Devoted to publishing, publishers and to those who craft the written word

"Paris Hilton's storage unit contents, which were auctioned off in 2005, much to the celebutante's chagrin, are now avaialable for viewing online for $39.97 a month. See how lucrative self storage auctions can be!"

That's our featured guest, Gayle Brandeis (at the website Mama's Ink), delivering storage locker facts in honor of her brand new novel, Self Storage. Her book follows an unhappy woman who buys and sells boxes full of other people's belongings from storage auctions.

Today, Brandeis shares her favorite books that she keeps in the self storage locker in her head--part of my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions.

In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a serialized set of weekly interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web publishing.... 

Jason Boog: 
Walt Whitman haunts your whole book, and obviously inspired your poetic prose. Who are the writers you recommend we read to learn how to write more gracefully? Any advice for writing more lyrical prose?

Gayle Brandeis:
I always return to poetry to recharge my relationship with language. Continue reading...

The two poets who have been most influential for me have been Mary Oliver and Sharon Olds. Both of them write about nature and the body with great honesty and grace; they both gave me permission to tell the truth about my own experience. Rainer Maria Rilke has also left his mark deeply.

I recommend dipping into poetry for all writers—it can remind us how powerful and limber language can be.

As for writing more lyrical prose—I would say, pay attention to the sounds and rhythms of language, how the words feel in your mouth, how they affect your breath. Words are so luscious—really play with them, enjoy them.

And remember to keep your senses open as you write—language that you can taste and feel is so much more vibrant and resonant than language that only engages the mind.