Joshua Rothman profiles sci-fi author Kim Stanley Robinson. In novels like New York 2140, The Ministry for the Future, and the books of the Mars trilogy, Robinson imagines dystopian worlds with utopian-like solutions. Rothman observes, “Robinson learned to write credible utopian fiction in part through a fractal sort of thinking, connecting the personal to the planetary.”
Colm Tóibín has been named the Laureate for Irish Fiction by the nation’s Arts Council. Tóibín said of the award, “I will do what I can to work with a community of readers so that fiction continues to enrich our lives, allow us to see the world more clearly, or with a deepened sense of mystery. I will also work with fellow writers and aspiring writers to enhance the role novels and stories play in Irish life.”
In the newest Sweater Weather newsletter, Brandon Taylor writes about West Elm Caleb and Jane Austen.
At Vulture, an excerpt from Isaac Butler’s The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act. The book tracks the development of the acting technique; in this excerpt, Butler explains why James Dean, who came late to the Method, wasn’t always esteemed by his fellow actors.
Cave Canem is accepting applications for its Poetry Prize, which honors the work of Black poets.