Jan 7, 2022Member-onlyCan Writing Be Taught? The Debate Rages On.After over a decade of teaching, I’d say a better question is, can writing be learned? — Can writing be taught? The debate rages on, even as classes and workshops and MFA programs proliferate. These days, there are almost as many writing teachers as there are writers. …Creative Writing5 min readCreative Writing5 min read
Aug 25, 2021Member-onlyThe Last Time I Saw RichardThe last time I saw Richard was Detroit in 68 And he told me all romantics meet the same fate Someday, cynical and drunk and boring someone In some dark cafe — Joni Mitchell, “The Last Time I Saw Richard” The last time I saw Richard — my Richard —…Mwc Death17 min readMwc Death17 min read
Dec 14, 2020Member-only10 Essential Creative Nonfiction Titles: New, Newish, and ClassicIn the proliferation of year-end book roundups, journalistic nonfiction and novels dominate the lists. And there are usually a few memoirs, especially if the author is Barack Obama or Mariah Carey. What often gets left out are collections of essays. …Best Books Of 202010 min readBest Books Of 202010 min read
Oct 10, 2020Member-onlyWhat “Kill Your Darlings” Really MeansAnd What To Do Instead Kill your darlings. William Faulkner (or Ernest Hemingway, or George Orwell, or Oscar Wilde) Kill your darling, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings. Stephen King Like many familiar quotations, “Kill your darlings” has long ago lost its meaning, and along with…Writing Advice6 min readWriting Advice6 min read
Published in Gay Mag·Mar 30, 2020Member-onlyAn Impossible GriefReckoning with a beloved teacher’s complicated legacy — Truth: This essay is supposed to be about an impossible grief. Truth: This essay is supposed to be about power. Lie: This essay is about what it’s supposed to be about. We’ve all heard famous women defend famous men who have been accused of abuse, of rape, of sexual harassment…Relationships15 min readRelationships15 min read
Published in Human Parts·Jun 9, 2015California BurningBuzz Andersen In California, something is always burning. During the autumn of Y2K, scheduled electricity blackouts rolled through my freshman year dorm, and we huddled under dim, generator-powered fluorescence in the halls because our rooms were too dark and too hot. Enron execs manipulated the lines and raked in Death…Long Reads17 min readLong Reads17 min read
