Lit Crit

Are people born writers? Or are writers created by years of practice and strong teachers?

Today's guest on the Morning Media Menu was Geoff Colvin, senior editor-at-large for Fortune magazine. The veteran reporter and author explored his recent book, "Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers From Everybody Else." He talked about how we overvalue talent in our culture, arguing that writers are shaped by teachers and practice--not innate talent.

Here's an excerpt from the interview: "Most of us, especially in the early days of our development, are not well-qualified to design our own deliberate practice. We don't know enough about the field as beginners to know where we should be pushing ourselves next or what abilities we should be developing. We also need an outside set of eyes, somebody who can observe the performance and give us an honest session of feedback. Anybody who is a writer really needs someone who can help them design their practice, tell them what to do next, judge what they've done, and make them do a lot of work."

As the one-year anniversary nears of the horrific terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Virginia Quarterly Review has serialized a 19,000-word essay about that terrible day.

That work of narrative nonfiction was written by freelance multimedia journalist Jason Motlagh, today's guest on the Morning Media Menu. During the interview, he pondered the future of long-form international reporting during this print recession--delivering advice for surviving as a freelance writer in this recession.

Here's an excerpt from the interview: "I would encourage young journalists to look for the offbeat destinations, but also look at the places that are saturated--where the coverage has not been as diversified as it could be. Look for the counter-intuitive stories. To set yourself up--it's important that you develop a body of work on a given area or issue, I think specialization is important now. In this hyper-inundated media climate, it's important to single yourself out. It can pay to really stick to a topic. if you have a vision, find people who are like-minded who will support it. Think of online media as an opportunity, and not a compromise."

Choosing from a crowded field of brand new words that included "hashtag," "paywall," and "sexting," the New Oxford American Dictionary has picked its highly anticipated Word of the Year: "unfriend."

The term has become linguistic shorthand for breaking off a friendship in virtual space, the end of a social networking relationship on Facebook or other site. It was chosen for "currency and potential longevity," according to the press release. GalleyCat caught up with Rebecca Ford, the senior OUP blog editor, to find out more about behind-the-scene deliberations at the dictionary. She explained the creation of the master list: "They pull in sources from blogs, magazines, books, and give us a list of words that are buzzing in new and interesting ways. We sit around and discuss the list--deciding which ones we think are most important."

"It's my favorite time of year," she concluded. "It's a lot of fun, especially when you come up with a list with a word like sexting on it. When we discuss, you have to decide--do you want to go for the word that is most sensational, or the word that will have the most longevity in the language?"

In an email interview with Washington City Paper, Washington Post Book World fiction editor Ron Charles worried about the subscriber rate for the site's podcast series.

Here's more from the post: "There's no concrete deadline for adding more subscribers, Charles says, or even a goal for how many it needs, just 'a general mandate to make sure we're concentrating our efforts on projects that are actually attracting an audience.'" Update: On Twitter, Charles says the podcast needs "about 100K additional subscribers."

Featuring ten minute interviews with writers like Francine Prose, James Ellroy and Margaret Atwood, the show deserves some iTunes love. After Maria Arana retired, Charles assumed podcasting duties at the review.

Celebrity book deals have always stoked passionate opinions among GalleyCat readers and one magazine has taken a special look at a particular sub-genre of this polarizing literary trend: celebrity poetry.

Over at Details magazine, a short poetry quiz urges discerning readers to connect celebrities with their enigmatic verses. The wide-range of styles includes work by popular poets like Jewel (pictured, via), Michael Jackson, Suzanne Somers, and William Butler Yeats.

Here's more from the site: "Celebrity Poetry [is] a much-maligned and misunderstood American literary genre that's enjoying a bit of extra attention right now, thanks to the rediscovered cosmic versifications of Michael Jackson. (Alas, yes, 'twas the late King of Pop who composed sweetly sublime lines such as "Planet Earth, my home, my place/ A capricious anomaly in the sea of space.") Lyrical musings have put MJ in the company of poetic luminaries like Leonard Cohen, Rosie O'Donnell, Billy Corgan, Jewel, Mr. Spock, and Suzanne Somers. But how well, dear scholar, do you really know their work?"

