Author: Cliff

I am the author of three novels--THE LAST BIRD OF PARADISE, OLIVER'S TRAVELS, and THE SHAMAN OF TURTLE VALLEY--and three story collections--IN AN UNCHARTED COUNTRY, HOUSE OF THE ANCIENTS AND OTHER STORIES, and WHAT THE ZHANG BOYS KNOW, winner of the Library of Virginia Literary Award for Fiction. I am also the co-founder and former editor of Prime Number Magazine and the editor of the award-winning anthology series EVERYWHERE STORIES: SHORT FICTION FROM A SMALL PLANET.
January 17, 2015

Digging Deep: A Fiction Workshop

Beginning Tuesday, January 20, I’m teaching an 8-week fiction workshop at WriterHouse in Charlottesville that I call Digging Deep. My thinking is that writers–if…
January 16, 2015

Bridgewater International Poetry Festival — happening now!

Poetry fan? Head on over to Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Virginia (about a half hour north of Staunton, VA, where I live) where the…
January 14, 2015

The New Yorker: “Breadman” by J. Robert Lennon

January 19, 2015: “Breadman” by J. Robert Lennon Weird story. I liked it. The first person narrator joins a queue in a small shop…
January 12, 2015

The New Yorker: “A Sheltered Woman” by Yiyun Li

March 10, 2014: “A Sheltered Woman” by Yiyun Li This is a terrific sketch of a character in a unique situation, but not much…
January 12, 2015

The New Yorker: “The Big Cat” by Louise Erdrich

March 31, 2014: “The Big Cat” by Louise Erdrich I admire Louise Erdrich’s work, and I liked this story in which a man marries…
January 11, 2015

2015 Reading: House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III

House of Sand & Fog by Andre Dubus III Parts of this book were impressive. In particular, I thought the sections told from the point…
January 11, 2015

Late Last Night Books: Interview with Me

Sally Whitney, author of the forthcoming novel Surface and Shadow, interviews me at the great blogzine, Late Last Night Books. Interview with Clifford Garstang
January 10, 2015

Used Book Discovery: A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami

We have a couple of used book stores in my town, in addition to the stores that sell new books and the shops that…
January 10, 2015

2015 Reading: Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights by Katha Pollitt

Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights by Katha Pollitt As a pro-choice pragmatist (that’s a liberal who understand that compromise is necessary to achieve progress), I was…
January 9, 2015

The New Yorker: “The Largesse of the Sea Maiden” by Denis Johnson

March 3, 2014: “The Largesse of the Sea Maiden” by Denis Johnson You won’t learn too much from the Q&A with Denis Johnson that…