October 4, 2012 Bulletin What We’re Doing Tonight: TPR at Greenlight Books! By Sadie Stein Tonight! Join us for a panel discussion of The Paris Review’s new fiction anthology, Object Lessons, and readings from Donald Antrim and David Means, moderated by our very own Lorin Stein. Free! Greenlight Bookstore686 Fulton StreetBrooklyn, NY 11217 7:30-9:30 See you there! P.S. There will be wine. [tweetbutton] [facebook_ilike]
September 21, 2012 Bulletin Object Lesson: Undermining By The Paris Review We can’t express how excited we are to show you Object Lessons: The Paris Review Presents the Art of the Short Story. To recap: the editors approached twenty contemporary masters, asked them to choose their favorite short stories from our extensive fiction archive, and then write an introduction explaining what makes said story so good. The result? Stories we already loved, stories we didn’t know we needed in our lives, and a veritable M.F.A. between two covers. (Publishers Weekly is actually the one who said that!) A must for the reader, the learner—for anyone! Today’s quiz: Can you guess who wrote the following selection? I had an odd figure for a modern dancer. Rubanesque, my composer boyfriend called my body when pressed for compliments. This was long before I found the tiny crimson panties tucked beneath his buckwheat pillow. I also heard him say Rembrandt. My mother, it’s worth noting, took figures very seriously. I often felt this was another feature of her generation, like the typing and the meals on trays. In my time, I believed, a body could be different and still be okay. But when the composer mentioned Botero, I lost confidence. Find out! And pre-order a copy today!
September 20, 2012 Bulletin Never Fear! Your Mugs are Coming! By The Paris Review Friends! We are so excited about the enthusiasm with which you have greeted our super-duper new mug! (We can’t wait either.) But we wanted to warn you: due to a slight print delay, they’ll be shipping out a little later than we planned. We didn’t want you to worry and thought we’d tell you right away: you will get your mug in plenty of time for fall cider sipping! They will arrive in early October, so sit tight!
September 20, 2012 Bulletin Tonight: “Get in the back of the van!” By Sadie Stein When BAM asked The Paris Review to choose a film for screening in concert with the Brooklyn Book Festival, the choice was obvious. So, tonight, please join Leanne Shapton, Lorin Stein, and yours truly for a special screening of the cult classic Withnail and I. To the uninitiated: the film, directed by Bruce Robinson, stars Paul McGann and Richard E. Grant as two wastrels in 1969 London who decide to take a restorative holiday in the countryside; obsessively quotable mayhem obviously ensues. Some find it baffling; some find it disturbing; for the rest of us, it is a magnificent obsession. All three camps are invited! Starts at 7 P.M. Discussion to follow. Click here for tickets.
September 20, 2012 Bulletin Object Lesson: Classics By The Paris Review As you may recall from prior bulletins, in Object Lessons: The Paris Review Presents the Art of the Short Story, the editors approached twenty contemporary writers, presented them with our vast fiction archive, and asked them to write an introduction to their favorite short story. And did they deliver: the anthology is not just a great collection, but a veritable primer on what makes this medium work. Today’s quiz: Can you guess who wrote the following selection? I always noted this tablet to the boys on their first day in my classroom, partly to inform them of their predecessor at St. Benedict’s, and partly to remind them of the great ambition and conquest that had been utterly forgotten centuries before they were born. Afterwards I had one of them recite, from the wall where it hung above my desk, Shelley’s “Ozymandias.” It is critical for any man of import to understand his own insignificance before the sands of time, and this is what my classroom always showed the boys. Find out! And pre-order a copy today!
September 19, 2012 Bulletin Object Lesson: Kings By The Paris Review The story so far: in Object Lessons: The Paris Review Presents the Art of the Short Story, we asked twenty contemporary writers to choose their favorite short stories from our fiction archive, and write an introduction. The result is a crash course in the short story, an introduction to some new authors and a reintroduction to others, and a terrific anthology. Today’s quiz: Can you guess who wrote the following selection? Today I have learned a great lesson; our cook was my teacher. She is twenty-five years old and she’s French. I discovered that she does not know that Louis-Philippe is no longer king of France and we now have a republic. And yet it has been five years since he left the throne. She said the fact that he is no longer king simply does not interest her in the least—those were her words. And I think of myself as an intelligent man! But compared to her I’m an imbecile. Find out! And pre-order a copy today!