The Best of the Literary Internet, Every Day
TODAY: In 1601, William Shakespeare’s Richard II is performed at the Globe Theater.
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“I kept receiving the same feedback: that the novel was good, but it was such a shame that I had written it in a way that was so specific to New Zealand.” On the dominance of American culture in book publishing. | Lit Hub
- What the work of naturalists John Wolley and Alfred Newton taught us about the role humans play in animal extinction. | Lit Hub
- Karen Outen discusses the act of killing characters: “In general, I’ve killed off at least one character in nearly everything I’ve ever written. I mean nothing malicious by it.” | Lit Hub
- “Rothko walked a fine line between experimental risk and studied control.” Considering Mark Rothko’s artistic practice in its most formative years. | Lit Hub
- “Styron (and his narrator) can be just as sincere as he is funny—just as compassionate, moral, and philosophical as he is witty.” Andrew Ewell examines Sophie’s Choice. | Lit Hub
- “Well, my mom is ABC and so am I, but Ah Poh was born in this tiny little village in Guangdong.” Read from the new novel Fourteen Days, a collaborative work co-written by 36 authors, conceived by Douglas Preston, and co-edited by Margaret Atwood. | Lit Hub Fiction
- “Matthew and Rachelle felt mounting unease about Zac’s trajectory. He was growing up too quickly, and he sometimes behaved belligerently—stomping around their flat, slamming doors, at times becoming physically intimidating.” Patrick Radden Keefe unravels the truth behind a fatal plunge. | The New Yorker
- Christopher Priest, author of numerous works including The Prestige, has died at age 80. | The Guardian
- From essays to zines, these new art books are out in February. | Hyperallergic
- “I didn’t really have space to grieve. I think grieving really needs its own space, and I didn’t have that. But night became that space.” On the intersection of insomnia and authorship. | Salon
- “Despite his copious output over four decades, he was regarded in his New York Times obituary as ‘chronically underrated.’” Gene Seymour reflects on the legacy of John A. Williams. | Bookforum
- On the life and death of Pablo Neruda and the challenges of recontextualizing an icon. | The New Yorker
