An Interview with Victoria Kelly
…Washington, DC, tonight at 7 p.m. Learn more here.] Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Believe in what we do? Support the nonprofit Independent!
An Interview with Temim Fruchter
…in DC tomorrow at 7 p.m. Learn more here.] Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Believe in what we do? Support the nonprofit Independent!
An Interview with Marlena Williams
…I think this is how I understand myself anyway. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Believe in what we do? Support the nonprofit Independent!
…Giroux). Author interview by Cathy Alter. “Introducing Paul Goldberg at Politics and Prose in Washington, DC, recently during the launch of Goldberg’s latest novel, The Dissident, moderator Andrew Weiss described the book as being ‘like a Coen Brothers directing of a Bond film.’ He was serious. How else to describe…
An Interview with Miriam E. Hiebert
…she wasn’t one of them. [Photo by Tim Koeth.] Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Believe in what we do? Support the nonprofit Independent!
An Interview with Paul Goldberg
…to preserve the Russian text, very selectively, in footnotes. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Believe in what we do? Support the nonprofit Independent!
A Conversation with Michelle Brafman
…am talking about ghosts again. [Photo by Sam Kittner.] Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Believe in what we do? Support the nonprofit Independent!
One of the Crushes behind CRUSH
…every single song with “Cathy” in the lyrics on his guitar. I never realized how many songs contained my name. The night was endless. I avoided him the rest of the year, and he ended up scrawling a totally bonkers note on my door that ended with, “You, you, never…
“The Best Book I Read this Year”
…collection of short stories.” ~Cathy Alter How to End a Story: Diaries 1995-1998 by Helen Garner. “Helen Garner is one of the most important voices in contemporary Australian literature because she never settles for easy answers to complicated problems. This is a riveting chronicle of the ‘draining attempt to be…
…Surely, he has a home for talent like this. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Help us help you help us! Support the nonprofit Independent!
…Land: Rediscovering the Wild, One Field at a Time Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Help us help you help us! Support the nonprofit Independent!
…off somebody in charge, and the writer is finished. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Help us help you help us! Support the nonprofit Independent!
…were writing your piece. “Cathy Alter enters the room like she owns it. She moves confidently to her seat but before she sits down, she takes the scarf from her neck and uses it to discreetly brush crumbs off her chair.” No first drafts. Turn in work that’s polished, spell-checked,…
An Interview with Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry
…in English after reading their work? I’m in awe! Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Help us help you help us! Support the nonprofit Independent!
…the hand lotion, I sure looked good holding it. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Help us help you help us! Support the nonprofit Independent!
An Interview with Taylor Harris
…14th in Rockville, MD. Click here to learn more.] Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Help us help you help us! Click here to support…
…this column — that last one sure sounded promising. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Help us help you help us! Click here to support…
…art form once represented are still alive and well. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Help us help you help us! Click here to support…
…response. Luckily, it was from an at-home covid test. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Help us help you help us! Click here to support…
…(Unnamed Press). Interview by Cathy Alter. “What are people in DC afraid of? What makes them squirm? What are the secret thoughts they would never admit, not to anyone? What deep shames do we carry with us every day? With her trademark scalpel wit in hand, Pietrzyk explores these questions…
…bad reviews on Yahoo. Mary Kay, you want it? Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Help us help you help us! Click here to support…
Interview with Leslie Pietrzyk
…about power and secrets. [Photo by Susan Hale Thomas.] Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Help us help you help us! Click here to support…
…No wonder Joan Didion didn't like making phone calls. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Help us help you help us! Click here to support…
An Interview with James Magruder
…journal I kept that year. [Photo by Jane Sartwell.] Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Help us help you help us! Click here to support…
An Interview with Amy Argetsinger
…my daughter hits that age. [Photo by Matt Mendelsohn.] Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Help us help you help us! Click here to support…
…is the result. **** Cathy Alter, writer for over 20 years, [BUT WHO'S COUNTING?] will be the reference for this story. Her story started back when she was in school, in the late 60s and early 70s. [HE WANTED TO INCLUDE MY AGE AND WHEN I TOLD HIM NOT TO,…
