Shetland literature has a short history. Or, more accurately, the long history of Shetland literature has been truncated — the result of a double disadvantage, as far as official histories are concerned: an oral culture, in which few people could read or write, and a language that died out before literacy became widespread.The Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland would once have been rich in songs, poems and stories, spoken and sung in Norn (the closest extant relative of which is Faroese). But after Shetland became part of Scotland, in the late fifteenth century, the language was gradually replaced by a distinctive local variant of Scots. And by the time cultural collectors began to take an interest in such things, a few hundred years later, Norn was pretty much gone. Only a single full-length ballad, ‘Hildina’, was ever transcribed.Romanticising the pastWhen writers from Shetland did begin to publish their work, in the early nineteenth century, the islands were already being written about by authors from elsewhere. Most significantly, Walter Scott used the islands as the setting for his 1822 novel The Pirate, in which he imagined a rather glamorous version of Shetland’s history, with a particular emphasis on its Norse heritage. That portrayal, by one of the world’s most famous authors, was influential, but it also highlights a conundrum for writers in the islands: A romanticised, exoticised depiction of Shetland may be more appealing to readers than one that shows the... Continue reading at 'British Council global'
[ British Council global | 2020-02-13 12:54:04 UTC ]
Athena Dixon’s The Loneliness Files: A Memoir in Essays opens on New Year’s Eve of 2021, with Dixon alone in her apartment in Philadelphia, thinking about death during a year fraught with pandemic fear. The first pieces explore her fascination with women who died on their own and, because they... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-10-13 11:00:00 UTC ]
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George Stephanopoulos sells a history of the White House Situation Room to Grand Central, Random House buys a memoir from Salman Rushdie, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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A recent memoir considers how much we concede when we regard rest as a call to judgment. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2023-10-12 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Acclaimed novelist Salman Rushdie is releasing a memoir about his experience being attacked on stage last year. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-10-11 15:57:11 UTC ]
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As reported by Publishers Weekly earlier this morning, Random House will publish Salman Rushdie’s new memoir, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, on April 16, 2024. The book will mark Rushdie’s first time speaking at length about the brutal attack he suffered while onstage at the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-10-11 15:03:03 UTC ]
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Rushdie, who was grievously injured onstage last year, said the forthcoming book was a way “to answer violence with art.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-10-11 14:10:29 UTC ]
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The author describes the book, subtitled Meditations After an Attempted Murder, as ‘a way to take charge of what happened, and to answer violence with art’Salman Rushdie’s memoir Knife, about being stabbed last year, will be published on 16 April next year, Penguin Random House has announced.The... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-10-11 13:36:53 UTC ]
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Writers are often advised to write as if we are dying. Awake to our mortality, the theory goes, we will write with urgency and acuity about what matters. We will write honestly, vulnerably, bravely without fear of judgement. We will write for the pure readers: ourselves and our loved ones. We... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-10-11 08:50:48 UTC ]
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Showing Up Every Day: A Conversation with Dewaine Farria, by Matt Gallagher Interviews [email protected] Tue, 10/10/2023 - 15:38 Dewaine Farria belongs to the world. As a US Marine, he served in Jordan and Ukraine, and spent much of his... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2023-10-10 20:38:06 UTC ]
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“Raw Dog,” by the comedian Jamie Loftus, is an investigative memoir that’s part gonzo travelogue and part takedown of the factory farming system. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-10-06 09:00:48 UTC ]
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Safiya Sinclair writes in her memoir How to Say Babylon, “The perfect daughter was nothing but a vessel for the man’s seed, unblemished clay waiting for Jah’s fingerprint.” The memoir, Sinclair’s first, is about her journey to shaping a future that isn’t limited by the idea of the perfect... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-10-05 11:00:00 UTC ]
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“Like the dead‑seeming, cold rocks, I have memories within that came out of the material that went to make me. Time and place have had their say.” So begins with an intense, undeniable beauty the memoir of one of America’s great writers, Zora Neale Hurston. I read her 1942 autobiography, Dust... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-10-05 09:00:52 UTC ]
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In his fond memoir “Making It So,” the actor traces the path from the working class to the Shakespearean stage to “Star Trek” superstardom. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-10-03 09:00:17 UTC ]
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In his new work, the author of 'Such a Lovely Little War' and 'Saigon Calling' switches from memoir to graphic fiction to continue his story about the course of the Vietnam War. An 11-page excerpt. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In his memoir “The Controversialist,” Martin Peretz reflects on his long tenure as publisher and editor of The New Republic. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-10-02 14:15:47 UTC ]
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October is full of fabulous nonfiction books to add to your TBR, from a speculative memoir to a mediation on bears and the natural world. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-10-02 10:32:00 UTC ]
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In a new memoir about her sudden rise, Cooper, who came to prominence lip-syncing Donald Trump, faces the personal and professional costs of going viral. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-10-02 10:00:13 UTC ]
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Schneider's memoir 'In the Form of a Question' mines the 'Jeopardy!' star's life — acid trips, polyamory, fame, fears and how Leo DiCaprio didn't do it for her. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-09-30 15:38:29 UTC ]
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“Collision of Power,” Martin Baron’s memoir of his tenure as the paper’s executive editor, is a gripping chronicle of politics and journalism in a period of instability for both. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-09-30 09:00:50 UTC ]
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“Coming and Going” is the photographer Jim Goldberg’s visual memoir of three generations in his family, from 1980 to today. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-09-29 09:02:30 UTC ]
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