Reading Like a Writer

Reading Like a Writer
"Heavy" and Inclusive Intimacy
Kiese Laymon's Heavy: An American Memoir is about being black, male, heavy, brilliant with words, and growing up in Mississippi. It's devastating to read—in a good way. I'd like to talk about a beautiful moment of friendship in the book.
Allison Wyss
Mar. 1
Reading Like a Writer
Reading Like a Writer: Setting and Sensibility in White Dancing Elephants
Because it's unaligned with a character, I initially wonder if the voice is omniscient, or even objective third-person. When the "I" emerges in the second paragraph, it's a surprise. I realize the character has been hiding from me, effacing himself behind the dense description of his hiding place.
Allison Wyss
Jan. 23
Reading Like a Writer
Reading Like a Writer: THE TIGER'S WIFE and Strange Perspective
Téa Obreht's THE TIGER'S WIFE is about a young doctor who pieces together the history of her grandfather—a mysterious life story that is filled with fairy tale-like magic—while she cares for orphans in a war-torn country.
Allison Wyss
Dec. 21
Reading Like a Writer
Where We Go When All We Were is Gone and Gross Details
I want to talk about grossness and gore. I want to talk about when a detail in a story makes you shudder or gag. Can the repulsive be misused? Of course! But it can also do wonderful things for a story.
Allison Wyss
Nov. 2
Reading Like a Writer
The Merry Spinster, Defamiliarization, and Fairy Tales
Daniel Mallory Ortberg's THE MERRY SPINSTER is a collection of retold fairy tales and children's stories that play with reality, both twisting and shedding new light on it.
Allison Wyss
Sep. 19