Clifford Garstang's Blog, page 171

ASC: Twelfth Night

The American Shakespeare Center does Twelfth Night every few years. It's popular and definitely a staple for a Shakespeare company. The last time they did it was the Fall 2008 season, which I saw twice and discussed here and here.

This time, Daniel Kennedy is Malvolio, and he's hilarious (although in the 2008 production, John Harrell played this part and he's a hard act to follow). Benjamin Curns is quite good as Toby Belch (James Keegan played that part last time around). Gregory Jon Phelps i...

The New Yorker: "A Death in Kitchawank" by T. Coraghessan Boyle

Why is this author called "T. Coraghessan Boyle" in The New Yorker, but "T.C. Boyle" everywhere else? (He also has a story in this month's Harper's, where the shorter version of the name is used; I'll be commenting on that story tomorrow.) And why do we have to keep reading his stories in The New Yorker? It's not that this is an awful story. In fact, there are some things about it that I like a lot. But mostly it's boring and, if not quite predictable, predictably unsatisfying.

The story is pr...

The Haiti Disaster

"Disaster" is too small a word for what has happened and is happening in Haiti. The images I have seen on my computer screen are truly horrifying, and the suffering of the people is unimaginable. The Red Cross has estimated that as many as 50,000 people have died, and it's clear that Port-au-Prince will have to be completely rebuilt.

All I know about Haiti is what I've read, and much of that is from the work of Edwidge Danticat. I wanted to see what other books about Haiti might be available a...

My ears are burning

I think someone must be talking about me. Hey, they are! (A "friendly fellow named Clifford Garstang . . .") Over at Wag's Revue, which I mentioned last year (here), the folks who edit that magazine comment on my comments and also comment on the comments to my comments. Besides all that, the Winter 2009 issue includes an interview with David Rakoff and new work by . . . a bunch of people I've never heard of. (Sorry! I promise to come back and read this issue and get to know you all.)

Book Club: In an Uncharted Country

Since my linked short story collection (In an Uncharted Country) came out in September 2009, I have enjoyed making appearances at bookstores and libraries and schools to talk about the book and about short stories in general. It's been a lot of fun and I have quite a few appearances scheduled over the next few months.

But this week, for the second time, I visited a book club that had chosen my book to discuss. The first time, shortly after publication, was also a lot of fun--good food and wine...

The New Yorker: "Safari" by Jennifer Egan

This "story" is actually an excerpt from Egan's forthcoming novel, A Visit from the Goon Squad, which, according to Random House, is about a fellow named Bennie Salazaar. In this excerpt we don't even meet Bennie, but we do meet Lou, his mentor, various associates of Lou's, Lou's two children from his first marriage, and Mindy, who is destined to be his third wife. So it isn't clear what this excerpt has to do with the novel, but as excerpts go it stands alone pretty well.

The piece is unusual...

Diary of an Interesting Year (not to be confused with the Helen Simpson story of the same name)

New Issue: The Short Review, January 2010

The January edition of The Short Review is now live and filled with lots of cool stuff, including reviews of books by Alice Zorn, Daniel A Hoyt, Midge Raymond, Andrew McNabb and Hassan Blasim (translated into English for the first time), alongside Alice Munro's 40-year-old first collection, and Sherman Alexie's third collection and A L Kennedy's fifth, Tales of the DeCongested's second anthology and the Atlantis Collective's first.

Plus contests, interviews, and more. This is a terrific magazi...

Lethem on Writing

LitMag Wave: Redivider, Vol. 7 No. 1

I spent this evening with the latest issue of Redivider, a publication of Emerson College. There are several things about the issue that I like, but the highlight was "Wodwo," a short piece by Dan Chaon. It has a Twilight Zone feel to it: Kate is driving in the dark and hits a deer. She goes through all of the emotions one feels in that situation (I've been there), and then she gets out of the car to inspect the damage. Big mistake. Kate! Don't get out of the car! Actually, it isn't completel...