Writing Art About the Art of AI: An Interview With Sean Michaels

Sean Michaels

At this point, it feels safe to say that Sean Michaels is fond of big ideas in his work, whether he’s telling stories of starcrossed lovers during the Cold War or asking big questions about technology’s ability to create art. The latter concern is at the heart of Do You Remember Being Born?, in which an acclaimed late-career poet named Marian Ffarmer is offered an unexpected and lucrative job: collaborating with an algorithm on a new literary work. Michaels’s novel never goes where you’d expect, and in doing so raises a host of bold and thrilling questions about creativity, identity, and intelligence. I chatted with him about the novel’s origins and the challenges of writing a book that echoes emerging technology.

Continue Reading

Books of the Month: September 2023 Edition

September 2023 book recommendations

We were recently conversing with a writer about their new book for an interview to run on this very site when they noted — very aptly — that time seems to be especially accelerated this year. Or, to phrase it a bit differently: how exactly is it September already? At least one of the people involved with running this site is still pretty sure it’s still 2022. It’s baffling. Anyway, here are some books due out this month. We’re pretty excited to read them.

Continue Reading

Vol.1 Brooklyn’s January 2020 Book Preview

January 2020 book preview

New year, new books. January offers plenty of new titles to choose from, ranging from unsettling dystopias to thought-provoking works of nonfiction to boldly experimental literary works. Some of the books we’re most excited to read this month are from old favorites of ours; others are from writers whose work we’re eager to read for the first time. Here’s a selection of some of the January books we’re looking forward to.

Continue Reading