21 Books for the 21st Century: The Results of Our Readers’ Poll, by The Editors of WLT

Lit Lists Earlier this spring, the editors of WLT invited twenty-one writers to nominate a single book, published since the year 2000, that has had a major influence on their own work, along with a brief statement explaining their choice. We published the longlist and then invited readers to vote on their favorites. Here are the top vote recipients, followed by the respective nominating statements: 1. M. NourbeSe Philip, Zong! 2. Deborah Levy, Things I Don’t Want to Know: On Writing 3. John FitzGerald, The Mind 4. Roberto Bolaño, 2666 5. (tie) Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing, and W. G. Sebald, Austerlitz To mark the occasion of Zong! winning the readers’ poll, M. NourbeSe Philip and Philip Metres recently took part in an email interview about the book. It will be published tomorrow on the WLT Weekly. M. NourbeSe Philip Zong! Wesleyan University Press, 2008 I discovered M. NourbeSe Philip’s Zong! only after I’d written abu ghraib arias, when critics saw parallels in the work. Zong! is at once a brilliant documentary long poem and a sort of ritual exorcism of the demons of the slave trade. Built out of the language of the legal document of Gregson v. Gilbert, Zong! brings to light the murder of Africans on board a slave ship in 1781 for financial gain. The kidnapped and enslaved Africans had been purposely thrown overboard so that the owner of the Zong could benefit from his insurance policy. Philip’s visionary use of the burying language... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2021-06-28 13:32:05 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "21 Books for the 21st Century: The Results of Our Readers’ Poll, by The Editors of WLT"


A&B acquires two from Winspear

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 13/06/2011 - 15:17 Allison & Busby has acquired two books by crime writer Jacqueline Winspear, with the author moving from John Murray to the independent. Publishing director Susie Dunlop bought UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Japanese book trade facing worst crisis since WWII

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 22/03/2011 - 16:31 The Japanese earthquake and tsunami has caused the worst disruption to the Japanese book industry since the Second World War, the president of the Japanese Publishers Association has said. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Pan Mac acquires "Vesper Lynd" secret agent biog

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 17/02/2011 - 12:05 Pan Macmillan has acquired a biography of the first woman to work as a British secret agent in the Second World War, outbidding Penguin at auction. Editorial director Georgina Morley bought UK and British Commonwealth... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Richard and Judy launches kids books club

Written By: Lisa Campbell A children's book written by Jo Nesbo is among the choices in Richard and Judy’s Children’s Book Club, which launched in W H Smith today [27th January]. The husband-and wife television presenting team are working alongside the charity Booktrust, to encourage more... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Hodder and Stoughton buys real-life Charlotte Gray

Written By: Charlotte Williams Hodder & Stoughton has acquired the account of the life of "real life Charlotte Gray". Pearl Witherington was the only female agent in the Special Operations Executive to run her own network in France during the second world war. Hodder non-fiction publisher... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this