Monthly Archives: July 2018

“As a refugee from Vietnam who grew up in a poor and violent area of Philadelphia, my life changed dramatically when I enrolled at Harvard College.”

Posted on July 30, 2018 by Kate Stover

When Due Quach was a new student at Harvard, she didn’t have much to add to her classmates’ conversations about their vacations.  She had never been on one.  Starting at age eight, she had worked almost every day at her … Continue reading →

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“The waitress seemed to sense that this was not the moment to ask if they had everything they needed.”

Posted on July 23, 2018 by Kate Stover

Of course, the waitress was right: these people clearly didn’t have everything they needed. This is familiar territory for fans of Anne Tyler. We count on seeing an “eccentric ecosystem of relatives and neighbors” who aren’t getting the assurances, stability … Continue reading →

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“The one that was accepted would then be rewritten ten times as I received round after round of notes.”

Posted on July 13, 2018 by Kate Stover

I believe that everyone who is contemplating making a living as a writer should read “Nonfiction, an Introduction,” a short essay in This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. Ann Patchett describes being allowed to write one of ten … Continue reading →

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“No other river in the world can match the Danube for the sheer historical richness of the cities and landscapes through which it passes.”

Posted on July 5, 2018 by Kate Stover

As an American, I haven’t thought much about the many roles that rivers have played in other parts of the world.  In The Danube: A Cultural History, Andrew Beattie argues convincingly that when travelling the Danube, you are taking not just a … Continue reading →

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