You Think You Know What Your Novel Is About...

... but then at some point you realize, yes, OK, sure, maybe it's about that, but it's also really about something else, something you weren't aware of (not consciously).

A while back I had the realization that, to a large degree, my novel is about forgiveness. Forgiving others. Forgiving yourself. Forgiving the past as well as the present.

Today I was reading this review of Ethel Rohan's Hard to Say (a fantastic book, by the way) and I came across this quote from Peter Ustinov: "Love is an act of endless forgiveness."

I almost fell out of my chair. My god. That's what my book is really about.

Bits and Pieces (Mostly About David Foster Wallace)

Yesterday would have been David Foster Wallace's 50th birthday.

With that in mind, here are a few things DFW-related:

• 46 Things to Read and See for David Foster Wallace's 50th Birthday. Some real gems here. Among my favorites: the link to an interview with Charlie Rose. Charlie Rose asks for his opinion on The English Patient and DFW's reply is classic: "You're seriously asking me for my view on The English Patient?"

• "I'm about as professionally flummoxed as I've ever been." Check out DFW's 1995 letter to Don DeLillo. I think I quoted from this letter before, but here it is in full.

Also, I was extremely happy to see that Roxane Gay will have a short story in the Best American Short Stories 2012. The story ("North Country") appeared in Hobart 12.

Roxane is one of my favorite writers. I try to read everything she writes. You should too.

Last Night I Dreamed I Was at a Don DeLillo Reading

...and the reading was outdoors, in a park, during the day, bright and sunny, people sitting on the grass and waiting for DeLillo to arrive.

Suddenly he was there. The reading was for a book that hasn't been published. The book was a long one (not like his recent short novels). It had a colorful cover (yellow, black, red).

DeLillo said he needed a podium or stand or something. I offered the cardboard box I was sitting on. (Why was I sitting on a cardboard box? Good question. Dreams, you know.)

He sat down and placed the book on the cardboard box and started to read and everyone listened.

Pank 6

Earlier in the week I received my contributor copy of the latest print issue of Pank.


So far I've read wonderful stories by Sara Lippmann, Lindsay Hunter, Lauren Becker, John Warner and Daiva Markelis.

As usual, Pank delivers lots o' goodness. You can order a copy here.