He’s an excellent critic, but as far as I know he doesn’t participate in social media. It’s always fun if a critic is on social media and willing to extend the critical discussion beyond a given review, but it isn’t necessary. A critic’s engagement with audience takes place within a review. Social media isn’t absolutely necessary for critics. As a book critic, how important is social media? You are arguably one of the most popular and beloved literary people on Twitter. Mostly, though, I choose books that make me think and feel, books I can’t put down, books that teach me something. Sarah Knight, an editor at Simon & Schuster, sent me Michael Farris Smith’s novel, Rivers, and I ended up reviewing the book because it was very much the kind of novel I love to get into-dark and gritty, with an intense sense of yearning throughout the narrative. There are also editors who have a good sense of the kinds of books I will find interesting. Some presses are really great about sending me their books-Riverhead and Graywolf come to mind immediately, but there are others. I tend to review books that come to my attention. What kinds of things influence your decision in selecting a book to review? Do relationships with editors and/or publicists tip the balance? There are some editors, though, whom I can query if a title strikes me as particularly interesting and worthy of critical attention. Normally the books are assigned, but editors are great about knowing which books will be a good critical fit for a given writer. I review for the New York Times, Bookforum, Time, the Daily Beast, and other publications. What are some of the publications you’re reviewing for now? Do you typically select which books you review or are they assigned to you? We all come to reading from such unique perspectives, so participating in the literary conversation is one of my favorite things. Mostly, I read a lot and have opinions about what I read and enjoy sharing those opinions. As a writer myself, I love pulling a writer’s choices apart to see what lies beneath. Before long, I was writing more formal book reviews for HTMLGIANT, trying to think through the books I was reading and what those books were trying to do. When I get excited about a book, I can’t stop talking about it. I started discussing books on the PANK blog, mostly sharing my thoughts on books I loved because I wanted to spread the good word. How did you get your start writing book reviews? You can follow her on Twitter, first remember reading your work on HTMLGIANT.
Her memoir, Hunger, is forthcoming from Harper Perennial in 2016. Originally from Omaha, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, Gay is an associate professor of English at Purdue University and is the coeditor of PANK magazine.