The Official Site of Jim Snowden

Review: The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl

By jim_snowden April 29, 2013Uncategorized

Leni Riefenstahl's life, to whatever degree it was horrible or wonderful, will always be linked with her direction of two films for the Third Reich: Olympia and The Triumph of the Will. What…

So Over It Contest 17: The Play’s the Thing Edition

By jim_snowden April 27, 2013Contest

No winners for the last contest. The location was the French Quarter, New Orleans. No points this round. On to the next contest. The first one to identify the location…

Should You Go For The Creative Writing MFA?

By jim_snowden April 24, 2013The Larger World

The first, most honest, and initially least helpful answer I can toss your way is "Damned if I know." It's one of those questions where the pros and cons are…

Review: Dismantle the Sun is “Wrenching”

By jim_snowden April 22, 2013Books, Criticism

I certainly hope so. (From Dactyl Review) Dismantle the Sun (Booktrope, 324 pages) is literary, but if you are looking for a novel of bright sunshine, lollipops along with skittles and…

10 Hard-to-Translate Words

By jim_snowden April 21, 2013Writing

I'm particularly fond of "Jayus" and "Tartle", and hope to be instrumental in introducing them into the American English lexicon. (From Maria Khordorkovksy) Mamihlapinatapei From Yagan, the indigenous language of…

The Summer of Long Knives Playlist

By jim_snowden April 20, 2013Music, Writing

I write to music. I've never conducted any sort of survey to see how common that is among fiction writers, but I do it. The rhythm keeps me moving when…

So Let’s Recap

By jim_snowden April 19, 2013The Larger World

A couple of guys detonate homemade bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. A fertilizer plant in Texas blows up. An Elvis Impersonator tries to bump off a…

Oh, that Song…I Loved It In Goodfellas

By jim_snowden April 18, 2013Uncategorized

Today, the staff of The Millions posted a piece on art that they discovered through other art, and while, much like Edan Lepucki, I can't say that literature has often led…

So Over It Contest #16: Walking Shoes Edition

By jim_snowden April 18, 2013Contest

We have a winner from So Over It #15! Congratulations to Dong Seo--a former student of mine--for the following answer, sent via email: I've been trying to respond to your…

Writers: Having Trouble Facing Rejection?

By jim_snowden April 17, 2013Writing

Rejection. All I have to do is write the word and everyone looks at their shoes and says "Yeah." And don't believe anyone who says "Rejection never bothers me." You…