Robert Christgau

PERSONAL DAYS
By Ed Park
Random House, 241 pages, $13

I VOLUNTEERED TO REVIEW THIS novel by my former Village Voice co-worker Ed Park because I assumed the conflicts of interest would be so blatant they’d implode—a roman à clef, in which I myself might play a minor role, about the alt-weekly where I got fired the same day young Ed did. But it wasn’t that simple. If this is indeed a roman à clef, nobody gave me the key. Even when I was editing a section there, I never kept up with Voice gossip, and what little I know suggests that aside from a few management butts, who are rendered with admirable sympathy, these young characters are heavily fictionalized, imported from elsewhere or altogether invented.  read more »

When 64-year-old feminist writer Ellen Willis died of lung cancer on Thursday, Nov.  read more »

When 64-year-old feminist writer Ellen Willis died of lung cancer on Thursday, Nov.  read more »

While Village Voice music editor Chuck Eddy was terminated yesterday—the 17th staffer to leave or be fired since the New Times merger in November, 2005—Voice rock critic and senior editor Robert Christgau is still employed at the paper, despite rumors of his termination. "It would appear my optimism about the arts coverage was optimistic," Mr. Christgau said from home last night. "Chuck Eddy was fired. That's the fact. I'm not going to explain it." — Gabriel Sherman

For a newspaper built on a tabloid history of enduring unkind cuts, the week of March 15 brought som  read more »