This month, Publishers Weekly unveiled a series of Best Books of 2009 lists, and the "Top Ten" list did not include any books by women authors.

Cate Marvin (pictured, via), a writer and co-founder Women In Letters And Literary Arts (WILLA), objected in a statement: "The absence made me nearly speechless ... It continues to surprise me that literary editors are so comfortable with their bias toward male writing, despite the great and obvious contributions that women authors make to our contemporary literary culture."

Founded in August, the group has already gained more than 5,400 Facebook members, including authors, journalists, and scholars. In response to the rankings, WILLA has created a wiki-list: "Great Books By Women That Publishers Weekly Missed In 2009." The growing site is already full of suggestions--what do you think?

In the last week, literature met politics in two national publications--with some interesting results.

After losing his own book deal, South Carolinia Governor Mark Sanford has turned to literary criticism--singing the praises of novelist Ayn Rand in a Newsweek essay. Here's a sample: "I still believe firmly that her books deserve attention, and in that regard, Anne Heller's Ayn Rand and the World She Made provides important and meaningful insight into the evolution of Rand's world view. "The Fountainhead" is a stunning evocation of the individual and what he can achieve when unhindered by government or society."

If that wasn't enough political literary criticism, The Daily Beast ran a series of video interviews with novelist, Philip Roth. The interview followed the best practices for authorial web videos: unexpected questions, simple editing, and broken into easily-watchable clips. Here's a quote from "It's a good book. "Dreams of my Father" is a good book. I read it with great interest, in part because it was written by this guy who was running for President. I found it well-done, very persuasive, and memorable too." (Via Mediaite)

As buyouts and layoffs loom at the NY Times, one article gave an inside look at the editorial shape of the newspaper's beloved book review--reportedly staffed by 14 editors.

The NY Observer obtained a 61-page outline from the buyout paperwork; a list outlining how many people work in different parts of the NY Times' offices. Among the many positions listed, the article counted 14 editors at the book review, 21 editors at the NYT Magazine, and 18 critics in the Culture Department. What do you think about these numbers?

After reading the article, The Awl asked How Many Nice People Does It Take To Edit 24 Pages A Week?. Here's a sample: "I like the Book Review. Or at least I like it abstractly, not in the "Yay it's Sunday morning, here's the Book Review" kind of way. And yes, there is a hell of a lot of reading involved in it. But I'm pretty sure me and Maud and Lizzie and Mark Greif and a couple interns could get it done by Tuesday and then sort of just chillax on Wednesdays before starting all over again."

In an open letter to readers in The Huffington Post book section, editor Amy Hertz (pictured) made a controversial statement: "Book reviews tend to be conversation enders, and when you're living in the age of engagement, a time when people are looking for conversation starters, that stance gets you nowhere."

That comment set off a flurry of debate around the Internet. While editing the HuffPo books section, Hertz has continued her job as an editor at Dutton. One GalleyCat commenter wrote: "Editors love books they think they can sell. Believe me, I know how this works--I've worked in publishing for over 20 years. Last thing I want to hear is some editor tooting her own horn yet again."

One HuffPo reader responded: "I really hope this isn't just an opportunity for pitch and spin for agents and authors. I think the public needs an objective assessment, a good filter, not necessarily a stuffy book review, but not more loud mouth marketing. You can't trust someone trying to sell you something." Finally, novelist and GalleyCat reader Richard Melo tweeted his short and sweet response: "I agree. A poor review can kill a book."

Book clubs have created many things, from friendship to book sales, but one book club actually inspired an entire dance program.

For her first full-length ballet, Promise, veteran Chicago dancer Winifred Haun wrote a piece inspired by John Steinbeck's novel, "East of Eden." According to a Flavorwire interview, the idea was born in a book club. Unfortunately, the actual text won't appear in the upcoming show.

Here's more from the interview: "I first got the idea when I read 'East of Eden' in 2003 as part of a mother's book club. The book just filled me. I can't think of another way to describe it ... I would love to use the text from the book in this but the Steinbeck literary agent, who is actually a lawyer, has been in touch with me about this and it would be very expensive for me to use some of the language in the book. We're still kind of in negotiation about it and perhaps one day I will."