Poetry in War, Leonora Carrington, Self-Publishing Tax Tips, and More

by
James F. Thompson
8.19.13

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:

Matiullah Turab, a Pashtun poet, uses his talents to create context and characterize the lives of ordinary Afghans trapped in the suffocating violence, corruption, and despair of war. (New York Times)

The Paris Review explores the surreal, odd, and fertile imagination of artist and writer Leonora Carrington, whose work is finding new relevance among fellow writers in today’s literary scene.

Learn four ways self-published authors can sell e-books and avoid the 30% Amazon tax. (Forbes)

Effective writing is comprised of parts of speech and the words we choose to accomplish inherent grammatical duties. (Huffington Post)

Poet John Hollander, known for reinvigorating traditional verse forms with robust wit and intelligence, dies at age 83 in Connecticut. (NPR)

The Millions drags confined protagonists into the literary light with an essay on “garret novels” and the colorful history of books that feature characters who prefer to live in isolation.

From fountain pens and pencils to notebooks and typewriters, check out the preferred writing tools for these top 20 famous writers. (Flavorwire)

Can literary fiction survive in a cultural landscape that is increasingly segmented and unsympathetic to the plights of others—whether real or fictional? (Rumpus)