Readings

|| Mark Twain sitting at his desk.
Mark Twain’s Escape From Journalism

In this excerpt from The Bohemians, Ben Tarnoff examines the writing of a key work in Mark Twain’s transition from rakish journalist to literary giant, the short story “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog.”

|| All My Puny Sorrows author Miriam Toews
‘No Wonder People Are Reluctant to Talk About Mental Health’: An Interview With Miriam Toews

Miriam Toews, author of All My Puny Sorrows, discusses fictionalizing her family history, how shame begets art, and creating a community with her writing.

||The Chamber of the House of Commons of Canada via Wikimedia Commons
Canada’s Rotten Government

Alison Loat and Michael MacMillan’s Tragedy in the Commons depicts a parliamentary system in active decay—one that, like so many Canadian failures, will have its defenders until the bitter end, no matter the consequences.