EliseBlackwell - Network

Finished The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden. Digging into Stranger Than Fiction, Edwin Frank’s take on the 20th-century novel....

Finished The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden. Digging into Stranger Than Fiction, Edwin Frank’s take on the 20th-century novel. #FridayReads

I've been listening to Caleb Carr's The Alienist while walking the dogs, as I'm working on a novel set three years later....

I've been listening to Caleb Carr's The Alienist while walking the dogs, as I'm working on a novel set three years later. Finding much to admire, but it is *not* a model for the seamless incorporation of research. Or maybe it is: just chunk in those paragraphs and say "here's the deal about that." Or maybe not.

This morning I was reading about Pompeii in a history of restaurants and realized how little I have understood the site's scale and...

This morning I was reading about Pompeii in a history of restaurants and realized how little I have understood the site's scale and detail. Then I opened two social media platforms and saw links to new pieces about Pompeii at the top of my feed. A Pompeii day, for sure.

Looking forward to the University of South Carolina's The Open Book....

Looking forward to the University of South Carolina's The Open Book. https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/artsandsciences/english_language_and_literature/beyond_classroom/writers_series/open_book/index.php

Pulled a 2014 Brick off the shelf and spent a quiet morning with a Mavis Gallant celebration, a Sasha Hemon interview, writing by Amitava...

Pulled a 2014 Brick off the shelf and spent a quiet morning with a Mavis Gallant celebration, a Sasha Hemon interview, writing by Amitava Kumar, and a meditative essay by Andrew H. Miller on art, time, and the death of his newborn daughter. I regret every morning I ever started with twitter news.

Alt text: photo is of several dark shiny figs in a ceramic plate.

Alt text: photo is of several dark shiny figs in a ceramic plate.

This tree did not produce figs in its first four years. Today:

This tree did not produce figs in its first four years. Today:

Just heard there’s a new Joseph Roth biography out this fall. I rarely read biography; I will be reading that biography.

Just heard there’s a new Joseph Roth biography out this fall. I rarely read biography; I will be reading that biography.

"One gets put in a drawer which says Thomas Bernhard, a follower of Thomas Bernhard, etc., and these labels never go away." --W.G....

"One gets put in a drawer which says Thomas Bernhard, a follower of Thomas Bernhard, etc., and these labels never go away." --W.G. Sebald, quoted in this piece on contemporary long paragraphs in fiction: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/technology-attention-and-the-extremely-long-paragraph/

For unknown reasons, I've never read Ali Smith. Any recommendations for which book(s) to start with?

For unknown reasons, I've never read Ali Smith. Any recommendations for which book(s) to start with?

Today at the Neue Nationalgallerie, I took better photos of paintings I admire more, but I like the idea of this one: an Expressionist...

Today at the Neue Nationalgallerie, I took better photos of paintings I admire more, but I like the idea of this one: an Expressionist (Kirchner) painting an Impressionist (Liebermann) thusly. (I probably minored in German because of my attraction to Expressionism.)

Loving Berlin, but went to Spreewald for a few hours’ kayak break.

Loving Berlin, but went to Spreewald for a few hours’ kayak break.

Lately I've been fascinated by the close friendship between Eudora Welty and Ross MacDonald, so I picked up one of his mysteries....

Lately I've been fascinated by the close friendship between Eudora Welty and Ross MacDonald, so I picked up one of his mysteries. It's straight genre and dated in some ways (treatment of psychoanalysis and gender), but it has some really fine (and a few not so fine) descriptions as well as human insights. I'd love to see into Eudora's heart and mind.

Feeling lucky and inspired. Beautiful weather here in South Carolina to commence an intensive writing month. I'm going all in on a...

Feeling lucky and inspired. Beautiful weather here in South Carolina to commence an intensive writing month. I'm going all in on a shaggy mess of a novel I've been writing off and on for eight years (finished another manuscript in the middle, but still), plus some neglected self-care stuff and improving my German ahead of a June trip to Berlin.

I'm giving a talk this evening on Bewilderment. Richard Powers will be here Wednesday! 6 pm, Campus Room, Capstone Building, University...

I'm giving a talk this evening on Bewilderment. Richard Powers will be here Wednesday! 6 pm, Campus Room, Capstone Building, University of South Carolina. Free and open to all.

Should you ever have the chance to see/hear Natalie Diaz, do yourself a favor and go.

Should you ever have the chance to see/hear Natalie Diaz, do yourself a favor and go.

It's poetry week at the University of South Carolina's The Open Book. Today at 6 pm: Nikky Finney discusses the work of Natalie...

It's poetry week at the University of South Carolina's The Open Book. Today at 6 pm: Nikky Finney discusses the work of Natalie Diaz. Wednesday at 6 pm: Natalie Diaz speaks. Both talks: Campus Room, Capstone Building. Free and open to all. (Up next week at The Open Book: RIchard Powers.)

Attached is a flyer for The Open Book, a literary series I'm lucky enough to organize and host at the University of South Carolina.

Attached is a flyer for The Open Book, a literary series I'm lucky enough to organize and host at the University of South Carolina.

A colleague from Turkey recommends these aid organizations for donations: Research Institute on Turkey (RIT) is a registered 501(c)3...

A colleague from Turkey recommends these aid organizations for donations:

Research Institute on Turkey (RIT) is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in NY State:
https://riturkey.org/fundraising/

Turkish Philantrophy Funds has on ground contacts with large scale relief operations:
https://www.tpfund.org/

Bridge to Turkiye Fund is a North Carolina-based organization that works with grassroots partners in Turkey
https://bridgetoturkiye.org/

Doctors Without Borders: www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Spending a few weeks in Germany with my daughter in June and welcome recommendations for Berlin and Hamburg (and day trips from them),...

Spending a few weeks in Germany with my daughter in June and welcome recommendations for Berlin and Hamburg (and day trips from them), particularly stuff not on the first page of the guidebooks and vegetarian eats.