Monthly Archives: January 2011

He was the king of Key West, living the Hemingway life of fishing, drinking and writing, prowling the streets of the southernmost U.S. city as the last, best literary hope of his generation. Being tagged “the next Ernest Hemingway” was … Continue reading →

Think about it: why should we be surprised that Keith Richards would write such a wonderful book? The man has sustained a five-decade career as a great rock’n’roll storyteller and performer, so he knows a lot about economy of language … Continue reading →

It might turn into a literary turf war. There’s no denying that Dennis Lehane has emerged as one of America’s greatest novelists during the last decade and a half. His books have touched millions of readers and inspired a number … Continue reading →

Published in The Farm Report on September 10, 2009. ……… Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to nominate the University Press of Florida for the state’s highest public service award. After all, the publisher has brought Carl Hiaasen’s two collections of newspaper columns  back … Continue reading →

Published in The Farm Report on September 25, 2009. ………. Every now and then in class, I mention “the library” and look out to see rows of blank faces. Time to explain myself again. “It’s like the Internet, only it’s … Continue reading →

Published in The Farm Report on November 9, 2009. (This was written at the request of Martin Flynn, proprietor of the site Hunter S. Thompson Books http://hstbooks.org. Martin asked me to write about where Hunter S. Thompson stopped and Raoul Duke … Continue reading →

Published in The Farm Report on November 10, 2009. ………. This interview with Irish writer Martin Flynn was conducted for Beatscene magazine. It appears on Flynn’s Web site, http://hstbooks.org.) MF. Did you have any doubts or concerns about writing another … Continue reading →

Published in The Farm Report on December 9, 2009. ……… We live in a very weird world. If you’re in front of me in line at the grocery and I commit the offense of talking to you (“Hey, that wheat germ … Continue reading →

Published in The Farm Report on December 9, 2009. ………. It’s an adage about writing: “See the war through the eye of the single soldier.” I use that line when I talk to students about storytelling. Great writers draw us in … Continue reading →

Originally published in The Farm Report on December 17, 2009. …………… ‘Tis the season for many things, and I bet one of them is over-eating. If you’re going to be a glutton, do it right – and get some food for … Continue reading →