Underrated Writers 2006

Marc Estrin

From Scott Esposito:  "I'm putting Marc Estrin here on the strength of Golem Song. His writing in this book reminds me of [David Foster Wallace]--madcap comedy, characters that are utterly crazy, but somehow believable (because maybe the world just is that crazy). He writes with a lot of energy, but there's also a lot of thought behind Golem Song--it's carefully structured, and it explores many realms at once: myth, contemporary Judaism, lonely Americans tripping toward pathology."

More about Marc Estrin

+  Marc Estrin's home page
+  Robert Birnbaum's interview with Estrin
+  Unbridled Books podcast (mp3)
+  Dan Wickett's interview with Estrin
+  Estrin explains the origins of his novel, The Education of Arnold Hitler, at Beatrice

Edward Falco

Scott Esposito of Conversational Reader recommends Edward Falco: "The first book I read by Edward Falco--Wolf Point--was almost read all in one sitting. The man is a master of taut plots that don't let you go, and he structures his stories like nobody's business. Each time he passes by metaphorical objects and ideas, they pick up another layer of meaning and grow more nuanced until you're left with a nice meaty hunk to digest, which is a pleasure in itself. Unbridled published two excellent works by him: Wolf Point, a novel, and Sabbath Night in the Church of the Piranha, a collection of short stories."

More about Edward Falco

+  Edward Falco's home page
+  Falco's Sabbath Night discussed at the Litblog Co-op
+  Falco interview at the Quarterly Conversation
+  "Typing with Edward Falco"
+  Falco profiled at Unbridled Books

Sesshu Foster

From Scott Esposito:  "I'm recommending Sesshu Foster on the strength of Atomik Aztex. This book is Pynchonesque in the best way--the amphetamine-driven, over-the-top way that some parts of Gravity's Rainbow attained. It's about a world where Aztecs are superpowers, and it switches back and forth from some mad mission in World War II's Eastern Front and a current-day Aztec who slaughters pigs at a Farmer John plant. It's powerfully written and dense, and some of the sentences don't stop for pages."

More about Sesshu Foster

+  Foster's blog, Little Dog
+  Foster's Modern American Poetry page
+  Interview with Foster at City Lights
+  Two mp3s of Foster reading can be found in the Salon archives
+  Scott Esposito's review of Atomik Aztex

Michael Martone

From Scott Esposito:  "I'm not really sure how to classify Michael Martone's works. That could be either really good, or really bad, but in the case of Martone it's good. He writes books constructed of "fictions" that impersonate other things. For instance, his book Michael Martone, is a collection of contributor bios, all for Michael Martone. These aren't just concept-books--the writing is fresh, often humorous, and Martone skillfully probes the logic behind the fictions he creates. Check out Michael Martone and The Blue Guide to Indiana."

More about Michael Martone

+  Martone's page at Web del Sol
+  FC2 interview with Martone
+  The Litblog Co-op's discussion of Michael Martone
+  Conversational Reading's review of The Blue Guide to Indiana
+  "The Death of Derek Jeter," a story by Martone which appeared in Esquire

Lance Olsen

Scott Esposito brings this writer to our attention: "Olsen seems driven to never write the same book twice. . . . He's experimental in the sense of creating unique structures for his stories, finding entirely new approaches to the concept of a plot, but he also gives you some good old traditional writing--well-defined characters, interesting situations, gripping plots. Try reading 10:01 and Nietzsche's Kisses."

More about Lance Olsen

+ Olsen's personal website
+ Esposito's review of 10:01
+ Esposito's interview with Olsen
+ Now What, a blog to which Olsen contributes