FROM THE COMFORT OF A DREAMER'S BED is a collection of essays and interviews, some reachable on this website, some via hyperlink. The title comes from an old Jackson Browne song. The complete quotation is: "From the comfort of a dreamer's bed/And the safety of my own head/I went off speaking of the future/while other people fought and bled."
In my mental jukebox, the line always made me think of Goncharov's Oblomov, one of my favorite novels. The hero, Oblomov, is a man who spends most of his time in bed. In fact, he spends the first 150 pages of the novel in bed. Finally, he receives a letter from the manager of his estate, insisting that he inspect his property, which is falling into ruin, and make some major decisions. While out of bed, Oblomov meets a young woman and falls in love. The romance ends badly, and Oblomov returns to bed.
In general outline, it's not unlike a writer's life.
ESSAYS:
Loneliness & the Novel Sami Rohr Prize Acceptance Speech, Jewish Book Council Blog, June 6, 2011.
Another Late Christmas, Algonquin Books Blog, December 28, 2010.
My Book, The Movie: Joseph Skibell's A Curable Romantic, November 4, 2010.
The Page 69 Test: Joseph Skibell's A Curable Romantic, October 13, 2010.
Writers Read: What is Joseph Skibell Reading?, Campaign for the American Reader, October 11, 2010.
Book Notes: Joseph Skibell's A Curable Romantic, Largehearted Boy, September 20, 2010.
Stephen F. Foster, Historical Truth & The Novel, Wonders and Marvels, August 31, 2010.
Favorite Books of 2010, Creative Loafing, January 7, 2011.
Willis Alan Ramsey & Me: A Bad Case of 2nd Novelitis, Maggid, Number 1, 2005.
Our Love Affair with Books, Amazon.Com Blog, December 1997.
INTERVIEWS:
Meet Sami Rohr Prize Finalist ... Joseph Skibell Jewish Book Council Blog, March 16, 2011.
Between the Lines with Valerie Jackson, WABE, November 5, 2010.
Huffington Post, October 19, 2010.
Panhandler Magazine, University of West Florida, Spring 2010.
An Incurable Talent, ShelfLife@Texas, November 1, 2010.
