Quick Brown Fox

The literary journal of the five colleges.

QBF recommends…

Still creating your summer reading list? Our editorial board has selected a few works we either love or are looking forward to reading soon — enjoy!

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, by Haruki Murakami
Carla Diaz, Amherst ‘13

Blow Up and Other Stories, by Julio Cortazar
Full of incredible examples of craft, in half of the stories, nothing exactly “happens,” but they’re still gripping and terrifying.
Michael Samuels, Hampshire ‘13

Bring up the Bodies, by Hilary Mantel
In this sequel to her Man Booker Prize-winning Wolf Hall, Mantel’s terse, athletic prose brings the world of Thomas Cromwell to life.
Madeline Zehnder, Smith ‘13

On Looking: Essays, by Lia Purpura
A collection of lyric essays from one of my favorite small presses, Sarabande Books, is too much to turn down.
Holly Mitchell, Mt. Holyoke ‘14

Open City, by Teju Cole
Keenan Hale, Mt. Holyoke ‘13

Samedi the Deafness, by Jesse Ball
It’s an experimental murder mystery and one of the most intriguing books I’ve read in a while.
Emma Binder, Hampshire ‘15

The Lake, by Banana Yoshimoto
Because I haven’t read it yet, it’s nice and short and I love her simple prose.
Rowena Leung, UMass ‘14

Tinkers, by Paul Harding
Grace Critchfield, Hampshire ‘13

White Noise, by Don Delillo
Jamie Samdahl, Smith ‘15

Quick Brown Fox Editorial Board 2012-2013

Thank you to everyone who submitted an application for next year’s editorial board, and congratulations to those of you who will be joining us in the fall! We look forward to a fantastic year ahead.


Editors-in-Chief:
Grace Critchfield, Hampshire ‘13
Madeline Zehnder, Smith ‘13

Managing Editor:
Holly Mitchell, Mt. Holyoke ‘14

Layout Editor:
Keenan Hale, Mt. Holyoke ‘13

Web Editor:
Rowena Leung, UMass ‘14

Events Coordinator:
Michael Samuels, Hampshire ‘13

Additional Staff:
Carla Diaz, Amherst ‘13; Emma Binder, Hampshire ‘15; Jamie Samdahl, Smith ‘15


Thanks to everyone who came out to Hampshire last night for our release party! If you weren’t able to make it, issues will be distributed on campuses next week. You can also read the journal here.

Remember to apply for next year’s editorial board by April 20th!

believermag: This is Flannery O’Connor’s bedroom. It looks like a bedroom—it rings true. Apartment Therapy has posted photos of 15 other writer’s bedrooms, including Sylvia Plath’s, Ernest Hemingway’s, and Marcel Proust’s. Many don’t look like living spaces, but rather museum set-ups. Still, it’s interesting. (via Bookforum)

believermag:

This is Flannery O’Connor’s bedroom. It looks like a bedroom—it rings true. Apartment Therapy has posted photos of 15 other writer’s bedrooms, including Sylvia Plath’s, Ernest Hemingway’s, and Marcel Proust’s. Many don’t look like living spaces, but rather museum set-ups. Still, it’s interesting. (via Bookforum)

With writing, I don’t think it’s performing a character, really, if the character you’re performing is yourself. I don’t see that as playing a role. It’s just appearing in public.

—Joan Didion [via The Believer] (via aaknopf)

theatlantic: Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Tips on How to Write a Great Story 1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. 2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. 3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water. 4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action. 5. Start as close to the end as possible. 6. Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of. 7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia. 8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages. Via Brainpickings/Reddit [Photo: AP]

theatlantic:

Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Tips on How to Write a Great Story

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

4. Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.

5. Start as close to the end as possible.

6. Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them—in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

Via Brainpickings/Reddit [Photo: AP]

paopucake asked: hi! i have a possibly silly question about the application: is it 250 words for all three questions, or can they each go up to 250 words? thanks!

No silly questions! (Well, depending on the day.) 250 words per question is right. Thanks for applying!

Emily
Web Editor
Smith ‘12