Connect with us

Local News

RFT Asks Martin Riker About His Latest Novel The Guest Lecture | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

on

[ad_1]


click to enlarge COURTESY PHOTO Martin Riker’s novel The Guest Lecture is one of the buzziest books of literary fiction this year.

St. Louisan Martin Riker’s new novel The Guest Lecture is one of the buzziest books of literary fiction this year, getting rave reviews in the New Yorker and the New York Times, among other taste-making outlets. The novel covers one night in the life of the mind of an economist suffering a fit of insomnia on the eve of the eponymous lecture — though that description belies the humor that runs through what Riker has written, a humor that will land especially hard for anyone who every so often has trouble falling asleep. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

You’re at the top of the heap in the literary world right now, right?

This kind of coverage is really gratifying, especially the New York Review of Books piece, because it was a really long, substantive, smart piece. I was blown away, actually. It’s the kind of coverage that there just isn’t that much of in the literary world anymore. That was the most exciting thing for me.

The Guest Lecture is a truly funny read. Do you consider yourself a funny guy IRL?

Although I think I am jolly, I’m much funnier on paper. The kind of humor that’s in the book is a very written humor. It’s a humor that relies entirely on the construction and cadences of sentences. Some of it is conceptual, but a lot of it is the structure of the sentence and how it lands the way it does, the timing of the joke.

Does working on the publishing side of the business affect your writing?

I’ve worked in small press publishing for 25 years. And I didn’t start publishing my own books until 2018. It’s not that I wasn’t writing all that time. I wrote a few novels that I didn’t even try to publish because they weren’t any good. I love writing, and I do it because I love it. But I don’t feel pressure to succeed as a writer; I just enjoy the act of doing it. There’s a freedom there that is sort of analogous to the freedom of having tenure at a university that allows you to think outside the box.

Did I read somewhere that David Foster Wallace was a professor of yours?

He was actually my master’s thesis advisor back at Illinois State University in the late ’90s, and we were friends after. Actually I have in my closet two manuscripts of my own books that I never published with David’s writing all over them. They’re in a box of stuff that I’m going to sell to send my kid to college.

How are you making the most of the spotlight being on you?

I’m anxious for it to be done. I really am. I never enjoyed having to think about whether there’s going to be more coverage or what the coverage is going to be, all that kind of stuff. I’m thankful for good stuff that happens and that kind of attention, but I don’t like having to live in anticipation of it. The good news is that stuff doesn’t last that long. Publicity doesn’t last.

We welcome tips and feedback. Email the author at [email protected] or follow on Twitter at @RyanWKrull.
Coming soon: Riverfront Times Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting St. Louis stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

[ad_2]

Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Local News

Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

on

[ad_1]

A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword. 

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate. 

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault. 

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade. 

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

Subscribe to Riverfront Times newsletters.Follow us: Apple News |  Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

[ad_2]

Source link

Continue Reading

Local News

Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

on

[ad_1]

Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection. 

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery. 

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.” 

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings. 

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said. 

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

Subscribe to Riverfront Times newsletters.Follow us: Apple News |  Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

[ad_2]

Source link

Continue Reading

Local News

St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

on

[ad_1]

The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release. 

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

Subscribe to Riverfront Times newsletters.Follow us: Apple News |  Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

[ad_2]

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending