Profile avatar
crsantastic.bsky.social
Writer, reader, musician, fiction editor @TheRumpus. Words in One Story, DIAGRAM, Story Magazine, SmokeLong Quarterly, and other places. More at: www.crsantantasio.com
79 posts 120 followers 128 following
Regular Contributor
Active Commenter
Posts 20 Comments 30

James is every bit as good as the critics say. I was skeptical, but damn is this book affecting in the best possible way. I’m glad I reread Huck Finn prior to, though. I don’t think it would hit the same otherwise.

submitted 10 days ago • 0 comments

Read this on my flight home after being away from my partner for almost two weeks. Bawling. Tears streaming down my face. Incredible. Garth at the height of his powers. My favorite of his work so far.

submitted 24 days ago • 0 comments

Exceptionally proud that @egreenberg.bsky.social asked me to interview her for @therumpus.net about her debut collection ALTERNATIVE FACTS. It’s out tomorrow!

submitted 35 days ago • 0 comments

Actually loved this one. In 700+ pages there are just a handful of memorable scenes and a few virtuosic passages of description. But that’s life, right? Mann perfectly captures the weight of generations and its bearing on progeny.

submitted 39 days ago • 0 comments

Ghostly and impressionistic, Yu Miri’s Tokyo Ueno Station is brief but emotionally dense. I had to read it slowly in short bursts. As a fan of Kawabata and Tanizaki, I found much to relish in this one.

submitted 49 days ago • 0 comments

The only thing I can say about When We Cease to Understand the World is that it totally lived up to the hype. A thrilling level of idea density, yet written with utmost clarity. The conclusion took me by complete suprise. Looking forward to rereading soon. #books #booksky

submitted 53 days ago • 0 comments

Another memorable book I read in 2024 was the new edition of Edmund White's Nocturnes for the King of Naples, with a great intro by Garth Greenwell. I learned so much from how White draws on the character and form of the musical nocturne to shape his narratives. #books #booksky

submitted 54 days ago • 0 comments

I read all 6 volumes of Knausgaard's My Struggle in 2023 and was so taken by it that I started learning Norwegian and seeking out other Norwegian works in translation. This is how I found Per Petterson's Men in My Situation. It has a hypnotic quality that still preoccupies me. #books

submitted 60 days ago • 0 comments

Here’s another one that blew me away in 2024, Paul Yoon’s collection “The Hive and the Honey.” Quiet stories about geographic and generational displacement. The kind of stories I love to write. The kind of stories that are hard to publish these days. Magic.

submitted 60 days ago • 0 comments

For Detroit-based writers and artists, the Kresge Foundation is open for fellowship applications. Learn more here: kresge.org/grants-socia...

submitted 60 days ago • 0 comments

I'm a slow reader with high aspirations--so I've never hit my reading annual reading goal. In the spirit of valuing quality over quantity, I'm going to spotlight a few of my favorites starting with Barbar Eisenberg's 2018 collection YOUR DUCK IS MY DUCK 1/2 #books

submitted 60 days ago • 2 comments

My last post described my writing output in 2023. I didn't publish a lot, but I did produce many new words! In September, I finished a novel draft, a goal I'd held since 2009 when I started writing in earnest. I did my first writing residency and published one short piece. A 🧵

submitted 70 days ago • 1 comment

Before picking back up with my writing journey, here's a recap: -2012: collab with my undergrad writing mentor results in a peer-reviewed article -2015: My first short story publication + the One Story Summer Workshop -2017: My first personal essay is published + MFA enrollment... 1/4

submitted 75 days ago • 1 comment

Hello #writingcommunity ! ICYMI, @therumpus.net is holding our first ever contest! Submissions for the Rumpus Prize for Poetry, Fiction, & Nonfiction are now open! More information here: therumpus.net/the-rumpus-p...

submitted 75 days ago • 0 comments

Let's talk #writingcontests. Entry fees add up, but you have to be in it to win it, or, in my case, to be shortlisted for it. This has happened to me a lot, and it does get old. To consistently feel like you're just a hair's breath from glory is exhausting. A🧵:

submitted 77 days ago • 1 comment

For me, being part of a #writingcommunity in 2020 was about bearing witness. I experienced the optimism of the movement for racial justice and a violent backlash. Returning to the page, I recognzied I needed to connect with others, but also strengthen ties across social boundaries. A🧵

submitted 78 days ago • 1 comment

2020 wasn't a great year for my writing, and I'm at peace with this now. I spent less time at my laptop and more time in my community. Columbus, OH convulsed in the months after George Floyd was killed, and my efforts as a writer couldn't meet the urgency of the moment. 1/5 #writingtips

submitted 81 days ago • 1 comment

After my story "Persistence" was published by One Story in November of 2018, I was full of hope. Two literary agencies reached out and wanted to see more of my work. In 2019, "Persistence" was listed as a distinguished story in Best American. I had reached a new stage in my #writing career 1/5

submitted 82 days ago • 1 comment

Hayden's Ferry Review is open for submissions of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, translation, and hybrid work until the end of the year. Visit our website to read our guidelines and then send your work to be considered for our upcoming web or print issue: haydensferryreview.com/submit

submitted 83 days ago • 0 comments

This is wonderful, the kind of work that I don't think we would have without the internet. A glimpse coterminous with an exhale, the fundamentals shivering through. It has a stumbled-upon quality, a gift from the fiber optic flea market where we spend our days. I recommend!

submitted 83 days ago • 0 comments