Winter parenting as Olympic sport for McSweeney's Internet Tendency: My Life on Ice. … [Read more...]
Virginia Quarterly Review
I've had two short stories published in the VQR. "The Inquiry," an excerpt from The Report, can be read here. "Exposure," a story from my first collection, can be read here. … [Read more...]
Conversations with Hockney
Imagined conversations with the artist David Hockney. A piece for McSweeney's. … [Read more...]
Reviews of Bending Heaven
New York Times Book Review: “Bending Heaven is that rarest of debut collections: grounded but thoughtful, learned without being pretentious. Jessica Francis Kane’s stories take place in what feels like Lorrie Moore and Alice Munro country—they smartly uncork the heartache, panic and frustration of characters caught in situations that expose their vulnerability…. Bending Heaven feels like the work of a writer who has a lot more to say.” San Francisco Chronicle: “Jessica Francis Kane’s first short story collection appeals to the part of us interested in, or resonating with, the disillusioned and discontent…. [Her] sparse but poignant writing satisfies, and our intimate access to her characters and their heartrending stories will convince even the optimist that some sad stories need telling.” Newsday: “Jessica Francis Kane writes in the tradition of Alice Munro or Russell Banks—stories that are small windows onto ordinary, troubled lives. The prose is clean and ungimmicky and sometimes lyrical, and at their best, these stories are lit from within by an emotional truth that can’t be faked…. The writing is appropriately understated—always simple, frequently lovely and vivid…. Bending Heaven is an accomplished debut from a writer who can write sympathetically about a range of characters.” Bookforum: “Kane exercises enviable restraint as she quietly brings these stories to a boil.” The Buffalo News: “So, general public, feel free to plunge into Kane's work on a day when it seems like the big glossies publish nobody who isn't named Alice Munro or John Updike. You'll be thrilled at what you find: short stories that are bright, elegant, graceful and imaginative. Characters who are memorable. Plots that are dark and sad, most of them, but strangely funny and ironic, too. Kane is a writer of short fiction worth watching…. The ability to tell stories like these marks what is, hopefully, a bright beginning for a new voice in short fiction.” U.S. News & World … [Read more...]
Swink
You can read "Lucky Boy" here. … [Read more...]