David Klein's Blog

Each year on 4/20, I give thanks to 420 Magazine for its generous review of my debut novel, Stash, which opens with a scene about a respected stay-at-home mom getting arrested for weed possession following a car accident. April 20 is weed day. Legend has it that the day got its name in the 1970s […]

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I recently wrote about the “perfect sentence” after a reader of my novel Still Life told me this sentence struck him as the perfect sentence:  “I imagine the lake, too, through the leafless gap in the trees that winter opened like a cathedral door.” I analyzed the syntax and imagery of the sentence above, and […]

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Dear Ferrara: I noticed on your website your corporate positioning statement stating that “Ferrara has stretched the sugary limits of imagination for over 115 years to create confections that bring people joy.” You have certainly brought me a lot of joy, particularly through your iconic and aptly named Atomic Fireball! What a devilishly hot and […]

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Not long before my future son-in-law proposed to my daughter, he asked me what’s the secret to a long and successful marriage. I responded quickly, without much thought: “Marry the right person.” My answer sounded facile, on the cheeky side. Sure, marry the right person, that’s the obvious secret—but how can you be sure you’re […]

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It’s spring, the time of irises; and today, for many, it is a day of resurrection and rebirth. That’s why I want to share this short poem by American poet Louise Glück, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2020. The Wild Irises (1992) explores the transition between suffering and renewal. The flowers […]

The post Irises as a Muse appeared first on by David Klein.

I’ve been trying to up my reading game, and recently finished reading my eighth and ninth novels of the year, which averages out to one novel every ten days. Not that anyone is counting. This reading pace feels right to me, neither rushed nor leisurely, but instead allowing me to engage in careful, focused reading […]

The post A Love Triangle and a Letter Writer appeared first on by David Klein.

I was recently invited to a celebratory event where I knew hardly anyone, other than Harriet and Owen who attended with me. (Julia was invited but couldn’t make it.) I was assigned to a table and sat next to a guy I’d never met. By nature, I am admittedly on the self-absorbed, distracted side, and […]

The post Is Conversation a Dying Skill? appeared first on by David Klein.

I attended my third No Kings protest yesterday on a cold and windy day. For me, it was the best one yet. Not because I believe the fascist administration will in any way change their behaviors—they won’t suddenly start policing their own corruption; they won’t stop shooting U.S. citizens or throwing immigrants in camps without […]

The post Could the End of the Beginning be Near? appeared first on by David Klein.

The year is 1906. The location is the priory of the Sisters of the Crucifixion in upstate New York. Mariette Baptiste is a beautiful 17-year-old postulant when she joins the order, against the wishes of her father. She quickly becomes a favorite of the other sisters until she begins to exhibit signs of the stigmata […]

The post Is the Stigmata Real? appeared first on by David Klein.

This time of year during this still-wintery month, when the clocks have changed and I’m often up early and at my desk while darkness still grips the sky, I may be rewarded at dawn by a dramatic display of color and contrast, perhaps a painter’s dream, so quickly come and gone yet reminding me the […]

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