Marathon Reading of Paradise Lost Marks Milton's Four Hundredth Birthday
Cambridge University is celebrating the upcoming four hundredth birthday of John Milton today with a marathon reading of the poet's epic work Paradise Lost.
Daily News from Poets & Writers
Poet Arrested in Jordan for Insulting Islam
Jordanian poet and journalist Islam Samhan was arrested on Tuesday and charged with insulting Islam for using verses from the Quran, the Muslim holy text, in love poems from his recently published collection Grace Like a Shadow, the Associated Press reported. Jordanian law prohibits any writing deemed offensive to Islam or the prophet Muhammad.
Calling All Canadian Carnivores: Burger King Sponsors Poetry Contest
Two weeks ago, global fast food chain Burger King launched a poetry contest. The Meat Haiku promotion, which is open only to Canadian residents, seeks original haikus that celebrate a culinary love of meat.
One Story Editor Among Judges of the Story Prize
The judges of the 2008 Story Prize were announced on Sunday night, representing an array of realms that support the short story.
British Library Acquires Expansive Ted Hughes Archive
A major collection of the papers of poet Ted Hughes was acquired on Tuesday for roughly one million dollars by the British Library in London.
Debut Novelist Wins Booker, NBA Finalists Announced
Debut novelist Aravind Adiga was named the winner of the 2008 Man Booker Prize for his book The White Tiger (Atlantic) and the National Book Foundation announced the finalists for the 59th annual National Book Awards.
Milan Kundera Accused of Being an Informant in the 1950s
The Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, a Czech research group, published a report yesterday that accuses Milan Kundera of telling the police about a supposed spy nearly sixty years ago, according to the Associated Press. Kundera is said to have informed on Miroslav Dvoracek in 1950, when the Czech writer was twenty-one.
Publisher Plans Memorial for David Foster Wallace
Little, Brown, the publisher of Infinte Jest (1996) and five other books by David Foster Wallace, has organized a memorial for the author, who committed suicide on September 12 at age forty-six. On October 23 Wallace's friends and colleagues will gather in New York City at New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts to share their words about the prolific fiction writer and essayist.
An American Didn't Win the Nobel Prize? Big Surprise
A week after Horace Engdahl, the permanent secretary for the Swedish Academy and top jury member for the Nobel Prize, criticized American writers in an interview with the Associated Press (AP), the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature was announced. Not surprisingly, it isn't an American. French novelist Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio takes literature's highest honor this year for his "poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy," the prize committee said in a statement.
Dzanc Books to Hold All-Day Write-a-thon
Dan Wickett, cofounder of Dzanc Books, announced today that the nonprofit publisher in Westland, Michigan, will hold a "write-a-thon" next month in order to raise money for its community-based programs. Volunteers can ask others to sponsor their writing by pledging either a specific amount of money based on the number of words written during the day-long session or a flat-rate donation. On the morning of November 15, Dzanc will e-mail participants a writing prompt or topic. Participants will then write poems, stories, and essays during the day.
Henri Cole Wins $25,000 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize
The Academy of American Poets announced last week that Henri Cole received the 2008 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize for his collection Blackbird and Wolf (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). The $25,000 prize is given annually to honor a book of poetry published in United States in the previous year. Cole’s collection was selected by poets Lucie Brock-Broido, B. H. Fairchild, and John Koethe.
Rowling Tops Ranks of Richest Authors
Forbes released on Wednesday the names of the ten highest payed authors. The list contains writers who have weathered the volatile market and conquered the void of big box stores to pull in eight-plus figures—not to mention spawn an array of products, from films to toys to video games—in the past fiscal year.
Nobel Secretary Causes Stir With Criticism of American Literature
Horace Engdahl, the permanent secretary for the Swedish Academy and top jury member for the Nobel Prize, sent ripples through the literary community yesterday when he criticized American writers in an interview with the Associated Press.
Controversial Book Bound for Stores Despite London Firebombing
Eric Kampmann, president of Beaufort Books, the U.S. publisher that bought Sherry Jones's The Jewel of Medina after Random House cancelled publication of the novel three months ago, told Publishers Weekly yesterday that his plans to publish the book remain in place and that the controversial title should be in stores by the end of the week.
Twain House Forges Ahead With Series of Fund-raisers
Faced with financial woes that have threatened to close its doors, the Mark Twain House and Museum has planned a series of fund-raising events aimed at saving the historic site in Hartford, Connecticut.
National Book Foundation Honors Five Debut Fiction Writers
The National Book Foundation announced yesterday the five debut fiction writers who will be honored at the third annual 5 Under 35 celebration.
Chicago Poet Seeks Collaborators for Anti-War Street Performance
Poet Jennifer Karmin is asking for anyone and everyone to collaborate with her on a four thousand word poem to be performed in her hometown of Chicago. Each word represents one of the more than forty-one hundred American soldiers killed in Iraq.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Among 2008 MacArthur Fellows
Fiction writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of twenty-five individuals from a variety of professional fields to receive a $500,000 "genius" fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation. MacArthur president Jonathan Fanton said the winners received a phone call last week informing them that they would receive the unconditional "no strings attached" support over the next five years.
Graywolf to Publish Bakeless Prize Winners
The Bread Loaf Writers' Conference announced on Friday its plans to partner with Graywolf Press to publish the winners of the conference's Katharine Bakeless Nason Prize, given annually for first books of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.
American Readers Invited to Nominate Books for Translation Into Arabic
A new Arabic translation initiative is asking Americans to weigh in on what books of poetry and fiction best represent the literature of the United States.