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:
Kay Ryan gives her farewell reading as U.S. poet laureate today at the Library of Congress. Washington City Paper has an exit interview with the poet at the end of her two-year term.
The New York Public Library released another funny video as part of its "Don't Close the Book" campaign to fight massive proposed budget cuts. Today's video loosely re-enacts the opening sequence of the eighties film comedy Ghostbusters, with members of an improv group dressed up as the movie's paranormal police chasing "ghosts"—actors wearing white sheets with holes for eyes—through a crowded library. (Guardian)
Barnes & Noble will enter the self-publishing business this summer with the launch of a new digital distribution service called PubIt! (Publishers Weekly)
Ballantine and Harlequin each announced plans to release stand-alone digital short stories as "bridges" between books in established series. "It's the equivalent of buying a couple of songs online," said an executive at Random House, Ballantine's parent company. (Wall
Street Journal)
In honor of the world's ongoing economic difficulties, the Telegraph has rounded up the best and worst literature of the financial crisis.
In November Steve Martin will publish a new novel set in New York's fine art world. (BookTrade)
A seventy-six-year-old retired theater professor in Connecticut has memorized all sixty thousand words of John Milton's Paradise Lost. It took him eight years, and if you'd like to hear him recite the entire work you'll need to set aside three eight-hour days. (WJBK Fox Detroit)
Now that Wimbledon has an official poet, should other cultural and sporting events follow suit? (Guardian)
Do pop lyrics have literary merit? (Sydney Morning Herald)