…room in my suitcase for Lawrence Wright’s new one. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit…
An Interview with Jessica Anya Blau
…It would be so fun to really cast it! Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit…
An Interview with Vince Granata
…other members of my family. [Photo by Beau Bumpas.] Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit…
…bring a really good bottle (or six) of wine. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit…
…how to handle an ex-boyfriend with a baby stroller. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
…Silva and Jane Leavy. Now, that’s an all-star lineup. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
…suspect I must be talking about you? I am. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
…would’ve been just as satisfying to witness via Zoom. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
An Interview with Kerri Arsenault
…who suspect similar things. [Photo by Erik Madigan Heck.] Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
25 Angst-Free Books to Take Your Mind Off the Election
…humanizing way. If only…” ~Cathy Alter My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. “If you're looking for a lighthearted distraction from the current climate of woe, dive into the world of warmhearted-but-clueless aristocrat Bertie Wooster and his manservant (and handler), Jeeves. The Wooster and Jeeves series is lengthy enough to keep…
…cue the groan, I'm ready for the next chapter. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
…impossible as going to Mars. [Photo by Ryan McGinley.] Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
…failure to try.” That's a voice worth listening to. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
…something to say. Luckily, I always do. Please clap. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Have a heart of glass? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
…the news: David Shields has turned down his offer. Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and the author of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
…Saturday, May 16th, at 6PM. Click here for info.] Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and author of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
An Interview with Sue Eisenfeld
…to help them pass their quarantine time a bit… Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and author of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
…a coffeeshop, a burger joint and continue the conversation? Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and author of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
Happy, Fun Books to Take Your Mind Off the News
…humanizing way. If only…” ~Cathy Alter My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. “If you're looking for a lighthearted distraction from the current climate of woe, dive into the world of warmhearted-but-clueless aristocrat Bertie Wooster and his manservant (and handler), Jeeves. The Wooster and Jeeves series is lengthy enough to keep…
An Interview with Libby Copeland
…in DC on Fri., March 6, at 6:30 p.m.] Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and author of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
…any topics you'd like Cathy to cover? Email her at [email protected].] Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors and author of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
…to me and said, “Cathy. Your anxiety is bleeding into my anxiety.” Meaning she, too, was worried I'd never finish writing one word of my memoir, let alone the contracted 80,000. B had reached, she told me, compassion fatigue and was tired of hearing what she called my “index of…
“The Best Book I Read All Year Was…”
…of chaos and loss.” ~Cathy Alter Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout. “The ‘best book I read’ always seems to be the last one I read; right now, that’s Strout’s. But here are some others: The classic re-read that was the most poignant: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. The nonfiction…
…Rosenwaike (Doubleday). Reviewed by Cathy Alter. “Polly Rosenwaike's debut story collection, Look How Happy I’m Making You, should be required reading for all women of childbearing age (and for mothers potential, new, or, like me, seven years in). It's a book I wish I’d had during my days of should…
…note: Have topics you'd like to see covered in “Alter States”? Cathy would love to hear them! Contact her at [email protected].] Cathy Alter is a member of the Independent’s board of directors. Love memoirs? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
An Interview with Polly Rosenwaike
…June 15th, at 1 p.m. Click here for info.] Cathy Alter is author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush, and a member of the Independent’s board. Like stories about motherhood? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
An Interview with David A. Taylor
…So I have a few more decades to go. Cathy Alter is author, most recently, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush, and a member of the Independent’s board. Like what we do? Click here to support the nonprofit Independent!
