When word came that John Updike had passed away, I asked my friends over at The Rumpus if they were planning any sort of tribute to him. Their immediate response: What a great idea. Could you put it together?

Um, okay. Why not? I dispatched the following email to some of the novelists I knew: read more »

02.22.09 § 0

“The fire spoke, chattering like a madman, and then quieted again in a helix of sparks. My friend, so still and copper-outlined in the dark, said something so softly that I cannot, even more than thirty years later, hear what it was.”

This is a passage that displays at least three facets of Andy’s world-class chops–probably more, but here’s what struck me about it upon a recent reading: read more »

02.13.09 § 0