Will Willingham's Blog
December 10, 2019
Interview at New In Books
New In Books has a short interview with Will. Here's a sneak peek:
Say you’re the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?
John Keats figures prominently in Adjustments. If I had the chance, I’d sit him down at that talk show desk and ask him to say more about negative capability.
Read the rest at New In Books...
Say you’re the host of a literary talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?
John Keats figures prominently in Adjustments. If I had the chance, I’d sit him down at that talk show desk and ask him to say more about negative capability.
Read the rest at New In Books...
November 19, 2019
Ask Pearl: The Advice Columnist You Didn't Know You Needed
It’s possible you didn’t know about me. I could forgive you that. There are 2,999 other people in this town, after all, and of course a person could not be expected to know each and every one.
It’s true, that dessert you so enjoyed at the potluck last Thursday: It was mine. And when you asked your friend, she told you, “Oh, that’s Pearl Jenkins Dessert.” It has another name, when other people try to make it. 7-Layer Dessert or some such thing. But none of them know how to properly whisk that instant pudding. So when I make it, it has its own name. I understand, really, that you didn’t remember. That dessert can make a man forget.
When you asked who planted the flowers in front of the courthouse memorial statue, your friend told you that Pearl Jenkins did. But still, the name didn’t stick.
And when your coworker got married last week, and the groom nodded toward a lady in an elegant lavender chiffon dress and said, “We’d have never gotten together if not for Pearl Jenkins,” you still didn’t catch on.
But as I said. I’m not the only person in town.
You may not know me, yet. But I can promise you this: You need me. I can help you. I want to help you. I got a call yesterday from Mr. Warren Willoughby of The Dennison Gazette. (Please, tell me you at least read the hometown paper? Of course I don’t want to presume, though certain other matters of import seem to have escaped your notice. Surely you must have many pressing things to keep track of in your pretty little head. Not to worry, dear.) Mr. Willoughby has asked me to write a new column for the paper: Ask Pearl.
***
Pearl Jenkins, from Adjustments: a novel, has landed her own gig at the Dennison Gazette as an advice columnist. Read the rest over at Tweetspeak Poetry.
It’s true, that dessert you so enjoyed at the potluck last Thursday: It was mine. And when you asked your friend, she told you, “Oh, that’s Pearl Jenkins Dessert.” It has another name, when other people try to make it. 7-Layer Dessert or some such thing. But none of them know how to properly whisk that instant pudding. So when I make it, it has its own name. I understand, really, that you didn’t remember. That dessert can make a man forget.
When you asked who planted the flowers in front of the courthouse memorial statue, your friend told you that Pearl Jenkins did. But still, the name didn’t stick.
And when your coworker got married last week, and the groom nodded toward a lady in an elegant lavender chiffon dress and said, “We’d have never gotten together if not for Pearl Jenkins,” you still didn’t catch on.
But as I said. I’m not the only person in town.
You may not know me, yet. But I can promise you this: You need me. I can help you. I want to help you. I got a call yesterday from Mr. Warren Willoughby of The Dennison Gazette. (Please, tell me you at least read the hometown paper? Of course I don’t want to presume, though certain other matters of import seem to have escaped your notice. Surely you must have many pressing things to keep track of in your pretty little head. Not to worry, dear.) Mr. Willoughby has asked me to write a new column for the paper: Ask Pearl.
***
Pearl Jenkins, from Adjustments: a novel, has landed her own gig at the Dennison Gazette as an advice columnist. Read the rest over at Tweetspeak Poetry.
