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 ]
“I’d never read anything like it,” says the actor and director, whose memoir “All About Me!” is newly out in paperback. “It was hysterically funny and incredibly moving at the same time. It’s like Gogol stuck a pen in his heart, and it didn’t even go through his mind on its way to the page.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-11-10 10:00:12 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Greenlight welcomes poet and author Emma Bolden for a virtual evening celebrating her new book, The Tiger and the Cage. This exquisitely wrought debut memoir recounts Bolden’s lifelong struggle with chronic pain and endometriosis, while speaking more broadly to anyone who has been told “it’s all... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-10 09:52:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A memoir by a reporter who experienced incarceration and rehabilitation may be banned from Florida state prisons. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-11-04 10:39:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
How to bake black pepper snowballs… vengefully. | Lit Hub Food Costumes, plotting, mise-en-scène, monologues: Lyle Jeremy Rubin on how war becomes a (deadly) performance. | Lit Hub Memoir They lie to us, they weigh about as much as a hardback copy of Infinite Jest, and other fun facts... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-04 10:30:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Kai Bird sells a book about Roy Cohn to Scribner; Little, Brown Spark buys a posthumous memoir from Hannah Pick-Goslar; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-11-04 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Spare, which is released in January, has been heavily discounted by larger retailers, leaving smaller bookshops unable to competePrince Harry’s forthcoming memoir, Spare, is unlikely to be championed by independent bookshops because of how heavily it has been discounted by larger retailers,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-11-03 15:12:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this
“I got a copy of Edna O’ Brien’s ‘The Country Girls’ growing up, which hurried my puberty to a place where I thought differently about girls and women,” says the singer and frontman for U2, whose new memoir is “Surrender.” “I still do.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-11-03 09:00:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A play based on the writer’s memoir about the death of her husband, in its first New York revival, goes small to powerful effect. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-11-02 23:00:05 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Jeanna Kadlec's 'Heretic' combines scholarship with memoir to account for how American evangelism went astray — and how to take Christianity back. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-11-01 13:00:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Actor Geena Davis’ memoir “Dying of Politeness” tells the story of how her movie roles gave her the confidence to move beyond extreme deference. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2022-10-28 18:56:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Peter Orner's 'Still No Word From You' melds memoir and criticism and, in the process, brings reading to life as a multi-sensory, communal experience. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-10-28 15:00:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The Sussexes draw more ire than genocidal dictators – from people who struggle to articulate exactly what their problem isThe interior designer and social commentator Nicky Haslam has just released the latest annual version of his fabled tea towel, on which he lists some more of the things that... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-28 12:28:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this
I wrote in my journal this morning. I am not going to disclose its contents to you here, on this page, on Beyoncé’s internet. What I write in my journal, its unfiltered stream of consciousness, is just for me. A memoir is not a journal. * Also this morning: I wrote up to the very […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-28 08:57:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this
'Friends' star Matthew Perry has apologized for his putdown of Keanu Reeves in his new memoir and says he should have used his own name instead. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-10-27 16:58:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The memoir is expected to be a best seller, but after the queen’s death, some royal experts and industry executives say the project has become risky for Harry. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-10-27 14:12:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Endometriosis is classified by Mayo Clinic as a “common” condition, “treatable by a medical professional.” And yet, when Emma Bolden began experiencing aggressive symptoms of the illness in elementary school, she was treated for decades by doctors who neither believed her account of her... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-10-27 11:05:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The title and publication date of The Duke of Sussex's book, Spare, has been revealed. Continue reading at The Huffington Post
[ The Huffington Post | 2022-10-27 10:59:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The memoir by Prince Harry, announced by publisher Random House in July, finally has a title and a publication date: 'Spare' will be released on January 10, 2023. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
I have long been fascinated by books about the early years of the AIDS crisis. Paul Monette’s Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir from 1988 remains a cherished work; last year’s Let the Record Show by Sarah Schulman and It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful by Jack Lowery provided crucial insights into... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-10-26 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Lobotomies, dolls, and cannibals, oh my! Scary book recommendations from your wimpy friends at Lit Hub. | Lit Hub Halloween Darryl Pinckney on working for the New York Review of Books as a young black writer: “Bob and Barbara are dinosaurs and we’re these mammals running around afraid of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-26 10:30:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this