I’d read at a much higher-than-average grade level since, well, grade school. Victor LaValle Read Quote
The Sundial’ is written with the kind of humor that would make a guillotine laugh. Victor LaValle Read Quote
Shirley Jackson enjoyed notoriety and commercial success within her lifetime, and yet it still hardly seems like enough for a writer so singular. When I meet readers and other writers of my generation, I find that mentioning her is like uttering a holy name. Victor LaValle Read Quote
I’m always trying to make myself laugh. I’m the most enthusiastic audience I’m likely to find, so if it doesn’t make me smile then it probably won’t work on you. The jokes that only make me shrug get cut. Victor LaValle Read Quote
The horror genre is vast and full of brilliance. Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, Herman Melville, the book of Esther. I’ll happily join that list. Victor LaValle Read Quote
The Ballad of Black Tom’ was written, in part, during the latest round of arguments about H. P. Lovecraft’s legacy as both a great writer and a prejudiced man. I grew up worshipping the guy, so this issue felt quite personal to me. Victor LaValle Read Quote
The people I am most interested in are the ones on the edge of losing everything and falling into the last bit of despair. I’m trying to write about how people exist on that edge and how they can come back. Victor LaValle Read Quote
On June 23, 1864, Ambrose Bierce was in command of a skirmish line of Union soldiers at Kennesaw Mountain in northern Georgia. He’d been a soldier for three years and, in that time, had been commended by his superiors for his efficiency and bravery during battle. Victor LaValle Read Quote
The Devil’s Dictionary’ reads like a collection of great Twitter posts. And as people do with tweets, they can swipe Bierce’s best lines and recite them as nearly their own. The reflected glory of reposting. Victor LaValle Read Quote
