Archives for May 2018

Philip Roth meant everything to me when I first began writing, and I’ve followed his career more avidly than any other American novelist. He was a close friend of one of Delphinium’s authors, who sadly told me he was near the end a few days before his death was announced. [Read more…]

I’ve had the privilege of editing the work of writers who have published many books and have come to Delphinium later on in their careers. Editing a master is very different than editing a new writer. Established authors have managed to stay in the game for decades and beyond their sheer talent, they’ve had to develop a dogged perseverance to keep writing and publishing despite the success or failure of their previous books. Not to mention the fact that each of these authors have had bad experiences with editors who, while admiring their work enough to publish it, perhaps never digested it fully enough to be able to edit carefully and successfully. [Read more…]

Writers and editors are often asked to name their favorite novel but seldom are asked to name their favorite short story. This fact may be determined by the short story’s brevity and that there are many more “perfect” short stories than there are “perfect” novels. Then again novels are not necessarily called “perfect” but rather just “great” and it is generally agreed that greatness does not preclude having flaws. All this notwithstanding, “favorite” implies a subjective point of view; and yet I think for most readers it’s difficult to choose a single short story that lives on in one’s mind above all the rest. But I actually have an all-time favorite, the only short story I continuously and ritually reread about once a year. This is The Captain’s Daughter by Alexander Pushkin. [Read more…]