Recent Pubs, Upcoming Events, etc.

Well, winter break was much too brief. I went hiking in Joshua Tree, caught up on much-needed sleep, and read a few books, but now January is here. This month marks one year since Donald Trump became president, and I have a couple of related pieces in print. One is a column for a special issue of The Nation, a reflection on the madness and danger of the past year. And the other is an essay for Harper’s on the subject of public persuasion, where I look at U.S. efforts to “win hearts and minds” of people whose countries it occupies, and why such efforts usually fail. Other contributors to this forum include David Bromwich, Garth Greenwell, Hanif Abdurraqib, Kelly Clancy, Mychal Denzel Smith, and T. M. Luhrmann. Pick up a copy of the magazine or, better yet, subscribe!

I’ve also finalized my schedule for spring and early fall. I’ll be visiting Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Oregon, Texas, and North Carolina, and I’d love it if you came and said hello. Some of the talks will be about The Moor’s Account, others about Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, and yet others about some of my essays and nonfiction work.