A Poet's View of the Wall Street Protests, Charles Frazier's Latest, and More

by
Evan Smith Rakoff
9.29.11

Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—from publishing reports to academic announcements to literary dispatches—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today's stories:

With Amazon's release yesterday of a line of lower-priced Kindle e-readers, Wired believes the "digital divide between haves and have-nots just potentially got a lot smaller."

In other Amazon news, the Internet retail giant has launched an online bookstore in China. (China.org.cn)

Nineteen authors have joined together to help a child with cancer. They've published a collection, Author Moments, to raise money for a cancer-research fund, Harry Help Others, which was created by eleven-year-old Harry Moseley, who has an inoperable brain tumor. (GalleyCat)

The struggling Saint Mark's Bookshop in New York City received assistance from filmmaker, author, and activist Michael Moore last night. In town to support the Wall Street protestors, and learning of the store's battle to lower its rent, he held a book signing. (Gothamist)

And if you've been following the Occupy Wall Street protests, poet CAConrad, author of The Book Of Frank (Wave Books) offers his insight. (Huffington Post)

In the continuing conversation of the future of the book, best-selling author Sam Harris throws in his two digital pennies. (Daily Beast)

In 1997 Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain came out of nowhere. Originally published by Atlantic Monthly Press—an imprint of the venerable literary indy Grove/Atlantic—Cold Mountain went on to sell three million copies worldwide and was made into an award-winning film. For Frazier's second novel, Grove was left in the dust as a bidding war erupted over a one-page synopsis, landing Frazier an eight-million-dollar advance. Reviewer Ron Charles writes, "No one was particularly surprised—though some were fiendishly delighted—when the book Frazier eventually produced, Thirteen Moons, received jeering reviews and sold far fewer copies than his debut." Frazier's third book, Nightwoods, has just been released, and Ron Charles offers, "Sorry, haters, but this is a fantastic book." (Washington Post)

When you say the word decimate do you mean totally destroy? Well, you're wrong. The good people at eBookNewser tracked down the ten most misused words in English, literally.