News related to 501 Minutes to Christ

by Poe Ballantine

Heartland Media of Chicago & the Live from the Heartland Radio Show: Readings from The Sun—featuring Sy Safransky, founder and editor of The Sun, along with contributors Poe Ballantine, Krista Bremer, and Cheryl Strayed.

02 Feb 2017|

Readings from The Sun—featuring Sy Safransky, founder and editor of The Sun, along with contributors Poe Ballantine, Krista Bremer, and Cheryl Strayed.

Poe Ballantine reads “The Irving” from his essay collection, 501 Minutes to Christ. This story details Poe’s diabolic plan to punch John Irving in the nose after he opens for him at the inaugural Wordstock Festival in Portland, Oregon. Why did Poe want to deck the famous author? Watch here to find out.

Caleb Powell’s Arguments Worth Having: Interviews/Conversations includes Hawthorne authors: Poe Ballantine, Gregory Martin, Frank Meeink, David Shields, and Lidia Yuknavitch

25 Sep 2014|

Caleb Powell is a writer, teacher and family man who lives in Seattle.

To read his interviews with Hawthorne authors and Eula Biss. Andie Trosper DeRoux, Saadia Haq, Tim Jones-Yelvington, Ander Monson, Peter Mountford, and Jervey Tervalon, go to Arguments Worth Having.

Poe Ballantine’s 501 Minutes to Christ chosen as one of 10 Best Road Books by Mary Miller at Publishers Weekly

06 May 2014|

I had difficulty choosing between this one and Things I Like about America, which is equally excellent. Both are collections of essays about Ballantine’s experiences as he moves around the country in search of the ideal American town, a place where he can write and stay sober and meet the dark-haired, book-loving girl of his dreams. Not surprisingly, the towns he arbitrarily selects are full of threadbare rooms and people who love nothing more than their television sets. Suitcases fall on his...Forward

Poe Ballantine interviewed by Matt Dwyer at Feral Audio

08 Jan 2014|

“Poe Ballantine is easily one of my favorite writers so to have him on the show is a huge thrill. He joins me to talk about his twenty something years as a drifter, the deterioration of culture and how obscurity may be the best route to fame. Poe’s unique take on the world is thought provoking and challenging. This is one of my favorite conversations.”—Matt Dwyer


Matt Dwyer is a comedian, actor and writer who has been a staple in the alternative comedy scenes in Chicago, New York and LA....Forward

Poe Ballantine’s “Free Rent at the Totalitarian Hotel” included in Best American Essays 2013

18 Apr 2013|

Poe Ballantine’s “Free Rent at the Totalitarian Hotel” originally published in The Sun Magazine included in Best American Essays 2013, Cheryl Strayed, Editor, and Robert Atwan, Series Editor. (October, 2013.)

Selected and introduced by Cheryl Strayed, the New York Times best-selling author of Wild and the writer of the celebrated column “Dear Sugar,” this collection is a treasure trove of fine writing and thought-provoking essays.