April 2016 – Page 2 – Michigan Quarterly Review

April 2016

At the Piano: Remembering Lorraine Geller and Portland’s Jazz History

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Recorded in Los Angeles in 1954, At the Piano came out in 1959, a year after Lorraine died. Jazz trios are a dime a dozen, and piano trio albums can sound so much alike that they seem interchangeable. The worst have too many standards. Too little fire. Not enough swing. They can sound stiff, safe, almost classical in their polish. Lorraine’s, though, brims with life.

At the Piano: Remembering Lorraine Geller and Portland’s Jazz History Read More »

Recorded in Los Angeles in 1954, At the Piano came out in 1959, a year after Lorraine died. Jazz trios are a dime a dozen, and piano trio albums can sound so much alike that they seem interchangeable. The worst have too many standards. Too little fire. Not enough swing. They can sound stiff, safe, almost classical in their polish. Lorraine’s, though, brims with life.

“The Painter’s House,” by Adrienne Rich

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Is this the kitchen where she worked and thought
Is that the loft where their bodies fell
into each other The nail where the mirror
hung the shelf where her college books
eyed her aslant
Those stairs would her bare feet have felt?

“The Painter’s House,” by Adrienne Rich Read More »

Is this the kitchen where she worked and thought
Is that the loft where their bodies fell
into each other The nail where the mirror
hung the shelf where her college books
eyed her aslant
Those stairs would her bare feet have felt?

Maternal Detritus, Lost Vinyl, Caravaggios in the Attic, and more

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Excerpts and curios from around the web:

Mary Kelly on the diapers that made her an icon, one man’s journey to recover the records of his youth, Judith Beheading Holofernes … again, and a reissue of a Marianne Moore classic. Plus: Details on Lincoln in the Bardo, a forthcoming novel from George Saunders.

Maternal Detritus, Lost Vinyl, Caravaggios in the Attic, and more Read More »

Excerpts and curios from around the web:

Mary Kelly on the diapers that made her an icon, one man’s journey to recover the records of his youth, Judith Beheading Holofernes … again, and a reissue of a Marianne Moore classic. Plus: Details on Lincoln in the Bardo, a forthcoming novel from George Saunders.

Should We Teach Compassion In Creative Writing?

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Today, when I read student work that relies on a clever conceit—such as a piece of fiction that is, ultimately, an elaborate joke; when I read stories that are technically functional but devoid of insights, I cringe. I prefer a piece that is overly sentimental but that is trying to get at something true to the undergraduate’s experience, such as love, longing, heartbreak.

Should We Teach Compassion In Creative Writing? Read More »

Today, when I read student work that relies on a clever conceit—such as a piece of fiction that is, ultimately, an elaborate joke; when I read stories that are technically functional but devoid of insights, I cringe. I prefer a piece that is overly sentimental but that is trying to get at something true to the undergraduate’s experience, such as love, longing, heartbreak.

Unsolved Histories: Hitler, Histrionics, and My Hometown’s Almost-Obliteration

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I first caught wind of Fort Wayne, Indiana’s almost-obliteration after reading Michael Martone’s essay/story, “Fort Wayne Is Seventh On Hitler’s List.” As a Fort Wayne native, I was shocked by the title’s claim. Impressed, too—at least a little—that our city was once important enough to warrant Hitler’s wrath. Admittedly, being seventh on a bombing list is a bit of a dubious honor, and, as the Fort Wayne Visitors Bureau knows all too well, one that hardly translates to tourist dollars. Yet what we lack in tourism we make up for with hometown pride; the old timers are still known to puff out their chests and recount stories about the time we were nearly in Hitler’s crosshairs. So why did Hitler allegedly take an interest in our city?

Unsolved Histories: Hitler, Histrionics, and My Hometown’s Almost-Obliteration Read More »

I first caught wind of Fort Wayne, Indiana’s almost-obliteration after reading Michael Martone’s essay/story, “Fort Wayne Is Seventh On Hitler’s List.” As a Fort Wayne native, I was shocked by the title’s claim. Impressed, too—at least a little—that our city was once important enough to warrant Hitler’s wrath. Admittedly, being seventh on a bombing list is a bit of a dubious honor, and, as the Fort Wayne Visitors Bureau knows all too well, one that hardly translates to tourist dollars. Yet what we lack in tourism we make up for with hometown pride; the old timers are still known to puff out their chests and recount stories about the time we were nearly in Hitler’s crosshairs. So why did Hitler allegedly take an interest in our city?

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