Peter Anderson's Blog, page 2

Wheatyard reviewed in American Book Review

Matt Baker writes a great review of Wheatyard in the latest issue (September/October 2013) of American Book Review. (It's just a coincidence that this issue's focus is on "Sex Writing"; there's nary a hint of sex in Wheatyard, alas.) Here's an excerpt:

What makes Anderson’s straightforward novel so refreshing is the way he portrays the student-mentor relationship; we’d expect the student (the narrator) to fill his role enthusiastically, a pleasing kind of subservience, but rather, the narrator is intrigued by Wheatyard’s nudges to write, and introduction to storytelling, but it isn’t until the end that the narrator unearths, on his own and at the right moment for him, this urge to write.

The full review is here.

"Remember, Never Forget"

My short story "Remember, Never Forget" has been published in the final, "Farewell" issue of Skive Magazine, which is now available for purchase at Lulu.com. You can also hear me read the story here at SoundCloud. Many thanks and best of luck to publisher/editor Matt Ward for all of his support over the years.

James Claffey reviews Wheatyard

Wheatyard just received a wonderful review by James Claffey in the Philadelphia Review of Books.

Anderson’s book is a subtle examination of the writer’s struggle, of the ghosts of Wheatyard’s parents and spectral sister, and of the importance of storytelling. Despite Wheatyard being a physically small book, beautifully produced by Kuboa, it is also a big, brave book written with precision and wholeheartedness.

I'm incredibly flattered and humbled that my book resonated with him so deeply.

Interview at Midwestern Gothic

Midwestern Gothic interviewed me about Wheatyard, writing, and the Midwest.

MG: Do you believe the Midwest has affected your writing?
PA: The Midwest is physically beautiful, but in a very subtle way. The beauty of other places, like the mountains of Colorado or the beaches of Florida, is much easier to appreciate, but in the Midwest you often have to look very closely, and patiently. I suppose a lot of people don’t see beauty in a field of soybeans, a weathered farmhouse or rusting factory, but I do. Living in the Midwest, I’ve learned to look closely at things, and that translates to my writing as well. There’s not much bold action or laugh-out-loud humor in my fiction, which tends to involve reserved characters, quiet situations and commonplace dialogue. I think of my writing as being understated, as is the Midwest itself.

Thanks to Jeff Pfaller and Rob Russell for running the interview, and for their ongoing support. Getting my beloved but long-unpublished story "Mahalia" into the debut issue of Midwestern Gothic is one of the highlights of my writing career.

Wheatyard reviewed at decomP

Spencer Dew writes a wonderful review of Wheatyard in the new issue of decomP.

But the point, of course, is never exactly what Wheatyard is writing, nor why, merely that he exists as this unceasing force, producing and producing, and that his existence and fecundity stands as an example, an inspiration...This wildness contrasts, in turn, with the carefully plotted prose of Sinclair Lewis, with the depressing practicality of Central Illinois, and with the narrator’s career-minded forward march, through boredom and bad company and bad faith. Wheatyard changes all of this, of course, by his sheer improbable and unforgettable existence, his unstoppable, irrational production, which, in that way, defies any economy.

This review warms my heart, because it really makes me feel that Spencer understood both Wheatyard and the narrator, which is what every writer hopes for. My sincere thanks go out to Spencer and editor Jason Jordan - Jason has been a casual friend and supporter of my writing for several years, having published my story "Moonlight" back in 2008.