About

This blog is about literary sightings in contemporary space.*

What is a literary sighting? I think of a literary sighting as a reference to an author or a work of fiction or poetry that appears in a real setting where you wouldn’t expect it. An author crossing your path could count as a literary sighting. In the late 90s I spotted Po Bronson at Andronico’s supermarket in San Francisco; I think he was with a child and that’s all I can tell you because in those days I would have hidden behind a soup can. 

Literary sightings aren’t in a person’s control; they just happen. They could be, as in the case of Harold Meltzer, a poem spotted on the New York subway. They could be a product you see or a person you meet who mentions a book or author in an interesting way, or a demagogue who deploys literature. It could be something literary that goes viral on social media. I’m sure there are lots of other types of literary sightings.

To have a literary sighting you have to read literature so that you’ll recognize the reference. I believe that those of us who write fiction should read those who came before. We don’t start with a blank slate. We have to credit others. But then, I’ve always revered my elders (not slavishly) – it’s why I had a career in gerontology. I believe in intergenerational continuity and evolution vs. total rupture. I can’t but see the way forward as a  weaving of past with present, a doubling back, an answering. Without that dialogue so much about the past goes unresolved, festering rather than healing. If you live in the American south like me, it’s a moral imperative to consider the past. 

In July 2026 Rose Horowitch of The Atlantic asserted that in an era of AI, we are living in a post-literary world. Maybe. But I am looking for literary vital signs that contradict that assertion, that indicate the emotional, spiritual, and practical importance of literature in people’s lives. My project is not academic but practical. How is literature used today, by whom, when, and why? I’m aware that it is odd and that at present I seem like a dying breed. Nevertheless, I persist…

As with everything, my literary sightings are limited by my own narrow experience. So I’m inviting you to send 1) a “sightbite,” just a sentence or two about a literary sighting (who, what, where, when) or 2) a blog entry proposal built around a literary sighting, invoking deep culture. Email them to aevanden@gmail.com with the subject line LITERARY SIGHTING. I am especially interested in non-US sightings. 

*The blogs in the Atlanta section are older and had a different format and rationale.