Thought Catalog

Muriel Spark (1918-2004), Edinburgh born and bred, became one of the twentieth century’s most distinguished writers. Spark was a feisty, outspoken, independent woman who made it on her own – no family money, no university education, no man to “depend” on – nothing but abundant talent, extraordinary perseverance, and singular dedication to craft.

Michel Houellebecq — the misanthropic, caninophilic French novelist — and William Burroughs both deploy thorough visions of the world. They proffer more or less elaborate cosmologies, ethics, and particularly critical assessments of humanity. And both view the act of writing in general…

Bret Easton Ellis’ seventh novel Imperial Bedrooms will be released on June 15 2010. It is the sequel to his first novel Less Than Zero and picks up presumably 25 years after the original. The main crew is still alive –– Clay, Blair, Julian, Trent, and Rip. Just not very well. It turns out, middle age is even more joyless and depraved than adolescence.

If I assume that great cities belong first of all to the young and the old, especially to college age students and the retired old who love to walk, why not New York in its thrilling size and modern sheen and in easy reach by car, train or bus from my New England town?