear peering into the Denver Convention Center

Literary Boroughs #30: Denver, CO

The Literary Boroughs series will explore little-known and well-known literary communities across the country and world and show that while literary culture can exist online without regard to geographic location, it also continues to thrive locally. Posts are by no means exhaustive and we encourage our readers to contribute in the comment section. The series will run on our blog…

black and white photo of a woman reading against a wall

Roundup: On Reading

As we look forward to updating the Ploughshares blog for the new year, we’re also looking back at all the great posts since the blog started in 2009.  Our roundups explore the archives and gather past posts around a certain theme to help you jump-start your week.  This week we have posts on reading. We’ve…

the black and white cover of "Following Tommy"

Following Tommy

  Following Tommy Bob Hartley Cervena Barva Press, July 2012 104 pages $17.00 I was asked to review “Following Tommy” in part because I’m a Chicagoan. Bob Hartley’s first novel is set in the West side of the Windy City, and if anyone can recognize Chicagoness, tap into that essence and understand an author’s grilling…

the cover of Digital Americana

REDACTED: Experiences with Digital Americana’s Interactive Literary Magazine

  This post was written by John Rodzvilla, Emerson College’s Electronic Publisher-in-Residence. There has always been somewhat of an unrealized promise of interactivity with digital literature. It should be more than an enhanced experience of the print original, but still reflect the intentions of the artists. The Electronic Literature movement has tried to legitimize and…

photo of a Barnes and Noble in Evanston, IL

Literary Boroughs #29: Evanston, IL

The Literary Boroughs series will explore little-known and well-known literary communities across the country and world and show that while literary culture can exist online without regard to geographic location, it also continues to thrive locally. Posts are by no means exhaustive and we encourage our readers to contribute in the comment section. The series will run on our blog…