Memoir presents a past self--the experiences of that past self and how that self understood those events.  But in addition, memoir frequently presents a present self who sees these past events and …

Note: This is a selection from a larger essay that provides readings of the opening passages from works by Jonathan Franzen, Jhumpa Lahiri, Shawn Wong, Junot Diaz, Sherman Alexie, and ZZ Packer.  …

With thumb and forefinger I examined carefully the ball peen hammer. The sparrow slid violently into third base. Night after night it was Nascar, kettle corn, karaoke. Wendy wore burlap, clapping her …

Note: In this essay, I am obviously generalizing about MFA programs, and readers no doubt will argue against such generalizing or bring up exceptions; e.g, witness the responses to the New Yorker …

When things go wrong with your fiction, you may need to ask yourself:  What do the principles of story tell me about what’s missing in this story or novel?  What do those principles tell me about …

                                                                        I             “I am a Sansei, a third generation Japanese American.”  …

“A man’s errors are his portals of discovery.” --James Joyce   “Do it right the first time is insane advice.  Nobody does anything...INTERESTING...right the first...or the …

Dear Submitters, We wanted to send a brief note out to you, those of you considering submitting, and the rest of the world: Please keep an eye on your spam folders for decision emails from us. When …

In honor of David Mura's month-long GC Blogger in residence tenure starting Monday, April 6th, we thought we'd post some of David Mura's AWP events here on the blog, so you could hear what he's all …

Read some of the Twitter love Robin Black got as a Gulf Coast Blogger in Residence. Also, a sneak peek at next months' Blogger in Residence, David Mura.

Morning comes and he pauses beside my bed. He struggles to breathe, his breath brushing my face. Without opening my eyes, I make a space where he can curl up in my arms. I barely feel him, …

Noah Eli Gordon was featured at Gulf Coast's February reading -- reading poems from his heftiest collection yet, The Word Kingdom in the Word Kingdom . Here's how Brooklyn Arts Press describes it: "A …

Some nights inside the caterwaul of coyotes / the telephone rings, very late or very early. / Then my father walks out into darkness. / My mother still sleeping / and I am.

...someone’s / white Dodge pickup blinkering down / the mountain, on the windshield / needle-likes, double columns, pentameters, / Bentley’s iconographic crystals / playing into zero visibility.

For the past few days I have had a question, doubtless familiar to many writers, on my mind: How am I going to end this thing? The thing in question, this time, is my month as Blogger-in-Residence …

Enough cannot be written about desire. Desire will not let us hold or master it. Instead, we are both lucky and pained to dwell in its atmosphere, an atmosphere changing so quickly we would need an …

The story goes like this: Back in the early fourteenth century, the Pope ( which Pope? you ask? The interwebs are unclear. . . There’s a Boniface-Benedict disagreement out there. . .) needed a …

There isn’t much about parenting that I don’t know. Mothering, specifically. A caveat though: I mean, mothering with a good dose of privilege, including financial security. But within that …

In the early ’80s, I wrote Samuel Beckett a letter. I explained that I was trying to write, adding that he was probably often sought out by strangers, and so rather than asking him to read my work, …

Big Al is in the house and he's drunk. His work boots thud across the worn carpet. "Tanya! Tanya!" He thrashes from room to room, opening doors on no one. He is a bear trying to shake off the snapped …