Quixote at 400

You may imagine the boss as the President, the General Secretary, the Chief of Army, the boss of your marriage or of your building, whatever you think. You immediately… More

The Way We Love Now

As I was thinking about this, I began, as one obviously would, to think about the Pope. I have the TV on in my writing room and there was… More

Quixote at 400

In any case, since the book is supposed to be real, it follows that the story has to be written by an eyewitness to the events that take place… More

Quixote at 400

Actually, Don Quixote was published in the same year as the story of that other mad old man, King Lear, so it was a great year for mad old… More

The Way We Love Now: Natsuo Kirino

Eroticism and its various definitions exist in paradox. It’s the nature of human beings to be held captive by eroticism. Even while longing to be set free, we still… More

The Way We Love Now: Peter Stamm

I wanted to talk about love in Switzerland, but the country is so small, there’s really not much to say. Only one detail: In Swiss-German “love” is not a… More

International Noir

The first thing I ever knew about Simenon was that he’d written an entire novel while enclosed in a glass booth in full view of the public. I heard… More

International Noir

Noir is commonly thought of as an American genre, if it’s in fact a genre. The films “noir” was first used to describe back in the 1940s were American;… More

Natsuo Kirino: International Noir

"International Noir: Breaking Out of Crime Time" appears in PEN America 7: World Voices. This talk was presented, in slightly different form, at the 2005 PEN World Voices Festival of… More