My friend and fellow writer, Yvonne, recently shared with me a quote about writing—and while I can’t remember the exact phrasing, the gist was something along the lines of: “Put all of it in. Every idea. Don’t hold back for fear of losing ideas. The more you use, the more will come.” This is terrible […]
Nick Pollifrone
Ocean Vuong’s The Emperor of Gladness is the kind of book that you hope to find when you walk into a bookstore—beautifully written and deeply meaningful, with characters that burst off the page and come to life in ways that make them feel like people you know (or have come across somewhere in life). Never […]
Nick Pollifrone
While I ultimately didn't find the plot to be as satisfying as I'd hoped, that doesn't mean this book is without its merit. Author C.G. Drews is a talented writer and despite losing interest in the story here and there, I always found the prose to be poetic and strong. Notably, their descriptions of the forest and its elements really stood out. Every time it crept off the pages and came to life in a way that felt like you could feel, smell, and taste it. Conversely, their monsters were a bit lackluster. Easily defeated and never present long enough to sustain the tension. I would have preferred them to be more haunting and for there to be more consequence to their existence.
Nick Pollifrone
As a kid, I loved anything that gave me a supernaturally gifted hero—the X-Men, the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, Transformers, Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles, you name it. If it existed on television, in a comic book, or as an action figure, I was all about it.
Nick Pollifrone
It's a gloomy Tuesday morning in New York City and I've just come from the first physical appointment I've had since before entering my freshman year of college. And what troubles me is not the bandaid taped to the inside of my elbow, but a question the doctor asked that is still rattling around my head. In determining my sexual identity to assess risk factors, he asked,"Are you heterosexual? Bisexual? Homosexual?"
Nick Pollifrone
I hate to admit it, I really do, but: I totally judge a book by its cover. Judge me for it, but a cover is the first gateway into the book's world. Bad cover and you've already lost my interest. I have definitely been deceived by a great cover once or twice in my time, but it at least got me to buy the book. That was the case here. I loved the art. It's fun and playful and immediately says, "Queer Romance." While I'm thankful that queer novels have found themselves on the shelves with all the other titles in their genre, I want to easily be able to identify the subject matter by it's cover—which is how Rival Wizards grabbed my attention.
Nick Pollifrone
At it's core, The Heartbeat Library is a love letter to Japan. It speaks to the quiet and subdued—yet deeply poignant—nature of Japanese culture. It deals in the moments of life that, on the surface, seem small, but add up to become the thrum of the human experience.
Nick Pollifrone
It's been one whole month since I uprooted myself from New York and moved to Japan. This may come as a spoiler to some of you as my intent was to announce this on the final episode for season one of the podcast, but here's another spoiler for you—I have yet to finish editing that episode. (But I promise it will be released, and that more episodes are being planned!) As it turns out, moving to another country requires a lot of energetic output, which also happens to be the case with this platform.
Nick Pollifrone
How an all-female cast leaps the orchard walls to bring new life to Shakespeare’s ill-fated tale St. John’s Lutheran Church rests on the corner of 7th Avenue South and Christopher Street in New York City’s Greenwich Village, roughly four hundred feet from the historic Stonewall Inn where, 50 years prior, a series of riots set […]
Nick Pollifrone
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