There is no ideal length, but you develop a little interior gauge that tells you whether or not you're supporting the house or detracting from it. When a piece gets too long, the tension goes out of it. That wordยtensionยhas an animal insistence for me. A piece of writing rises and falls with tension. The writer holds one end of the rope and the reader holds the other endยis the rope slack, or is it tight? Does it matter to the reader what the next sentence is going to be?
John Jeremiah SullivanReporting provides reminders that things are always more complicated than you think.
John Jeremiah SullivanAt GQ, there was never a temptation to pander or preach to the choir because I had no concept of who the reader was or what that reader might want.
John Jeremiah SullivanFreaky things happen all the time in the world. I suppose everything has to happen for the first time at some point.
John Jeremiah SullivanNot watching TV gets me in a lot of trouble in my household because my wife and daughter have a lot of shows they like to watch.
John Jeremiah SullivanOne of the best things Iโve read about that inexplicably, but endlessly, fascinating group of people, the so-called Serious Collectors of 78s. Petrusich burrows into not just their personalities but the hunger that unites and drives their obsessions. She writes elegantly, and makes you think, and most important manages to hang onto her skepticism in the midst of her own collecting quest.
John Jeremiah SullivanThere is no ideal length, but you develop a little interior gauge that tells you whether or not you're supporting the house or detracting from it. When a piece gets too long, the tension goes out of it. That wordยtensionยhas an animal insistence for me. A piece of writing rises and falls with tension. The writer holds one end of the rope and the reader holds the other endยis the rope slack, or is it tight? Does it matter to the reader what the next sentence is going to be?
John Jeremiah Sullivan