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 his memoir 'Beyond the Wand,' Tom Felton shares behind-the-scenes tales from the 'Harry Potter' franchise and chronicles his struggle with alcohol. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-10-18 20:19:47 UTC ]
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Unsurprisingly, George Saunders is kind of a chaotic reader. | Lit Hub Ross Gay sings the praises of adult braces, feeling needed, and kissing a very small dog one million times. | Lit Hub Memoir “It is this uneasiness that helped me nurture such a wild and fucked-up imagination—an imagination... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-18 10:30:42 UTC ]
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The book, to be written with her husband Richard Ratcliffe, will detail her six years in prison and the campaign for her releaseNazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who spent six years in jail in Iran, is to write a memoir with her husband Richard Ratcliffe.The book, which is currently untitled, will tell... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-18 09:45:58 UTC ]
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The Hudson Valley-based Golden Notebook Bookstore will launch its publishing press next year with author Abigail Thomas's memoir 'Still Life at 80: The Next Interesting Thing.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Compiled from interviews he gave to a close friend, “The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man” sheds light on the self-doubt of the seemingly imperturbable Hollywood star. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-10-16 18:47:52 UTC ]
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"The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man" draws on reams of interview transcripts rediscovered after Paul Newman's death. Here's how it came together. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-10-16 13:00:47 UTC ]
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Compiled from interviews he gave to a close friend, “The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man” sheds light on the self-doubt of the seemingly imperturbable Hollywood star. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-10-16 09:00:11 UTC ]
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Flatiron signs a novel by Whiting Award winner Caitlin Greenidge, Legacy Lit nabs a memoir by podcaster Jonathan Conyers, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Prince Shakur’s debut memoir When They Tell You to Be Good starts with an argument between him and his mother which recalls the image of his father’s murder, a man he never got to know. In unflinchingly honest detail Shakur traces his own journey of self actualization as a queer, Black Jamaican... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-10-13 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Her win also marks the ascendancy of the memoir as the leading genre of our time. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2022-10-09 17:07:05 UTC ]
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“A woman is a useful symbol for the splay of land on which such a free man saunters.” Rachel Richardson on Thoreau, running, and the pleasures of not quite knowing where you’re going. | Lit Hub Memoir In praise of multiple narrators: Rubén Degollado recommends Dawnie Walton, Tommy Orange, Juan... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-07 10:30:18 UTC ]
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Jada Pinkett Smith's memoir will take readers on 'a rollercoaster ride from the depths of suicidal depression to the heights of personal rediscovery.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-10-06 19:59:48 UTC ]
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The French writer, who was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature, blurs the line between fiction and memoir with spare prose she has characterized as “brutally direct.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-10-06 16:13:27 UTC ]
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“Cheever drank. Roth womanized. My grandfather wrote quietly in his office for 60 years.” Alison Fairbrother on learning lessons—in writing and life—from her grandfather, E.L. Doctorow. | Lit Hub Memoir Nina Totenberg reflects on her long friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a champion of “small... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-06 10:30:07 UTC ]
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As Tony Montana would probably say if he were a literary agent: In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the memoir. That’s right! Al Pacino is reportedly in talks to sell his first memoir […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-05 14:49:52 UTC ]
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David Ulin talks with Lynne Tillman about "Mothercare," her memoir on managing her mother's decline — just as he begins a similar journey. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-09-29 13:00:09 UTC ]
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“Love and writing are the only two things in the world that I can bear, the rest is darkness.” Read from Annie Ernaux’s lovelorn 1988 diary. | Lit Hub Memoir Why do we overuse (ecstatic!! hyperbolic!!!) language? Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza investigates. | Lit Hub The slow decline of glory:... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-27 10:30:29 UTC ]
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Companies providing ghostwritten autobiographies for people wanting to share histories have seen surge in trade since CovidBrian Lewis grew up on a tough council estate after arriving in Britain as part of the Windrush generation. At the age of eight he developed an interest in chess and joined... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-09-24 14:00:06 UTC ]
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Random House and Celadon announce upcoming editions of the House Select Committee’s January 6 report, Currency takes on a memoir by YouTuber and former banker Gary Stevenson, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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“It took months of OCD treatment and two Brené Brown books to understand there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ in writing—there are only decisions.” Elissa Bassist reflects on treating her writers’ block by treating her OCD. | Lit Hub Memoir Sometimes, altering the canon is a good thing: How The Rings... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-16 10:30:58 UTC ]
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