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Zach Gilford should win an Emmy for Friday Night Lights

Zach Gilford put in a tour-de-force performance in last week’s Friday Night Lights. He is the most underrated actor in the series and this episode gave him the chance to shine. Two scenes  showcased his talent — the dinner scene conversation in which he completely breaks down, and the eulogy he gives about his father, and the one, single, thin little story he has to tell about a man who abandoned him years before. The Read more…

By Patrice Sarath, ago

If Jonathan Franzen were in my writers group

The May 31 New Yorker has a short story by Jonathan Franzen called “Agreeable” that made me break my usual “no reading New Yorker fiction” rule. I’m not sure why. The beginning reads like a Good Housekeeping or Redbook article. On second thought, maybe that’s why I kept reading. There was something about those articles. They had a certain style and work ethic that kept a 1950s aesthetic well into the 1990s. Look, those articles Read more…

By Patrice Sarath, ago

The writer and TV

Prolific short story writer and novelist (and cancer survivor) Jay Lake does not watch TV. He attributes his productivity to that one simple fact. He’s been quite successful, with hundreds of published short stories and a respectable handful of novels. He’s a stylistic, successful writer with a great work ethic, and aspiring writers could do well to emulate his habits. Would I have more published short stories if I didn’t watch TV? Maybe. TV isn’t Read more…

By Patrice Sarath, ago