Category Archives: writing

Mitt Romney as The Feckless Male

Posted on March 9, 2012 by williamjcobb

So one thing fascinating about being a professor is that you notice over a span of years the changes in student behavior and trends. While I’m of the mind that human behavior doesn’t change all that much across the ages, … Continue reading →

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The Effect of Reading Nicholas Carr's "The Shallows" on E-Reading: Just Say No to Distractions

Posted on March 5, 2012 by williamjcobb

So here’s a little (naive) gem in the NY Times this morning, an article about the lure of online distractions while e-reading titled “Finding Your Book Interrupted … By the Tablet You Read It On,” which contains this quote: “Can you concentrate … Continue reading →

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Did William Gay Really Write His Books? Meddlesome Neighbors Want to Know

Posted on March 4, 2012 by williamjcobb

So there’s an obituary of Southern Gothic master Wiliam Gay in last week’s daily NY Times (Feb 29th) that I almost missed, which has a few illuminating details and quotes, such as describing his novel Twilight (2006) as “textbook Southern … Continue reading →

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Review of Thomas Mallon's "Watergate" in the Dallas Morning News

Posted on February 20, 2012 by williamjcobb

So I’ve reviewed Thomas Mallon’s new novel Watergate in the Dallas Morning News today, and it can be found here: http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/books/20120217-book-review-watergate-by-thomas-mallon.ece Janet Maslin reviewed the same book this week in the daily NY Times book reviews, and I thought her … Continue reading →

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Death of an MFA Program, an Insider's View

Posted on February 5, 2012 by williamjcobb

So as is becoming known throughout the university world and blogosphere, Penn State cut the funding for its MFA program, of which I’m the director, and we’ve chosen to cease admitting new students, rather than expect them to pay many … Continue reading →

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News On the Cormac McCarthy Front: Baby Eater No. 2 Speaks! Plus a New, Original Screenplay by CM

Posted on January 20, 2012 by williamjcobb

So for all the Cormac McCarthy fans out there, of which I am a most enthusiastic one, here’s an odd bit of info that just fell into my lap about the film version of The Road (2009). Before I saw … Continue reading →

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On Nicholas Carr's "The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains"

Posted on December 14, 2011 by williamjcobb

So in between dressing up stuffed animal rabbits as Rapunzel and noticing that leopard-skin tights, boots, and earmuffs seem to be popular among mallrats, I’m reading Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains (2010). It’s … Continue reading →

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My Short Story, "The Lives of Gofers," in The Superstition Review

Posted on December 1, 2011 by williamjcobb

So I have a short story titled “The Lives of Gofers” out today in an online literary magazine, The Superstition Review, set in a hardscrabble Colorado. It’s available for all to read at this url: http://superstitionreview.asu.edu/n8/ This fall I also … Continue reading →

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Pete Dexter in the New York Times!

Posted on October 2, 2011 by williamjcobb

So it’s a good day when you stumble upon a book review of a Jim Harrison novel written by none other than one of our best living novelists, Pete Dexter, here: My favorite paragraph, about fiction: “Put together, these things … Continue reading →