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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

The Unbearable Stiffness of Formal Poetry and Writing for the Page

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:July 24, 2012
Post category:Media Personal
Post comments:1 Comment

Interestingly, Spiegelman nails the underlying problem with poetry in general, though he seems to imply it's a flaw related more to a poet's level of experience with form rather than an inherent flaw in poetry in general, but especially that written for the page. While formal poetry has never been my cup of tea, the vast majority of poetry -- formal and free verse, written and oral -- actually bores me to tears for the exact reasons Spiegelman notes.

Achievement Unlocked: Warrior Dash

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:July 15, 2012
Post category:Personal
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At just over 5k—my official time and pace: 42:43.30; 11:33/M; #894 overall for men, equaled 3.75 miles—the course was closer to what I imagine a good trail run is like, with a lot of hills, mud and water, and a bunch of moderately challenging obstacles peppered throughout.

Dear Hipsters: Please Don’t Ruin New Orleans For Me

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:May 30, 2012
Post category:Personal
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If you're eyeballing New Orleans, do so with the big picture in mind and think about the future. Their school system is a tangled mess of ill-conceived "reforms," and since I suspect you're going to love it there and some of you will end up living there and having kids, start paying attention now and look for ways to have a positive impact.

Achievement Unlocked: Tough Mudder

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:April 29, 2012
Post category:Personal
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Hands down, Tough Mudder is the most physically and mentally challenging thing I've ever done, and I loved every minute of it! The temperature was still below 40 degrees when we started just past 9:40am, but the adrenaline was flowing and for the first half of the 12-mile course, it was surprisingly smooth sailing.

Asian = Fortune Cookies, and other American Blindspots

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:February 26, 2012
Post category:Personal
Post comments:0 Comments

Having our own kids growing up around a relatively diverse group of kids was an important factor for us when we left the Bronx nearly four years ago, and while we technically found what we were looking for, what we didn't account for was the overwhelmingly white staff that would be teaching them.

5 Career Tips to Survive Publishing’s Digital Shift

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:February 8, 2012
Post category:Media Personal
Post comments:16 Comments

Transition, transformation, disruption, disintermediation... whichever word you prefer, the publishing industry is undergoing a massive shift that's being driven by the Internet, with the news and magazine sides arguably a bit further ahead of the curve than the book side, for better or worse, though few major players among them are seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. The Atlantic is one of my favorite examples that I've cited often, and 2011 was the second great year in a row for the "legacy" brand that went all-in on a digital-first strategy in 2007 and are now reaping the…

My Favorite Reads of 2011

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 27, 2011
Post category:Personal Reviews
Post comments:1 Comment

Unlike movies, I rarely read books when they're first released, especially hardcover fiction, so my favorite reads in any given year are usually a mix of backlist and "new" trade paperbacks. I also like to mix things up throughout the year, so I rarely read as deeply in any one genre as I might like to, and my to-read pile grows ever higher as I discover new-to-me writers with deep backlists that I'll never have enough time to fully explore. Here are my five favorites (plus one honorable mention), in order of combined awesomeness and emotional impact, in what has arguably been one of the best years of reading in a long time, not just in quantity, but quality, too.