TODAY: In 1843, Francis Scott Key, American lawyer, author, and amateur poet who wrote the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” dies.
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It’s that time again: Here are our 231 most anticipated books of 2023. | Lit Hub
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He said, “I see you got some wheels. I want to get the hell out of here.” The late Russell Banks recalls the time he fled Bread Loaf with Nelson Algren. | Lit Hub
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Pico Iyer considers the wonders and contentions of Kashmir. | Lit Hub History
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Training schoolchildren in the art of cyber war: Matt Potter on Kosovo and the 1990s-era internet. | Lit Hub Tech
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An illustrated guide to death in Victorian society. | CrimeReads
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“I think of my mother as an archeologist piecing together a long-buried creature, but the creature is not, as you would assume, her mother. The creature is herself.” Andrew Sean Greer on the mystery of his grandmother’s fried pie recipe. | Bon Appetit
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“Life haunted by its more beautiful sister-life!” Remembering Charles Simic. | The Paris Review
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How did Mike Pence’s book become a best-seller? Oh right, because his PAC spent $91,000 buying copies. | Forbes
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“The enigmatic Jan Valtin was called a charlatan, martyr, hero, and Judas. The most dismissive of Valtin’s critics claimed that he didn’t even exist.” Colin Asher on the championed and derided autobiography Out of the Night. | The Baffler
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Are these the best celebrity memoirs of all time? | Esquire
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“In the commune I once called home, I was too young to understand what it meant to be born into a Black-liberation movement.” Dara Mathis on the ongoing struggle for Black liberation. | The Atlantic
Also on Lit Hub: What those escaping slavery found in Boston • New poetry by Eleni Sikelianos • Read from Deena Mohamed’s latest graphic novel, Shubeik Lubeik