…Catalog Books). Interview by Cathy Alter. “I’m interested in what’s interesting, as Jean Rhys said. I’m interested, as she was, in the self-destructiveness of the human animal. Trump has been building for this moment his entire life — his unraveling. I wanted to explain why he wants to finally feel…
An Interview with David Shields
…if he does? No. Yes. [Photo by Tom Collicott.] Cathy Alter is author, most recently, of CRUSH - Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Lasting Power of Their First Celebrity Crush, and a member of the Independent’s board of directors. Like what we do? Click here to support the…
5 Most Popular Posts: July 2018
…Tina Alexis Allen. When Cathy Alter chatted with the actress/playwright about sexuality, family secrets, and the redemptive power of forgiveness, readers listened. Kitty Kelley’s review of Picasso and the Painting That Shocked the World by Miles J. Unger. “Given the heaving shelves of Picasso books, and the fourth and final…
An Interview with Tina Alexis Allen
…[Photo by Bobby Quillard.] Cathy Alter is author (with Dave Singleton) of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Lasting Power of Their First Celebrity Crush, as well as Virgin Territory and Up for Renewal. She teaches creative nonfiction at Johns Hopkins in Washington, DC, and is a member…
…the physical descriptions, perhaps alter-ego) is Amanda Gallo, a slightly discombobulated reporter on local news. When she’s first on the scene to report on a hostage situation, her quick-thinking willingness to show up at the standoff pants-less (this will all make sense) and emotional on-air delivery gain her the anchor…
An Interview with Leslie Pietrzyk
…by Susan Hale Thomas.] Cathy Alter is author (with Dave Singleton) of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Lasting Power of Their First Celebrity Crush, as well as Virgin Territory and Up for Renewal. She teaches creative nonfiction at Johns Hopkins in Washington, DC. Like what we do?…
5 Most Popular Posts: July 2017
…she plans to continue.” Cathy Alter’s review of Amanda Wakes Up: A Novel by Alisyn Camerota. “Usually when a reviewer uses the phrase ‘fun read,’ it’s a polite euphemism for a book you’d more than likely toss in a beach bag or leave on an airplane. And while you may…
An Interview with David Swinson
…back. Or rather, his alter ego, Frank Marr, is back, in Crime Song, the second installment of his gritty “‘The Wire’ on paper” crime series. Once again, the plot involves drugs, burglary, and murder as seen through the eyes of Marr, a down-on-his-luck P.I. whose cocaine and alcohol addictions forced…
…the physical descriptions, perhaps alter-ego) is Amanda Gallo, a slightly discombobulated reporter on local news. When she’s first on the scene to report on a hostage situation, her quick-thinking willingness to show up at the standoff pants-less (this will all make sense) and emotional on-air delivery gain her the anchor…
An Interview with Marita Golden
…Independent's board of directors.] Cathy Alter’s work has appeared in the Washington Post, Washingtonian, TheAtlantic.com, the New York Times, and O, The Oprah Magazine. She is the author of Virgin Territory, Up for Renewal, and CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Lasting Power of Their First Celebrity Crush.…
5 Most Popular Posts: April 2016
…by Sarah Stodola of Cathy Alter and Dave Singleton’s CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Lasting Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. If yearning to know who our favorite scribes once lusted after is wrong, we don’t want to be right. A review by Tom Glenn of Joshua…
…Singleton is co-author, with Cathy Alter, of CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing and the Lasting Power of Their First Crush. Carly Watters: The pile of books on my nightstand ranges between five and 20 books at any given time. I feel a mix of guilt and delight when I…
Crush: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Lasting Power of Their First Celebrity Crush
…Celebrity Crush, then, editors Cathy Alter and Dave Singleton overcome some long odds in presenting a collection of essays that intrigues more often than not. What is it about adolescents and their celebrity crushes that leave such an indelible impression? After reading Crush, I still don’t know. But almost everyone…
Your Club in Lights: The Georgetown-Based “Doesn’t Have an Official Name” Book Club
…such personalized inscriptions in our books! (Answers provided by Cathy Alter, author of Up for Renewal and Virgin Territory.)Should your club’s name be in lights? Leave a comment below or send an email to [email protected] and tell us about it!
…and here’s what they said.Cathy Alter:The Wonder Bread Summer by Jessica Anya Blau (Harper Perennial). No one captures 1980s girlhood better than Blau. The premise of her latest book reads like “Pulp Fiction” meets Alice in Wonderland—with Billy Idol starring as a pivotal character. With a rebel yell, I cried,…
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