Hans Christian Andersen’s influence on the fairy tale genre was profound. Although ‘The Snow Queen’, ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’, ‘The Little Mermaid’, and ‘The Ugly Duckling’ have the ring of timeless fairy stories, they were all original tales written by the Danish storyteller in the mid-nineteenth century. First published in 1843, ‘The Ugly Duckling’ is
‘When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d’ is one of the most famous poems by the American poet, Walt Whitman (1819-92). Across 206 lines of innovative free verse, Whitman offers an elegy for Abraham Lincoln, who had been assassinated shortly before Whitman wrote the poem. You can read ‘When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d’
In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle looks at a common line associated with Helen of Troy Who said, ‘Was this the face that launched a thousand ships?’ Most people know it was Doctor Faustus. Or rather, Christopher Marlowe, who gives Doctor Faustus these words in his play about the magician
At the beginning of our now apparently unending isolation, we put out a call asking that those of you who need something good to read in this trying, frightening time, might send us a few of your favorite books (and other things) so we could recommend a good book for you to read. And turns out quite
One night recently I was talking online with my friend Peter, a GP in Edinburgh where we both live, about how he had found working during the pandemic. Peter loves poetry (he even teaches his medical students by giving them poems) and his thoughts had been running in this direction. In particular, it was metaphors—military
There’s a reason why Louisa May Alcott had Amy March burn Jo’s story. Amy could have torn her sister’s pages into pieces, or just thrown them away, but it wouldn’t have been the same. My wife tells me that I shuddered in my cinema seat at the manuscript burning scene when we watched Little Women.
TODAY: In 1890, Katherine Anne Porter is born. We’re on round eight of our personalized quarantine book recommendations, and we’re not even tired (okay, we’re a little tired). | Lit Hub “From today’s standpoint there was no financial incentive for Sesame Street’s founding duo to do what they did.” David Kamp on the radical creators of an iconic
May 15, 2020, 10:42am In the literary world, blurbs are a fraught business. These days they’re an industry standard, and writers and publishers need them to promote their books, but they are, above all else, a favor economy, and lots of people sort of wish they didn’t exist. But no matter your take on the
Carnage, Disco Donnie Presents, and Medium Rare have partnered to announce North America’s first ever drive-in festival of the COVID era, THE ROAD RAVE. The ROAD RAVE is set to make history on June 6th from 7PM – 11PM at The Central Florida Fairgrounds in Orlando featuring Carnage, Riot Ten, Blunts & Blondes, Nitti Gritti,
Porter Robinson‘s Secret Sky online festival was a massive success no matter how you look at it — the artists, the fans, and especially the money raised for MusiCares. The collaboration between Brownies & Lemonade, Goldenvoice and SLUSH Management truly broke the internet over the weekend with 14 hours of captivating music and visuals. To celebrate
EDC Las Vegas is due to go digital this weekend on its original dates when it would have been held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, if not for COVID-19. Though the festival is now tentatively scheduled for October, Insomniac is still throwing a full virtual rave for three days this weekend. Set times for
Spotify is connecting friends and family with a brand new group feature perfect for parties (whenever we can actually get together again). Group Session allows the platform’s Premium users to share control over the music within the same physical space, up to 100 individuals. This allows for listening parties and exploration of musical interests within
Blackout Music’s Evolutions series always features the best breakout stars of hard drum and bass but for this cycle they’ve really outdone themselves. Evolutions vol. 8, due out on Monday, features heavy hitting and technically insane bangers from the likes of AKOV, Missin, Disphonia, Cod3x and the danceable yet emotive and experimental “The Breach” from Austrian producer Screamarts.
System of a Down‘s inability to see eye to eye on a new album has been well documented, but all may not be lost as vocalist Serj Tankian has a new EP coming that will include songs he initially targeted for System. Speaking with Spin, the vocalist stated, “Originally I had these songs in mind
Unless you get them removed or covered up, tattoos are there to stay. Therefore, getting a tattoo that represents a musician or band is the utmost level of dedication. Plenty of fans get tattoos of their favorite musical artists as a way of expressing their love for the music, and all musicians started out as fans
Former Flyleaf vocalist Lacey Sturm had a solid debut solo outing in 2016 with the Life Screams album, and now she’s back after four years with some fresh music. Sturm has just unveiled the song “The Decree” that is assumed to be part of a forthcoming record. Fans who caught the singer on the road
Alice Cooper‘s overall vibe may be one that revels in darkness and horror, but the shock rock master is never without a message. On the new song “Don’t Give Up,” the message Cooper tries to relay to a world reeling in the midst of a pandemic is one of strength and perseverance. At the end
CBS All Access Orders Captain Pike Star Trek Spinoff Series According to Entertainment Weekly, CBS All Access has ordered a Star Trek: Discovery spinoff series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which will feature Captain Pike (Anson Mount), Mr. Spock (Ethan Peck), and Number One (Rebecca Romijn). The news follows a petition that was started by