Do pop by BiblioBuffet.com and have a look at my interview with essayist Arthur Krystal. He's such a delight.
His latest book, The Half-Life of the American Essayist, is a read I'd recommend very highly to those who, like me, enjoy the literary essay.
If you care about literature and the fate of the literary essay make sure you "vote" for them via your pocketbook. It's a genre that's imperiled at the least, possibly even endangered, and we don't need to lose any more of these gems than we already have.
Publishers aren't willing to risk much money on genres that don't sell boatloads of books. And these essays fall into that category.
We all know newspapers are cutting back their books sections, but you may not realize how difficult it actually is to get a book of literary essays published. Those who care about the fate of serious literature need to dig in their heels now, before we lose anything else we can't afford to.
And I don't think we can afford to lose the Arthur Krystals of the world.
Fantastic interview, Lisa. I definitely want to get my hands on the book.
Posted by: Andi | February 13, 2008 at 05:37 PM