Programmatic literature
Adam Bellow -- Saul's kid -- writes at the National Review Online encouraging (American) 'conservatives' to Let Your Right Brain Run Free, suggesting that the American 'right': "may have...
View ArticleРусскийБукер longlist
They've announced the (very -- 24-title-strong) longlist for the ridiculously-named Russian 'Booker' prize, one of the leading Russian book prizes (which comes with a 1,500,000 ruble payout --...
View ArticleReturn to Planet of the Apes
There's apparently a new Planet of the Apes-movie out, and in The Los Angeles Times David L. Ulin takes that as occasion to look back at The transformation of 'Planet of the Apes,' from book to...
View ArticleCaine Prize for African Writing
They awarded the Caine Prize for African Writing last night (at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, England, because ... well, of course ...), and they've announced that My Father's Head, by Okwiri...
View ArticleNadine Gordimer (1923-2014)
Nadine Gordimer, the 1991 Nobel laureate has passed away. See her 'The Art of Fiction'-interview in The Paris Review (conducted 1979/1980), as well as obituaries in: The Guardian The...
View ArticleWriting (courses) in ... Germany
At Deutsche Welle Krisha Kops looks at the insidious spread of 'MFA'-type writing programmes in Germany, reporting that misguided Young German authors ditch muse for school. Kops (whose...
View ArticleNew Asympotote
The July 2014 issue of Asympotote is now available online, and that should keep you busy for a while -- lots of great material. Pretty much all of it is of interest, so work your way...
View ArticleThe Foundling Boy review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Michel Déon's 1975 novel, The Foundling Boy, finally available in English, from Gallic Books. I've mentioned that the lack...
View ArticleZia Haider Rahman Q & A
At Guernica Jonathan Lee has a lengthy Q & A with In The Light Of What We Know-author Zia Haider Rahman -- worth a look.
View ArticleHong Kong Book Fair
The Hong Kong Book Fair runs through 22 July -- and who doesn't love a book fair that comes with its own instruction pages regarding Arrangements for Tropical Cyclone & Black Rainstorm...
View ArticleThe Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Tanigawa Nagaru's The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya -- the first in a series, which then also spawned a manga version, as well as...
View ArticleJapanese literary prizes
They've announced the winners of the latest round of two of the leading Japanese literary awards and, as reported at Mainichi, Shibasaki wins Akutagawa award, Kurokawa wins Naoki Prize....
View ArticleChinese 'National Museum of Classic Books'
Looks pretty good and fancy: as CCTV reports, China opens first museum of literary classics -- the 'National Museum of Classic Books' (国家典籍博物馆). See also, for example, Chinese coverage...
View ArticleThe next Stoppard
It's hard to believe that the last Tom Stoppard play premiered almost a decade ago -- Rock 'n' Roll -- but he's delivered the next one to the National Theatre, and, after some delays, it's...
View ArticleJoão Ubaldo Ribeiro (1941-2014)
2008 Prémio Camões-winning Brazilian author João Ubaldo Ribeiro has passed away -- a major loss, with Vitor Abdala suggesting at BrazzilMag Brazil Loses What Many Consider Its Best Contemporary...
View ArticleGlobal Crisis review-overview
The most recent addition to the complete review is a review-overview of Geoffrey Parker's landmark study on War, Climate Change and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century, Global Crisis, which...
View ArticlePentecost in New York
There's a PTP/NYC revival of David Edgar's Pentecost -- a play I saw in its original 1994 London production, and which is one of the earlier reviews on the site (now updated with new links and...
View ArticleCritical and/vs. sales success
In Raise Your Hand If You've Read Knausgaard at The New York Review of Books' weblog Tim Parks wonders, among other things: Is there any consistent relationship between a book's quality and its...
View ArticleVictor Hugo exhibit
The State Library of Victoria (Australia) looks to have a good-looking (if somewhat pricey) exhibit, Victor Hugo: Les Miserables -- From Page to Stage through 9 November. In The Age Tim...
View ArticleMood Indigo - the film
The film version of Boris Vian's Froth on the Daydream -- recently re-published as Mood Indigo in a movie-tie-in edition --, directed by Michel Gondry (see the distributor's page) has now also...
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