An Open Letter to AWP, Andrew Wylie's Hatred of Amazon Publishing, and More
Joyce Carol Oates reviews Lorrie Moore; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s foray into film; The Unauthorized Audubon; and other news.
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The Saints
This week, in honor of Saint Patrick’s Day, research the life of a saint and write a poem that incorporates some element of his or her story. It can be an image, a symbol (like Saint Patrick’s shamrock, the three-leafed plant he supposedly used to teach the doctrine of the Holy Trinity), or you might try writing a narrative poem. There are patron saints of headaches, florists, and bankers. Find the story that most interests you.
Lydia Davis
She is anything but jejune. The author most recently of the story collection Can't and Won't, published next month by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Lydia Davis answers questions about reading, writing, and translating Madame Bovary.
Republicans Denounce Amtrak Residency, U.K. Nonprofit Protests Gendered Children’s Books, and More
A San Diego writer celebrates a novel fifteen years in the making; a South African novelist explores E. M. Forster’s private life; New Orleans gears up for Tennessee Williams Literary Festival; and other news.
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Lawrence Ferlinghetti to Publish Travel Journals, Anne Frank Book Vandal Arrested, and More
Historians discuss the mystery of 12 Years a Slave author Solomon Northup; a new book looks at the shipping industry; an artist creates a new exhibit out of used books; and other news.
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Writing Letters
Nina Sankovitch talks about the trove of old letters she found buried in her yard and how they inspired her to write Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Celebrating the Joys of Writing Letters, a book about about how writing, receiving, and reading letters connects us all, forthcoming next month from Simon & Schuster.
Sun, 03/16/2014 - 20:00
Bill Knott
"The way the world is not / astonished at you / it doesn’t blink a leaf / when we step from the house / leads me to think / that beauty is natural, unremarkable / and not to be spoken of / except in the course of things...." Poet Bill Knott, the author of numerous poetry collections, including Laugh at the End of the World: Collected Comic Poems 1969–1999 (2000), passed away on March 12. His poem "Sonnet" is featured in this brief clip.
Frank Bidart, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Win National Book Critics Circle Awards
Last night, during a ceremony at the New School in New York City, the National Book Critics Circle announced the winners of its book awards for publishing year 2013.
Frank Bidart won in poetry for Metaphysical Dog (Farrar, Straus and Giroux); Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie won in fiction for Americanah (Knopf); and Sheri Fink won in nonfiction for Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital (Crown).
Amy Wilentz won the autobiography award for Farewell, Fred Voodoo: A Letter From Haiti (Simon & Schuster); Leo Damrosch won the biography award for Jonathan Swift: His Life and His World (Yale University Press); and Franco Moretti won the criticism award for Distant Reading (Verso).
The winners were chosen by a panel of established literary critics from a list of thirty finalists announced in January. The shortlist in poetry included Lucie Brock-Broido for Stay, Illusion (Knopf); Denise Duhamel for Blowout (University of Pittsburgh Press); Bob Hicok for Elegy Owed (Copper Canyon Press); and Carmen Gimenez Smith for Milk and Filth (University of Arizona Press). The finalists in fiction were Alice McDermott for Someone (Farrar, Straus and Giroux); Javier Marias for The Infatuations (Knopf); Ruth Ozeki for A Tale for the Time Being (Viking); and Donna Tartt for The Goldfinch (Little, Brown). The finalists in nonfiction were Kevin Cullen and Shelly Murphy for Whitey Bulger: America’s Most Wanted Gangster and the Manhunt That Brought Him to Justice (Norton); David Finkel for Thank You for Your Service (Farrar, Straus and Giroux); George Packer for The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America (Farrar, Straus and Giroux); and Lawrence Wright for Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief (Knopf).
Anthony Marra won the inaugural John Leonard Prize, which honors a first book in any genre, for his novel, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena (Hogarth). Critic Katherine A. Powers won the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing award, and fiction writer, essayist, and translator Rolando Hinojosa-Smith won the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award.
The National Book Critics Circle awards are given annually for books published in the previous year. For more information about the awards, visit the NBCC website or its literary blog, Critical Mass.
In the video below from Britain's Channel 4 News, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie discusses race, love, hair, and Americanah.
Zadie Smith Mourns the Seasons, $6 Million Donated to the New York Public Library, and More
A bookstore in East Harlem collects donations for victims of the neighborhood explosion; a new study finds that most Americans use libraries regularly; writers wonder whether happiness has a place in poetry and fiction; and other news.
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Ian McEwan
"There is a distinct difference between reading a novel and reading a novel by someone you know." The author of acclaimed novels such as Atonement, Amsterdam, Saturday, and On Chesil Beach discusses his latest novel, Sweet Tooth, at last year's Louisiana Literature Festival at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.
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