Shuly Xóchitl Cawood mines the nuances of daily life in A Small Thing to Want
In A Small Thing to Want, a collection of short stories by Johnson City writer Shuly Xóchitl Cawood, the most vital moments are often the most private. Cawood’s stories occupy…
Alia Volz pays tribute to her mother’s enterprising marijuana brownie business in Home Baked
…relief from devastating symptoms when conventional medicine offered few options. Stories like Meridy’s place the rapidly evolving legal and cultural status of all cannabis-related products into fascinating perspective. “The AIDS…
The characters of Katy Simpson Smith’s The Everlasting span the long, winding history of Rome
…as more than a colorful swirl of imagery. They provide a structural conceit that allows Smith to organize two millennia’s worth of material about Rome’s history and people. In “The…
Patti Smith chronicles her idiosyncratic path through the creative life in Year of the Monkey
…novelist William Burroughs. Her rock performances grew organically out of her first poetry readings. When announcing that Smith will receive this year’s PEN America Literary Service Award, PEN President and…
Novelist Louise Erdrich draws from her own family history for The Night Watchman
…battle against Resolution 108 would have meant losing legal safeguards that kept these already ravaged nations from dissolving altogether. Alongside Thomas, the novel’s other driving force is Patrice Paranteau, a…
Lorraine López sends up the foibles of arts faculty in Postcards from the Gerund State
…careers, their creative endeavors, and the precarious dynamics of their personal lives. Fiction writer Lucinda shuffles sudden responsibilities as a new grandmother with her professional ambitions. Plein air painter Jane…
