Status Updates From The Paris Review, Issue 222...

Ruckersville did not work for me. Decent story, but writing felt clunky and the name construct felt forced initially, and totally contrived by the end. Gizzi's poem also fell short. The repeat line "when the, when my, etc", like in Mackie "now this is..." i find boring. though i like the strange continuity it brings to the issue.

Groffsky interview as boring and felt forced (and admittedly was), with a handful of interesting stories. Honestly, it's a skip for other readers. Both Patrick Mackie poems also did absolutely nothing for me. Contrived and boring. A sad start.