David Ulin

Heads up: You should read David Ulin’s 2 cents’ worth on the penny

And the down side is?

The Penny Is Dead. Its Magic Isn’t. As the coin fades out, David L. Ulin reflects on its invaluable magic.

Belief, however, is an inside job. This, too, is a lesson I have learned. What really happened that July 4? Then and now, I believe a penny saved my life.

It’s fantastic. He reads a mashup of the final pages of On the Road as Steve Allen chords and riffs underneath.

I prefer “accessible.”

Didn’t he create the time line for that edition? “They endured.”

Pennsylvania votes may be the most consequential in the long run but the whole night is a slam dunk. Particularly happy about NJ and NY, which I was concerned would be more competitive.

So proud of the city.

Fantastic.

Same same.

Writer’s Room: Form and Function In At Last, Marisa Silver portrays a family from the inside out.

"The ordinary can tell a deep story. I don’t write novels that have enormous adventure plots, or mysteries where a secret is unfurled. I’m interested in finding a specific detail that allows me to explore something resonant and deep.”

www.altaonline.com/books/fictio...

RSVP Link: visionsandvoices.usc.edu/events/50710...

LOS ANGELES PEOPLE, YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS:

Please join us as the 2025 Chowdhury Prize in Literature is presented to @clairedederer.bsky.social.

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
📷 Wednesday, November 12, 7:30 PM
📷 Bovard Auditorium (USC).
RSVP Link: visionsandvoices.usc.edu/events/50710...

Glad to live in California, a state where I can still walk into a pharmacy and walked out vaxxed for flu and COVID. It's called science, in case you were wondering.

I’ve never heard it put that way but this is exactly right.

Delighted to panelize this afternoon at the Biltmore for the Urban History Association conference with this stellar trio of luminaries: Naomi Hirahara, Hector Tobar, and Walter Mosley.

You know you don't want to miss this.

How to Discover Books The best way to find your next read might be closer at hand than you thought.

The best way to find your next read might be closer at hand than you thought. Lydia Davis’s new book, "Into the Weeds," charts a more serendipitous path to reading, David L. Ulin writes:

Congratulations @clairedederer.bsky.social!!!

Announcing the 2025 Chowdhury Prize in Literature The $15,000 prize is awarded annually to authors with a body of work behind them, but also with significant potential. Previous recipients include Christos Ikonomou, Victoria Chang, and Hari Kunzru.

We are delighted to announce that @clairedederer.bsky.social will receive the 2025 Chowdhury Prize in Literature and will accept the prize during an onstage event at USC on November 12, 2025.

Please come and celebrate Claire and her incisive, brilliant work.

open.substack.com/pub/airlight...

The Writing-Advice Book That Teaches Us How to Read In a world of dwindling reviews, the author Lydia Davis’s new work charts a more serendipitous path to reading.

“I found that I was thinking about reading—reading the writing of someone else.”

www.theatlantic.com/books/2025/1...

Conspiracy Theory In Shadow Ticket, Thomas Pynchon comes full circle—and then some.

“There used to be more time to make a getaway. Now they’re flashing everybody’s mug shot all around the world in the blink of an eye, pretty soon there’s no place to run anymore.”

www.altaonline.com/books/fictio...

Life Writing In A Different Kind of Tension: New and Selected Stories, Jonathan Lethem takes us back and forth in time.

“The plot of this book is persistence in making myself available.”

www.altaonline.com/books/fictio...

I didn't know your father had died, Matt. I'm so sorry to hear it. My condolences to you and your family.

Also, if you don't already have them, be sure to get power of attorney and health care proxy documents in place.

It is a heartbreakingly difficult position to be in, for everyone. I'm so sorry you all are going through this.

In the end, we had to insist to both parents that they be moved out of their home and into a facility. That facility had both assisted living and memory care. We were very open and direct with them about the decision, acknowledging their feelings. My mother died last year; my father is still there.

Gratitude and love to Paul Yamazaki, City Lights's longtime book buyer, who will receive the Northern California Book Awards GROUNDBREAKER AWARD at their ceremony this Saturday, 2pm, held at the SF Main Library’s Koret Auditorium.
It's free to attend.
See you there?
poetryflash.org/programs/?p=...

Opinion | Los Angeles Wildfires Left the City With a Toxic Mess Urban wildfires are becoming public health emergencies.

In @nytopinion.nytimes.com

“We need a new way of thinking about fire: as not only natural disaster, but also environmental threat with a high risk of long-term harms to health,” David L. Ulin, a professor at the University of Southern California, writes.