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:
Today marks the fiftieth anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, “I Have a Dream.” Poetry readings and commemorations are taking place across the country; and the Wall Street Journal spoke with poet Nikki Giovanni about the speech’s significance.
An audio clip was released of Margaret Salinger confirming her father J. D. Salinger had manuscripts ready for publication. (Playlist)
J. J. McCorvey investigates Jeff Bezos’s and Amazon’s grand retail ambitions. (Fast Company)
Meanwhile, prospective employee Teresa McCoy charged Amazon Publishing’s Laurence Kirshbaum with sexual assault. (New York Daily News)
“Stories aren’t about things. Stories are things.” On Tin House’s blog, author Bret Anthony Johnston dispenses with the tired old adage, “Write what you know.”
Emily St. John Mandel discusses the pleasures of “quiet” books, and looks at work by Teju Cole, and Paul Yoon, among others. (Millions)
Speaking of Teju Cole, the author created (via Twitter) his own version of Flaubert’s The Dictionary of Received Ideas. (New Yorker)
“Book art might be called an epitaph for our relationship with the printed word.” Casey N. Cep visited the Last Bookstore, a towering space in Los Angeles. (Paris Review Daily)
