In this Film Courage video interview, Author/Instructor Jonathan Blum discusses three different openings of works of fiction. The first example is from Mona Simpson’s Lawns, where the narrator shares her thoughts and reveals a transgressive behavior, raising questions about what will happen to her. The second example is Ernest Hemingway’s The Killers, which uses external descriptions and actions to create a sense of mystery and intrigue. Lastly, Lorrie Moore’s Face Time begins with dialogue, providing clear information about a character’s condition and the challenging circumstances they face. Blum highlights the effectiveness of different approaches, emphasizing the importance of balancing clarity and engaging storytelling without excessive language…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
BUY THE BOOK – LAST WORD
BUY THE BOOK – THE USUAL UNCERTAINTIES: STORIES
Jonathan Blum grew up in Miami and graduated from UCLA and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He is the author of two books of fiction: The Usual Uncertainties (Rescue Press, 2019), a story collection, and Last Word (Rescue Press, 2013), a novella. Both were named one of the best books of the year by Iowa Public Radio, and The Usual Uncertainties was named one of the 15 Best Short Story Collections of 2019 by Electric Literature. Blum has twice appeared on KCRW’s Bookworm. His short stories have been published in Gulf Coast, Kenyon Review, Northwest Review, Playboy, and Shanxi Literature, among others. His short story, “The White Spot,” which was published in Electric Literature with an introduction by Deborah Eisenberg, appears in the award-winning anthology The Best Peace Fiction (University of New Mexico Press, 2021). He has taught fiction writing at The University of Iowa, Drew University, and the Iowa Summer Writing Festival, and is the recipient of a Michener-Copernicus Society of America Award, a Hawthornden Fellowship in Scotland, and a grant from the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation. He has also been a guest writer at the Tianjin Binhai New Area International Writing Program in China. He lives in Los Angeles.
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