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 'Between Two Kingdoms,' young cancer survivor Suleika Jaouad writes with fierce honesty about the false divide between the sick and the well. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-02-15 15:00:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Actress and activist Evanna Lynch is publishing a "raw and compelling" memoir with Headline, exploring eating disorders and "the battle between perfection and creativity". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-02-15 11:29:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Vanessa Springora’s memoir, Consent, electrified the French literary world. American readers will find it exhilarating. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2021-02-15 10:50:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
“Still, the best, most generative conversations mostly happen out of the public eye.” Wayne Miller on the hazards of talking poetry on social media. | Lit Hub As Gabriel Byrne watches his father’s decline, he wonders if it’s ever possible to be truly honest with himself. | Lit Hub Memoir “It... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-13 11:30:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Michael Patrick F. Smith’s “The Good Hand” is a memoir about grinding work in the last days of the Bakken oil boom. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-02-12 10:00:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Notes on Grief will recount the life of ‘a remarkable man of kindness and charm’ and the author’s struggle to absorb his loss during lockdown last yearChimamanda Ngozi Adichie has written a memoir about the sudden death of her father in lockdown last year. Notes on Grief, by the Orange... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-02-11 14:18:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this
TOVE DITLEVSEN’S first novel, A Child was Harmed, was sent back from the publisher with the accusation that she had “been reading too much Freud.” But Ditlevsen says she didn’t know who Freud was, a declaration that, 200-plus pages into her three-part memoir — a clear-eyed exploration of the... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2021-02-10 13:30:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Patricia Lockwood followed up on her memoir “Priestdaddy” with “No One Is Talking About This,” a novel that explores the chaotic feel of the internet and the pain of personal loss. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-02-10 10:00:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Beloved Mexican-American actor and restauranteur Danny Trejo’s first memoir, Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood—which details Trejo’s path from drug addiction and incarceration in some of America’s most notorious prisons (including San Quentin, Folsom, and Soledad), to unexpected... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-09 21:03:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this
An excerpt from “Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted,” by Suleika Jaouad Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-02-09 16:17:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A list of nonfiction Black history books you can read this month to learn more about the history of racism and being Black in the U.S., including Men We Reaped: A Memoir by Jesmyn Ward. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-02-09 11:31:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
In his new memoir, “Gay Bar,” Jeremy Atherton Lin documents his personal history and the history of queer identity by exploring gay bars around the world. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-02-09 10:00:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this
In her new memoir coming out Tuesday, actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas recalls the pressure she felt to conform to the film industry's beauty standards. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-02-08 23:44:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this
In a memoir about family and identity, Danielle Geller uses her archival skills to create a portrait of her absent mother. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-02-05 15:52:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this
In a memoir about family and identity, Danielle Geller uses her archival skills to create a portrait of her absent mother. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-02-05 15:52:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this
“I needed help because I was the one who carried the psychic burden of our home, its physical state, all the time.” Laura Cronk considers ghosts and the gendered work of cleaning house. | Lit Hub Memoir Russell Shorto on realizing that his grandfather was a small-town mobster and (reluctantly)... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-05 11:30:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this
President Biden’s oldest surviving child is publishing a memoir about his struggles with addiction and drug abuse. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-02-04 18:54:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Son of US president, and ongoing target for conservatives, will release Beautiful Things in AprilHunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden and an ongoing target for Republican supporters, has announced that his memoir, Beautiful Things, will be published in April. Related: Joe, Jill and the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-02-04 16:59:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Today the Associated Press reported that Hunter Biden, son of famous memoirist Joe Biden, will publish a memoir of his own on April 6. The memoir will be published with Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Beautiful Things, acquired by Gallery Books in fall 2019, focuses on Biden’s... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-02-04 16:02:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Award-winning actress Cicely Tyson's memoir "Just as I Am" was published two days before her death. Now it's topping the bestseller lists. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2021-02-04 16:00:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this