Kevin P. Keating: Fiction, Essays & Commentary

From Largehearted Boy : In the  Book Notes  series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.  Previous contributors include  Bret Easton Ellis ,  Kate Christensen ,  Kevin Brockmeier ,  George Pelecanos ,  Dana Spiotta ,  Amy Bloom ,  Aimee Bender ,  Myla Goldberg ,  Heidi Julavits ,  Hari Kunzru , and many others. Kevin P. Keating's  The Natural Order of Things  is an intriguingly told, dark and often disturbing novel-in-stories. Booklist wrote of the book:   "This is Peyton Place sunk a few rungs lower in hell, featuring the abuse of animals, prostitutes, handicapped children, and just about every husband and wife in town. Keating's prose, though, is serpentine and sinewy and all-around gorgeous; if Jack Ketchum had plotted Franzen's The Corrections (2001), it might’ve looked something like this." READ THE ENTIRE ESSAY HERE

From  The  Community Partnership for Arts & Culture: The  Community Partnership for Arts & Culture (CPAC)  announced today the names of the  2014 Creative Workforce Fellows .  Each of the twenty Fellows will receive $20,000 this year to be used to advance their artistic endeavors and development.  This annual program has, since its inception in 2009, provided nearly $2.5 million in Fellowship grants.  “This year’s fellows represent some of the most creative and innovating artists who make their homes in Cuyahoga County, and we are honored to welcome them to the select Fellowship family,” said Thomas Chema, chair of CPAC’s Board of Trustees.  “Northeast Ohio is fortunate to be home to thousands of exceptional artists, working in a variety of disciplines. These artists produce practical and intrinsic values for our community. They are investing and working to revitalize of our neighborhoods.  They are principal playe...

From  Booklist: "If you look at Keating’s debut as a sort of horror anthology—no supernatural here, but plenty of monsters—each lurid shock becomes all the more impressive. (The fact that it takes place over a single Halloween weekend is our hint.) The book is arranged as a series of character studies that keep circling back over the same few events, with minor characters from previous stories graduating to the spotlight... This is  Peyton Place  sunk a few rungs lower in hell, featuring the abuse of animals, prostitutes, handicapped children, and just about every husband and wife in town. Keating’s prose, though, is serpentine and sinewy and all-around gorgeous; if Jack Ketchum had plotted Franzen’s The Corrections  (2001), it might’ve looked something like this...." Read the entire review