Craft

Friends With Benefits
Rebecca Kelley talks about her novel of modern relationships

Q&A by Christi R. Suzanne

"In classic love stories, love and marriage were often a matter of survival for women. We don't need to find love to be fulfilled these days, but that doesn't mean we have relationships all figured out." Rebecca Kelley chats about her new novel, Broken Homes and Gardens. more

Readings

Not Much, But Enough
In his final novel, Kent Haruf breaks the fourth wall

By Evan P. Schneider

In a scene between two old, longtime residents of Holt, by an aging writer who won't live to see the publication of the book he's writing, Haruf has his characters discuss the plausibility of their lives being dramatized... more

Cult

Earnest and Dumb is a Good Look
Watching (and surviving) Roar!

By Benjamin Craig

Noel Marshall is riding a motorcycle. He is weaving through a small pride of adult lions on uneven ground, not wearing a helmet, while they playfully bat at and chase him. I am working at tempering my anxiety. I know this is going to get much, much worse...more

Bracketology

2015 Album Bracketology
Contradictions Abound, Editorial Staff Gives Up

By Matthew Kauffman Smith

The complete, unabridged installments of the popular music album tournament so sprawling and convoluted that readers are speechless and editors disgusted. This year's tourney features additional commentary by Heather Kropf, one of the competitors.
Part One: The Confusing Tourney Intro
Part Two: The Contradictory Opening Rounds
Part Three: The Double-Negative Middle Rounds
Part Four: The Alarming Tilt Toward Easy Listening
Part Five: "Nice Little Stories" in the Loser's Bracket
Part Six: Overly Experimental 2015 Music Tourney Names 2014 Champion

Personal History

The True Score
Measuring Baseball and Fatherhood

By Benjamin Craig

My father had been just eight years old when the Giants came to San Francisco. The team had brought with them Willie Mays and my father's early favorite, Hank Sauer. My father had his own disappointing father, and a brother who had already left home, and now—just when he needed it—a thing for... more

Reading Lines

Insane Tribulations
Mary Ruefle and acts of love

By Wendy Bourgeois
My body is a sealed jar of three generations worth of undigested, burbling discord and apparently I'd rather have an aneurysm than take the lid off...more

Sport

Players the Portland Trail Blazers Do Lose To
Playoff Clarification

by Pete Tothero

Left-handed players, right-handed players, many kinds of players. A list... more