Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—publishing reports, literary dispatches, academic announcements, and more—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today’s stories.
“What I didn’t fully expect was the abiding and overwhelmingly white silence many Asian people have encountered from even would-be allies.” R. O. Kwon writes about the urgency of speaking out against anti-Asian violence [2]. (Vanity Fair)
Eight Black writers reflect on how white people have engaged or failed to engage with the movement for Black lives [3] over the past year. “About one week after George Floyd was murdered, the random check-ins from liberal white people I know began,” writes Brittney Cooper. (Cut)
Debut authors Deesha Philyaw, Dawnie Walton, and Dantiel W. Moniz [4] all grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, but only connected recently. The Florida Times–Union chats with the three writers about their newfound friendships and how their home town has influenced their work.
The staff at the Los Angeles Times pay homage to author and illustrator Eric Carle [5], who died on Sunday at age ninety-one [6]. “It was my first exposure to creativity,” writes Daric Cottingham of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “I would draw and color pages from the book for my mom to hang on the fridge.”
“There are authors on every street, this being a city teeming with culture where not just writers and artists have made their home, but also arts organizations.” Maya Abu Al-Hayat describes what makes Ramallah “a pivotal city in modern Palestinian life [7].” (Literary Hub)
The 2021 Poetry Out Loud National Finals [8], a poetry recitation competition for high school students, were held online yesterday. Rahele Megosha, a soon-to-be graduate of Washington High School in South Dakota, took home the top prize of $20,000.
The Orwell Foundation has announced the shortlists for this year’s Orwell Prizes [9], which include awards for political fiction and nonfiction.
The New York Times Book Review has compiled a guide to summer reading [10], featuring a total of seventy-three books.