Read This: Philip Levine, Lev Grossman, Neal Stephenson

Philip Levine became America’s new poet laureate last week, so I put together a brief roundup of links to some of his best poems and a choice quote from his Paris Review interview for USA’s Character Approved blog. If I’d been able to fit it in, I’d also have included another quote from Levine’s 1999 Atlantic interview: “When I began writing poetry I thought language could do anything. And I thought I could do anything with language… But as I got older, I began to realize, both in daily living and in what I read and what I wrote, that I was often coming up against the limits of my ability to use language, or my ability to comprehend language.” Because Levine’s pushing up against those limits in ways few poets can match, engaging with the world in genuinely inspiring way—for all the recognition he’s received throughout his career, I’m really glad he’s been tapped for this honor.

I also wrote a Character Approved post about Concord Free Press giving its books away, which is supported by, among other things, their new e-book imprint, Concord ePress. And over at inReads.com, the latest installment of my “Whatcha Reading?” video interview series features Lev Grossman’s enthusiasm for the upcoming Neal Stephenson novel, Reamde.

I caught up with Lev at a launch event for his own new novel, The Magician King. I’ve only just started reading, but it’s off to a fantastic start—easily as engrossing as The Magicians. “Imagine Harry Potter with authentic characters” has been the lazy reference point, but you know what, it works, so I’m going to stick with it. (Personally, I was sure there was a strain of John Bellairs influence in the first book, but when I asked Lev about it, he said he hadn’t read any Bellairs. So much for my career in literary detection!)

14 August 2011 | read this |