Dubus at the Iowa Writers' Workshop
Today is the birthday of the short story writer Andre Dubus. Dubus is the author of numerous collections, many of which have been lauded for his style, compassion and craftsmanship. Dubus is described as a “writer’s writer”, which means that during his lifetime his tremendous gifts often went unnoticed. But his work is much more than a greeting card exchanged between authors. His stories are rich with emotional weight and poetic consequence. They employ impressive dexterity and share with the reader a thorough understanding of love, heartbreak and morality. Currently, Dubus’ work is celebrated across the globe. He is widely considered one of the greatest short story writers of the twentieth century. He died in 1999. Today would have been his 72nd birthday.
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Author Birthdays,
Literature in the Media,
Writerly Happenings
Oh, It's Not That Bad
We know what we’ll be doing this Tuesday evening. It’s our weekly meeting — the Taco Boy Toast. You don’t know about it but we do. It’s at a restaurant here in Charleston. Three of us meet. We are a solid group, but there is no doubting our shady, slumming dirtiness. Hell, we’d fit right in with a work of crime fiction, especially coming from London, which is a dark town where we could hang with Mark Billingham. Of course, we’ll avoid Pyongyang. That city is a little too dark for us. It’s hard being a saint, even though Judas wasn’t. Speaking of Jerusalem, does Judas deserve to be the epitome of evil in the Christian mind? We think not. Hanging out with a criminal is a slumming affair, even though we do not have petty fights, unlike some crime writers we know. Finally, in case you missed it, Florida needs more of Carl Hiaasen, without which there’s nothing but dark skies. — Andrew Geer
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In Case You Missed It,
Literature in the Media,
Tuesday's Literary Briefing
