September 16, 2020, 3:46pm Lil Nas X has been riding off the success of last year’s single “Old Town Road” for a while now (a fact he commonly makes fun of himself). There was a time last summer when it felt like a new version of the country/rap song was coming out weekly, featuring a
Literature
TODAY: In 1672, Anne Bradstreet, the first writer in England’s North American colonies to be published, dies. “So few people have written about Black life with the kind of attention that he did. So few writers could capture the various sides of Blackness as he could.” Omari Weekes and Elias Rodriques on reading Randall Kenan
September 15, 2020, 4:05pm Well, not really, but Sarah Snook (aka Succession‘s Siobhan ‘Shiv’ Roy) has been cast as the lead in director Mahalia Belo’s upcoming adaptation of Jane Austen’s 1817 romance, Persuasion, so the fan fiction does kind of write itself at this point. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Snook will play Anne Elliot—the protagonist of Austen’s
TODAY: In 1977, Chimamanda Adichie is born. “When I’m telling a story I imagine the eavesdropper over my shoulder.” Walter Mosley on storytelling, writing advice, and Winnie the Pooh. | Lit Hub “A fact is a wan thing without interpretation. The same facts are often marshaled to prove wholly contradictory arguments.” Siri Hustvedt on how easily we’ve
‘Lullaby’ is a poem by the Anglo-American poet W. H. Auden (1907-73). It was published in 1937, when Auden was still living in England (he would depart for the United States in early 1939). The poem is an example of a love poem, but there are a number of things worth noting about it, which
September 14, 2020, 12:38pm Three cheers for more exciting book news! Today, the Before Columbus Foundation announced the winners of the 41st-annual American Book Awards. The award, which has no categories or nominees, was created to recognize extraordinary literary achievement from the entire spectrum of America’s diverse literary community. The 2020 American Book Award winners
TODAY: In 1927, Dada poet Hugo Ball, seen here reading at Club Voltaire in 1916, dies. The countess who wanted to be the most photographed woman in the world: Nathalie Léger on Virginia Oldoïni of Castiglione. | Lit Hub History Sophia Chang on entering the Wu-Tang Clan’s inner circle: “She’s down with Wu-Tang! And that’s all you
September 11, 2020, 11:34am It’s Friday! What’s George R.R. Martin up to? Not building a castle, that’s for sure. Santa Fe city officials responded this week to his proposal to build one in his backyard—his second request to do so!—with an unequivocal “no,” with a side of “are you kidding,” local media outlets reported. The
September 11, 2020, 2:45pm The shortlist for the BBC National Short Story Award, one of the most prestigious (and richest) awards given to a single short story in the UK, was announced today on BBC Radio 4. “I am inordinately proud of this year’s shortlist—it’s sharp, relevant, sometimes heart-rending, sometimes funny,” said judge Di Speirs,
TODAY: In 1892, Alfred Abraham Knopf, founder of the publishing house Alfred A. Knopf, is born. “I have again reached the end of waiting.” Claudia Rankine on privilege seen and unseen. | Lit Hub Politics From mid-century British philology to twin-laden psychodrama, here are 11 great books you probably haven’t read. | Lit Hub Did a revolution in Latin American publishing make One
September 11, 2020, 2:58pm Are you as pleased as I am that Will Smith and Aunt Viv (Janet Hubert) seemed to have made up after decades of mutual shade? Just in time for the 30-year anniversary of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s first episode. There are many reasons to celebrate one of the best sitcoms of
In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle delves into the literary origins of a well-known phrase The phrase ‘cloud cuckoo land’ is well known, but what are its origins? Here’s what the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) says, for the term’s etymology: Greek Νεϕελοκοκκυγία ( < νεϕέλη cloud + κόκκυξ cuckoo), the
September 11, 2020, 4:08pm Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your eyes. I have wonderful news to bring you on this Friday. The Latin phrase “e pluribus unum” which translates to “out of many, one” and which is the official motto of the United States of America, has roots in the writings of Virgil, the great
If a white girl tries to tell you what your brown skin can and cannot wear for makeup, just remember the smile of an axolotl. The best thing to do in that moment is to just smile and smile, even if your smile is thin. The tighter your smile, the tougher you become. Give them
September 10, 2020, 3:08pm At this point, although stories that pass us by in the news cycle do continue to anger and sadden me, I wouldn’t say much has been surprising recently. Unfortunately, that also applies to a story by Politico which revealed that the Education Department will be targeting employee book clubs that contain “Anti-American
Author Brian K. Morris Independently Weathers the Covid Crisis OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE NEWS PROVIDED BY ES NEWS, repost by Admin In the early part of 2020, the Coronavirus forced many conventions and other large gatherings of people to close their doors. As many wondered when the personal sales venues would open again, authorpreneur Brian K.
In the first act of Die Walküre, a man and a woman fall in love in a duet that pulses with erotic urgency, heightened by the fact that Sieglinde’s abusive husband is asleep in the other room. The pair elope, a flight that offends the goddess of marriage (Fricka) and wife to the ruler of
Selected by Dr Oliver Tearle Stevie Smith (1902-71) was one of the most distinctive and individual poets of the twentieth century. Born in Hull in England as Florence Smith, she was given the nickname ‘Stevie’ after a famous jockey of the time, because she was so small. Her poetry is anything but minor, and in