Celestial Timepiece

What is the worst thing that can happen?

Lisa, from the long-running TV show The Simpsons, imagines herself in prison on the March 23, 2008 episode. The guard arrives with the book mobile …

Lisa: “Got any Joyce Carol Oates?”
Guard: “Nope, it’s all Danielle Steele.”

Now that’s a rough prison. (Thanks to TVRecapMatt)

Woundedness, Rejection and Inspiration

Tammy Ayer reports on Joyce Carol Oates’s visit to Sanibel Island, Florida for the News-Press: “Oates’ hectic schedule didn’t surprise Tom DeMarchi, an instructor in the department of language and literature at Florida Gulf Coast University … I said to her, ‘You are so prolific. You must write eight hours a day to do all you do.’ She looked at me in almost a pitying way and said, ‘Oh, that would be a short day.'” Ayer notes that JCO’s current project is “The Writer’s (Secret) Life: Woundedness, Rejection and Inspiration,” featur[ing] her essays on famous authors and the many kinds of rejection they suffered, not only from skeptical publishers but also from family, friends and fellow authors.”

Six-Word Memior

Smith Magazine is publishing a book of “six-word memoirs” by “famous and not-so-famous folks,” including JCO’s contribution, which can be found all over the web:

“Revenge is living well, without you.”

Smith Magazine offers the “Story behind the Six: Joyce Carol Oates.”