Between these poles are all forms of social media; and, on a different continent but still the same planet, reviews printed in the font you’re reading now. When it comes to all of the above, James McBride takes a page from Herman Melville’s short story “Bartleby, the Scrivener.” Like the titular clerk, McBride prefers not to — in his case, read reviews. I’m grateful that people read the work. If you’re writing about humans, you’ve got to be around humans. The big secret to writing good books is to stay around people, and not stay around what they write on the internet.”

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Persons: James McBride, Herman Melville’s, Scrivener, McBride, “ I’m, ”, Danez Smith, ” McBride, “, I’m, I’ve, —, you’ve Locations: Columbia