In the first part of this mini-series, I examined the narrative landscape of Immortal Technique’s “Dance With the Devil,” a Faustian tale of greed and violence. Continuing this theme, I want to examine a piece that is contemporaneous with “Dance With the Devil,” but occupies the opposite end of the hip-hop success spectrum. Where most outside the underground hip-hop scene haven’t been acquainted with Immortal Technique’s work, it’s hard to find someone alive in the U.S. (and indeed, much of the world) who hasn’t at least heard of Eminem. He’s the best-selling artist of the 2000’s, has won fifteen Grammy Awards, and is a mainstay in current popular culture. So, as is often is the question with print books, can material with mass appeal also be literary?
Read MoreSo you’re going to have a reading! Congratulations! Readings can be very fun and are an excellent opportunity for you to share your work with the world. But for many the idea of standing in front of a crowd and speaking is a daunting task. If you are one of those people, have no fear! Here are some tips for the nervous writer.
Read MoreSo surely anyone on this blog has a love for lit magazines, especially Hayden’s Ferry Review. Our editors at HFR do too, and they were happy to share their personal favorites. Each one is its own unique publication, and great examples of the wider range of journals we all have from all over the country accessible to us thanks to the internet.
Read More