TODAY: In 1628, The King’s Men perform Henry VIII at the Globe Theatre, London. George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham is in the audience, but leaves after watching the play’s Duke of Buckingham beheaded. The character is based on the historical Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, who had been executed for treason in 1521. Villiers is assassinated less than a month later.
- Introducing Mighty SONG Writers, a weekly video series to benefit education non-profit Mighty Writers. First up: Amanda Shires with Jason Isbell on writing advice, favorite teachers (and a song or two). Learn more about Mighty Writers here. | Lit Hub
- Does “character” still count in American politics? Marjorie Garber dives into the etymology and abuses of a weighty word (you’ll never guess the answer). | Lit Hub Politics
- Jason Boog talks to Heather Radke about unions, the crisis generation, and a time in this country when we paid writers well. | Lit Hub History
- Jerónimo Pizarro and Patricio Ferrari on Alberto Caeiro, the alter ego who “lies at the very core of Pessoa’s fiction.” | Lit Hub
- Dr. Lina Bernstein on the unique artistic sensibility of Magda Nachman, and the art world of early 20th-century St. Petersburg. | Lit Hub Art
- “There are two kinds of storms, they say, in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana: there are clean storms, and there are dirty storms.” Matthew Van Meter on the destruction of Hurricane Betsy. | Lit Hub
- Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca, Stephen King’s On Writing, John Grisham’s The Partner, and more rapid-fire book recs from Samantha Downing. | Book Marks
- Olivia Rutigliano counts down the 50 most iconic heist movies, from worst to best. | CrimeReads
- “There was a time when you couldn’t move for successful young male novelists. They are much scarcer now.” On the apparent decline of young male “hotshots” of British lit, on the Booker longlist and beyond. | The Times UK
- Can spending time in isolated writer’s colonies or secluded schools be ethical experiences today? Susan Choi writes that they could be, but the privilege can also be used for harm. | MacDowell
- How did the work of the painfully shy Brontë sisters shock Victorian society and shift the direction of English literature? | BBC History
- “I’m not going to speak for everybody. I’m going to speak for me.” Morgan Jerkins on uncovering Black history. | ZORA
- Scott O’Connor on James Turrell’s Dividing the Light and returning to its “meditative calm.” | The Paris Review
- Is there a way to recapture the magic of in-person readings through our screens? | Electric Literature
- “Narratives about Silicon Valley, even skeptical ones, crucially rely on the infrastructure—both literal and imagined—provided by the tech industry” On the literature of Silicon Valley. | Public Books
Also on Lit Hub: “The Round”: A poem by Stanley Kunitz • Learning to cook for one during a global pandemic • Read an excerpt from Alex Landragin’s novel Crossings.