Columbia University, Wednesday, Nov 11, 7.30 PM. Register here. About the Nonfiction Dialogues The Nonfiction Dialogues is a student-initiated evening series in which Professor and Writing Program Chair Lis Harris interviews distinguished nonfiction writers about their work and careers. Recent guests have included Eula Biss, Alexander Chee, John D’Agata, Ian Frazier, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, and Mary Roach.
Posts Categorized: Teaching
Prime Time with Ravish
It was a great pleasure for me to speak in Hindi—and Bhojpuri—to Ravish on NDTV’s Prime Time about teaching in the time of corona. You can watch the interview on YouTube.
#WritingAdvice
I have a piece in the New York Times Book Review where I ask writers to offer pithy advice about writing: I suspect writers are more likely than, say, firefighters or doctors or second basemen to seek professional advice from those they admire. This is because writing is regarded as a magical act, its mysteries… Read more »
New Interview
Jeffrey Williams (JW): Your new novel, Immigrant, Montana, has been widely reviewed and most of the reviews have touted it as autofiction, although it strikes me that it is not really autobiographical. Having known you for a long time, I’d say you conducted a skillful ruse, giving it the air of autobiography. Amitava Kumar… Read more »
Yale
I have just returned from a lovely visit to Yale University where I visiting Professor Leah Mirakhor’s writing class and then did a reading and talk at Ezra Stiles College. (At Ezra Stiles, I read from Immigrant, Montana and collected some valuable merch. An Ezra Stiles woolen scarf and thermos. Thank you for the opportunity,… Read more »
Bad Writing
Here’s a piece that I published this morning about asking my students to do bad writing. Teju Cole makes a guest appearance. An invitation came by email to contribute to a teaching volume. A brief piece, only a few hundred words long, was needed. Describe a favorite teaching exercise from your literature classes. The word… Read more »