In 1963 and 1964, as Louise Fitzhugh was inventing Harriet the Spy’s world, nannies and spies were very much in the public eye. Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music were in the movie theaters. John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Ian Fleming’s James Bond books were leading hardcover
Literature
In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle considers the various symbolic meanings of the moon over the centuries The moon has been a powerful symbol in religion, literature, and art for centuries – indeed, for millennia. But delving into the history of moon-symbolism reveals some surprising things about how poets, philosophers,
TODAY: In 1987, Arnold Lobel, author of the children’s book series Frog and Toad, dies. “For some of the 20th century’s so-called children’s literature gatekeepers, Harriet was a problem child.” On the one and only Harriet the Spy. | Lit Hub “The special education advisor counsels you: ‘You can’t save them,’ she says, “sometimes you just have
This is the final episode of the 2020 Antibody Reading Series, a reading and Q and A hosted by Brian Gresko. The guests this evening are Matthew Daddona, Hafizah Geter, and Xialou Guo. [embedded content] Buy the books featured tonight from your local indie or from Bookshop: Matthew Daddona, House of Sound*Hafizah Geter, Un-American*Xialou Guo,
TODAY: In 1924, F. Sionil José, known for his epic work, The Rosales Saga, five novels encompassing a hundred years of Philippine history, is born. “I have never in my life met anyone with such an acute lexical feel for the specific word needed, for the hidden rhythm of a prose sentence.” Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn on his
December 2, 2020, 3:31pm Former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey’s Memorial Drive—a harrowing memoir of a daughter reckoning with the brutal murder of her mother at the hands of her stepfather—has been optioned by Sony Pictures Television for development as a drama series. Recently heralded by the Washington Post and the New York Times as one
Ancient Greek mythology is full of classic stories which have become part of Western literature and culture; these stories have even given us some well-known words and phrases commonly used in English, and in other languages. Below, we introduce 12 of the greatest and best-known tales from the world of Greek mythology, from curious women
TODAY: In 1844, Emily Brontë writes the poem “A Death-Scene,” which was later published in 1846 in a book collecting poetry by Brontë and her siblings. We asked the best book designers in the business about their favorite covers of the year: they have thoughts. | Lit Hub “I’ve always loved squid—not in the culinary sense,
December 1, 2020, 3:59pm Today, The Financial Times and McKinsey & Company announced the winner of its 2020 Business Book of the Year Award, which recognizes a work that provides the “most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues.” The prize comes with £30,000 prize and each of the five runners-up will receive £10,000. This year,
When a publisher finally picked up my third book, The Heart of California: Exploring the San Joaquin Valley, my friend Anne congratulated me on completing it. She knew the book had taken me over 20 years to write. Then she asked a keen question: along with the sense of accomplishment, did I feel a little
‘The quality of mercy is not strained’: this memorable speech from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is spoken by Portia, who has disguised herself as a male lawyer in order to defend Antonio – the title character of the play – from Shylock, the Jewish moneylender who has demanded a ‘pound of flesh’ from Antonio
November 30, 2020, 3:48pm There’s a new union on the block: Verso Books announced today that its staff has organized to join the Washington-Baltimore News Guild (WBNG), a unit of the NewsGuild and the Communications Workers of America. Management voluntarily recognized the union last week, according to a statement from the publisher. The move was
TODAY: In 1874, Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables, is born. “So it goes in 2020, my eighth year of holding the revolving-door position of ‘authorized biographer’ for Bette Ford.” Lives may end, but do biographies? | Lit Hub Biography “The dominant caste controlled all resources, controlled whether, when, and if a Black
We Have Ways of Making You Talk is a weekly show exploring the war in close up, hosted by comedian Al Murray and historian James Holland as they discuss all matters Second World War. In the first of our Thanksgiving Specials, Al and James are joined by historian and weapons expert Marty Morgan. Marty talks
Darien Gee is the guest. She has two books out this year. The first is called Other Small Histories, a poetry collection available from Poetry Society of America; the second is a collection of micro-essays called Allegiance, available from Legacy Isle Publishing. From the episode: Darien Gee: I think that imposter syndrome thing is probably
TODAY: In 1960, Richard Wright dies. “If one of them was awarded the prize, the winner would read a statement that rebuked the male-dominated awards hierarchy.” On the time Adrienne Rich turned down a National Book Award. | Lit Hub Biography “Finish reading an especially difficult book, and its cover functions more like a trophy
The coronavirus pandemic is dramatically disrupting not only our daily lives but society itself. This show features conversations with some of the world’s leading thinkers and writers about the deeper economic, political, and technological consequences of the pandemic. It’s our new daily podcast trying to make longterm sense out of the chaos of today’s global
In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle explores the literary history of a distinctive word During the eight years I’ve been running this blog and combing every book, website, and trivia list I can find for eye-catching literature-related facts, one of the most satisfying I’ve discovered is that Emily Brontë, who