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 ]
In The Race to Be Myself, the Olympian athlete will detail her battle for permission to compete as a woman with hyperandrogenismStormzy’s #Merky Books is to publish Olympian Caster Semenya’s memoir this year.South African athlete Semenya, whose book is titled The Race to Be Myself, was just 18... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-06-02 12:52:34 UTC ]
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For 17 books, Luis Alberto Urrea has highlighted the joys and sorrows of life along the U.S.-Mexican border, a territory which moves with its peoples, no matter the walls we build on the land and in our hearts. Through his memoir Nobody’s Son, novels like The House of Broken Angels, his essay... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-05-31 11:00:00 UTC ]
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"Zev's Los Angeles," a memoir by former L.A. County supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, covers an era when L.A. transformed radically — and does it really well. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-05-29 13:00:43 UTC ]
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He exploded into the tweedy world of literature, a young, pouting and outrageously brash crusader for prose. Our writer remembers her encounters with the novelist, whose smarts and chutzpah confounded his peers‘You’ll be reading me every now and then at least until about 2080, weather... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-22 05:00:48 UTC ]
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Martin Amis, best known for a scathing, dazzling trilogy of novels on money-saturated '80s London and the memoir "Experience," died Friday at 73. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-05-20 20:05:38 UTC ]
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The celebrated author of Money and London Fields, whose works defined the 80s and 90s literary scene, died of oesophageal cancer on Friday at his home in FloridaMartin Amis, the influential author of era-defining novels including Money and London Fields, and the memoir Experience, has died at... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-20 18:53:35 UTC ]
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Park Row bets on a debut novel about love and death, actor Ione Skye sells a memoir to Gallery, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Henry Threadgill’s memoir unfolds from his maddening wartime experience to his boundary-pushing musical career. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-19 02:17:52 UTC ]
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Henry Threadgill’s memoir unfolds from his maddening wartime experience to his boundary-pushing musical career. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-15 09:00:20 UTC ]
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Hua Hsu, author of the memoir “Stay True,” and Hernan Diaz, author of the novel “Trust,” discuss their books and their reactions to winning the Pulitzer Prize. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-05-12 20:24:06 UTC ]
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Mother’s Day was never a real holiday to my mother—more about marketing than raising me. No white carnations or special dinners for her. But that my memoir about her, Irma: The Education of a Mother’s Son, was published just before this Mother’s Day would make her smile. Likewise, that I have... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-12 13:21:24 UTC ]
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When I first became a single mother, I hid it from everyone, including myself. In my new book, The Leaving Season: A Memoir in Essays, I track the evolution of my relationship with motherhood, starting as a reluctant mother of two in a married household and ultimately ending as a single mother... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-05-12 11:10:00 UTC ]
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CNN reporter and West Baltimore native John Blake wishes he could give a copy of his new memoir to his mother for Mother's Day. Continue reading at Baltimore Sun
[ Baltimore Sun | 2023-05-11 11:00:00 UTC ]
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In “How Not to Kill Yourself,” a memoir on suicide, the author returns to the obsessions and self-obliterations that have recurred in his fiction and essays. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2023-05-10 19:01:05 UTC ]
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Wild speculation over a book known as ‘4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023’ has seen excited Swifties placing pre-orders. The bad news? It is likely not by herThe formula to a bestselling book is a mystery publishers have wrestled with for centuries. Now they may finally have their... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-10 03:53:07 UTC ]
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“Even though every atom in my body told me opening a shop would be an economic failure, I’d hoped it would save us.” Kelly McMasters on starting a bookstore to save her marriage. | Lit Hub Memoir 21 new books out today: Shakespeare! Eurovision! Revenge! | The Hub This month’s Lit Hub Asks: 5... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-09 10:30:21 UTC ]
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Today, celebrities tell their stories in memoirs as a duty forced on them by their agents and their fans. They can publish them to supplement a thriving career or to give a declining career a boost with the allure of finally-let-it-all-hang-out details. Sometimes a memoir launches a career all... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-09 08:53:59 UTC ]
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We seek inspiration, consolation – and the unvarnished truth. And we know that all the best stories are trueCaroline Knox is director of the Boswell book festivalMy love affair with biography began aged nine, when my subscription book club sent me a compendium of “true life” adventure stories.... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-09 08:00:15 UTC ]
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Author says paparazzi and reporters began to follow him in his car and snoop around his homePrince Harry’s ghostwriter has said he bonded with his subject over the “callousness” of paparazzi and media after the “frenzied mob” around the book Spare led to photographers and journalists invading... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-05-09 03:35:56 UTC ]
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The Internet is abuzz over a forthcoming nonfiction book, a 544-page memoir (including 40 full-color photographs) slated to be published by Flatiron on July 9th. Why? Because The Internet thinks it was probably written by Taylor Swift. It all started when the owner of indie bookshop Good... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-05-08 16:47:07 UTC ]
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