Lit Hub Daily: May 17, 2023

• “We’re holding the city. Ukrainian flags are fluttering above it.” From Kharkiv, Serhiy Zhadan records the first month of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. | Lit Hub

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• Jane Wong on poetic ambivalence and channeling her ghosts. | Lit Hub Poetry

• “Every life is a novel for those who are curious enough.” Anne Berest on creative inspiration, collecting the stories of elders, and more. | Lit Hub Questionnaire

• Breanne Mc Ivor against altering Caribbean fiction for US audiences. | Lit Hub

• Gal Beckerman profiles East German-born Jenny Erpenbeck. | The Atlantic

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• “It’s the most mind-blowing, soul-stirring, literary masterpiece I’ve ever laid my eyes on!” Or what happens when ChatGPT writes blurbs for classic literature. | The Guardian

• “I swung my axe, trying to beat the dusk. I am particular about firewood. Sometimes firewood can feel like my whole life.” Read a new short story by Madeline ffitch. | Harper’s

• Emma Cline and Louise Bonnet talk Highsmith, Cheever, and eating asses (in a plane crash). | Interview Magazine

• The biggest new open thread? Is hosted by Diablo Cody and Jenny Mollen. | Can I Ask You a Personal Question?

Also on Lit Hub: Nine utopian books to deprogram our brains • Obsessing over UFO videos—or, when screens helpfully absorb our anxieties • Read from Sarah K. Jackson’s debut novel, Not Alone