Q&A with Alden Jones

The tourist has an ethnocentric point of view—the unchallenged belief that his or her way of thinking is the best way. The “traveler” is more likely to consider another person’s point of view, another culture’s point of view, and to aim for some kind of humanistic way of judging people, actions, customs. If we apply this to writing, the “tourist” is doomed to write bad fiction, because good writing and strong characters require empathy. Continue reading →

James Michener: The Freelance Professor

by Robert Goree

His novels became worth my while when I considered their author not an authority with the final word—on Colorado, Afghanistan, or the Caribbean—but a thoughtful yet flawed university lecturer. Continue reading →