Poet Jill McDonough Responds to Trey Gowdy, Literary Valentines, and More

Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—from publishing reports to academic announcements to literary dispatches—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today’s stories:

In response to congressional representative Trey Gowdy’s using the work of writing poetry to criticize the Affordable Care Act, poet Jill McDonough shared choice words with the politician in the pages of Esquire.

David Gaughran reports the Bookseller will no longer do business with self-publisher Author Solutions.

Meanwhile, author Chuck Wendig takes a close look at the vagaries of self-publishing.

On author Den Patrick’s blog, agent Juliet Mushens shines a light on the typical day of an agent, and the Herculean effort of responding to submissions and queries.

And on literary podcast Other People With Brad Listi, Brad speaks with agent Chris Parris-Lamb. Parris-Lamb recently sold Garth Risk Hallberg’s first novel, City on Fire, to Knopf in a bidding war that drew headlines.

Novelist Aaron Gilbreath visits the Tokyo jazz club Haruki Murakami opened in the 1970s. (Harpers)

For Valentine’s Day, illustrator Timothy Leo Taranto created imagined literary Valentines from Raymond Carver, Herman Melville, and others. (Paris Review Daily)

And author Julia Fierro showcases the loving dedications from several novels, including her own. (Book Country)