Welcome back, everyone! This week we would like to introduce you to our blog editor, Samuel McFerron. Sam is a Sophomore at Lewis University. They are an English Major with a concentration in literature and hope to procure a minor in Philosophy. They aspire to become a professor of literature and spend most of their free time reading and writing music. They hope to improve upon their writing skills as well as their literary analysis skills during their time here at Lewis and are seeking publication within this time frame.
-Who are you and what is your role in Jet Fuel Review?
I’m Samuel McFerron, I’m the Blog Editor and assistant poetry and prose editor for Jet Fuel Review. I also maintain my own blog, McFerron’s Authors of Revolution.
-What book might we find on your nightstand right now?
Currently, I’m reading The Pale King by David Foster Wallace in preparation to re-read Infinite Jest this summer.
-If you had the chance to co-write with one author, who would you choose? Why?
My top choice would be David Foster Wallace, but since he’s already mentioned above, I’d have to say Jared Diamond, the author of Guns, Germs, and Steel. I believe he’s one of the best if not the best nonfiction writers and historians of our time.
-Describe your perfect reading atmosphere.
A fresh pot of coffee, cigarette in hand, on someone else’s porch.
-What might your personal library look like?
My current library is half on a bookshelf and half in a box. It’s mainly comprised of non-fiction historical accounts, academic and creative essays, philosophical texts, books of poetry, and fiction novels.
-If you could “re-make” a poorly written movie that was based on a book, what movie would it be?
While it’s not a poorly written movie, when compared to the book, a lot of important plot points and character devices or traits are left out of the screen in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Again, it’s not a poorly written movie, it’s in my top 10 or 20, there’s just no living up to the book.
-What piece of literature can you reread over and over again?
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera is my most re-read book. Any time I feel out of place in the world or in my relationships I turn to it for advice and clarity. It’s a seriously amazing novel with some of the best and most human characters ever created.
-Give us a quote from your favorite (or any) book/movie.
“Welcome to Costco, I love you” from Idiocracy
-If you were invited to have coffee with any fictional character, who would you most like to meet? Why?
Edna Pontellier from Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. I feel like we both like our coffee strong and dark.
-Share your top five favorite pieces of writing (anything included, be it movies, books, etc.).
Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution by Pyotr Kropotkin
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Living My Life by Emma Goldman
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce