Category Archives: Books

Dear Reader, If you have followed this series of reports from a writer’s life and working practice, you may have wondered – during the longish pause since the last installment – whether the Maker in my head had fallen silent for a while. It happens. At … Continue reading →

Justice, by Carey Harrison deals with the horrors of the holocaust and genocide — but amongst the very many books that stare into this particular abyss, it is unique in that it leaves you with the feeling that there is hope. Healing … Continue reading →

Martha Frankel is a self-​​​​confessed genius at delegating, making her, if you’re a lazy sod like me, someone to avoid. However, as the executive director of the phenomenon known as the Woodstock Writers Festival, the art of being a super delegator no doubt … Continue reading →

On Monday, April 8, Pulitzer Prize finalist, Bard Fiction Prize winner, and New York Times bestselling author Karen Russell will read from her work. Russell’s highly acclaimed 2011 novel Swamplandia was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, one of the New York … Continue reading →

Foraging & Feasting: A Field Guide and Wild Food Cookbook written by Dina Falconi and illustrated by Wendy Hollender celebrates our local bounty and traditional foodways. Featuring beautiful, instructive botanical illustrations and delicious, enlightening recipes, Dina and Wendy share a long commitment … Continue reading →

Roll has recently had the opportunity to read the work of John M. Keller, one of the most original and most brilliant of the new crop of young American fiction writers, whose work was first recognized by Glimmer Train, the prestigious literary … Continue reading →

The Maker – a personage ROLL readers might recognize from my previous pieces, or can find in the magazine’s recent archives – has been kind to me during the past six months. She has never been unkind to me, it’s true, over the past sixty-​​​​odd … Continue reading →

The saddening and too-​​​​early death of comedian-​​​​satirist-​​​​author Tom Davis prompted memories of my interview with him on the publication of his memoir a few years ago. Wry, self-​​​​effacing and effortlessly funny, Davis was happy to discuss a colorful life which may be … Continue reading →