Bookworm

The Lost Father (Vintage) For writer Mona Simpson, the search for family is a spiritual quest...

Wonders Of The West Kate Braverman, a sort of high-priestess of fiction, discusses prose as incantation--an instrument for the transformation of reality.

Bastard Out Of Carolina The writer talks about story telling, reality, violence, incest and working-class fiction.

Skin The author describes what a short story is, from inspiration to inner meaning.

The Queen's Throat The author offers a frilly and brilliant analysis of the relationship between opera and homosexuality.

(Editor of Stiletto magazine) Expensive paper, complex typographies and multicolored graphics make Stiletto the most lavish independent literary review published in the United States. Its editor delineates the editorial process.

Dunster The beloved author of the Rumpole books tells how he builds his complex plot structures and examines the basic tools of storytelling.

Red Trousseau The poet explores new functions for metaphor in modern poetry: Can a poet debunk old, harmful mythologies and invent new, positive ones?

Saving St. Germ Author Carol Muske-Dukes discusses her humorous novel about a scientist who explores the nature of creation, inspiration, nuclear chemistry and feminism.

Locomotives

What Did I Do? The writer talks about art, gossip, sex and immorality in the career of an artist.

Natural History Art, history and real life are the subjects of the author's investigation of America.

Straight Outta Compton The experimental novelist describes how he constructed his Rap novel.

Catapult: Harry And I Build A Siege Weapon The essayist discusses his whimsical project: to construct a medieval weapon while on an arts grant and to write a book about the process.

The Idea of Home Invention, surrealism and hilarity are at the center of Curtis White's novel about his home town in California.

Sexual Personae; Sex, Art and American Culture Camille Paglia fires at contemporary criticism and literary theory.

Sin; Damage The writer examines the nature of guilt, tragedy and obsession.

Sylvia The writer discusses the morality of writing autobiographical fiction, with reference to Sylvia, his memoir about marriage and mental imbalance.

Et Tu, Babe The wild and crazy narcissist reads from and explains his exotic fantasy.

White Jazz The ins and outs of crime fiction are explored by this post- modernist tough guy.