TODAY: In 1943, Nikki Giovanni is born.
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“How is it that blindness, in a largely ocular-centric culture such as ours, holds such (metaphorical) power?” M. Leona Godin considers Homer, Borges, and the lived reality of the blind writer. | Lit Hub
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Rebecca Rego Barry digs through Marlon Brando’s personal library—not decorative objects but true reading copies (with the occasional “horseshit!” marginalia). | Lit Hub
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Your week in virtual book events. | Lit Hub
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“I write the future into reality, or myself into the future, folding timelines together like a paper map.” After our timeless pandemic year, Marta Bausells puzzles over the conundrum of time and space. | Lit Hub
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Why are we so afraid of the dark? Chris Salisbury investigates a pervasive cultural fear. | Lit Hub
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Edward Slingerland examines the science behind alcohol as muse: or, booze as a conduit to your inner child. | Lit Hub Science
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“I was raised to believe that we’re our siblings’ keepers. But I wonder: are humans truly capable of taking care of one another?” Matthew Clark Davison talks to Paul Lisicky about brotherhood and his new novel. | Lit Hub
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WATCH: Raven Leilani in conversation with Pandora Sykes at the Hay Festival. | Lit Hub Virtual Book Channel
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What does Foucault’s “dalliance with neoliberal thought” mean for political scholars and activists today? | The Point
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“For more than three centuries, at least, English speakers have yearned for more sophisticated ways to talk about gender.” On the long history of gender-neutral pronouns. | The Atlantic
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Compound sentences. Expletive constructions. Flat verbs. Aatif Rashid considers the unexpected power of writing like Hemingway. | Kenyon Review
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Listen to this podcast featuring Edward St. Aubyn, who discusses his new book and the challenges of writing about states of consciousness. | Bookworm
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Adam Bradley on the legacy of Ralph Ellison and Invisible Man. | T Magazine
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“A novel for me is often just something I can’t stop thinking about.” Kristen Arnett on her new novel, obsessions, and parenthood. | Autostraddle
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Philip Roth’s friends and scholars are questioning how his legacy has been affected by controversy over the Blake Bailey biography. | The New York Times
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“Overlooking painful stories is still part of the problem.” Lisa Taddeo on confronting complexity in writing. | Bustle
Also on Lit Hub: Larissa Zimberoff on the history of turning waste into edible food • Alexander Lobrano recounts a dinner out with Giorgio Armani • Read from Doireann Ní Ghríofa’s debut novel, A Ghost in the Throat