— The good folks at HTMLGIANT are explaining the 41 “Moves in Contemporary Poetry.” These are “moves” in the sense of chess moves, or kung fu moves. Study them well, and you, too, will be a verbal badass.

— A couple months ago I talked about “The Political Fictions Project” at New York magazine, in which notable authors made up fictional stories about real-life political figures. Now, the same magazine is doing the opposite. They’re running a story that’s billed as non-fiction, but is nothing but a salacious melodrama based on hearsay and second-hand reports. Flip sides of the same coin, no? Here’s a typical scene, in which Elizabeth Edwards screams at John Edwards for not being sexually attracted to her anymore.

At the terminal, the couple fought in the passenger waiting area. They fought outside in the parking lot. Elizabeth was sobbing, out of control, incoherent. As their aides tried to avert their eyes, she tore off her blouse, exposing herself. “Look at me!” she wailed at John and then staggered, nearly falling to the ground.

— You think I’m obsessed with James Wood? No, this guy is obsessed with James Wood. His breakdown of Wood’s New Yorker criticism thus far, and of the literary-industrial complex that supposedly keeps Wood in business, is comprehensive, fascinating, and a little creepy.

— Also this.

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