Literature

October 2, 2020, 12:41pm Today, Merriam-Webster observed that word searches for “schadenfreude” had spiked 30,500% after President Donald Trump announced his positive COVID-19 diagnosis—and the word was included in several news stories and headlines about the diagnosis and the global reaction. Merriam-Webster defines the term, borrowed from the German roots schaden (“damage”) and freude (“joy”) in
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TODAY: In 1957, a California Superior Court judge rules that Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Howl” is of “redeeming social importance” and thus not obscene.  “There is an art to being a good tour guide of the depths of mathematics.” How storytellers use math (without scaring people away). | Lit Hub Criticism Taunts and abuse: Deborah Tannen on what really happened
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TODAY: In 1890, poet, playwright, and theatre actress Blanche Oelrichs, who used the nom de plume Michael Strange to publish her poetry, is born. Read Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s 2000 dissent in Bush v. Gore. (And let’s hope we don’t have to refer to its precedents any time soon.) | Lit Hub Politics Taunts and abuse: Deborah Tannen on
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Previously, we chose ten classic poems about London, but now we’re turning to books about the capital – whether non-fiction studies, novels, or texts which fall somewhere between the two. Of course, London is such a vast and fascinating city with a long history, that we cannot be comprehensive with ten books – these are
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September 30, 2020, 2:33pm Let’s start with the good news—incredible news, really. Poet Kevin Young and publisher Jamia Wilson, two influential African-American gatekeepers in the book and media sectors, are about to take on illustrious new jobs. Young, currently the poetry editor for the New Yorker and director of the Schomburg Center for Research and Black
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TODAY: In 1207, Rumi is born. “Merwin asked why they were the only naked people, and then ‘every fucking person in the place took their clothes off.’” Didn’t think we could love W.S. Merwin more than we already did. | Lit Hub We cannot stress this enough: without the mighty beaver we are all well and truly
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