America’s Public Libraries Reflect the Systematic Failures and Social Inequality of Our Country

Growing up, the library was not just Amanda Oliver’s favorite place but also her “first beloved destination, first embodied center… it was absolutely sacred.” However, soon after Oliver began her career as a librarian at a Title I school and then in the D.C. public library system, she witnessed how systemic racism, income inequality, the […] The post America’s Public Libraries Reflect the Systematic Failures and Social Inequality of Our Country appeared first on Electric Literature. Continue reading at 'Electric Literature'

[ Electric Literature | 2023-01-05 12:00:00 UTC ]

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Why Linguistically Diverse Audiobook Casting Matters

Over the last decade there has been a push towards better representation in visual media. While movies and television have provided more examples of non-white characters in key roles, there has also been an uptick in linguistic diversity in film. Movies like Lulu Wang’s The Farewell, which slips... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-08-17 11:00:00 UTC ]
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“The Rock Eaters” Uses Magical Realism to Explore What It Means to Be the Other

The stories in The Rock Eaters often have an elastic relationship with reality, familiar political landscapes or emotional struggles warped by the uncanny. Some stories fall more explicitly within the bounds of science fiction or fantasy, but most show us a world nearly known, but not quite. In... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-08-13 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Define 'Reasonable': Can Maryland's New E-book Law Help Change the Marketplace?

Maryland's recently passed library e-book law will require any publisher offering to license "an electronic literary product" to consumers in the state to also offer to license the content to public libraries "on reasonable terms." The question now is: what are reasonable terms? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-08-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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8 Books That Illuminate the Hidden Histories of Hollywood

Hollywood. It’s one of those locations—it’s hard, somehow, to call it a concrete place—that conjures up all sorts of archetypes: the ruined writer, egomaniacal director, sleazy executive, out-of-control star. In writing my memoir Always Crashing in The Same Car—a book with elements of criticism,... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-08-11 11:00:00 UTC ]
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7 Short Stories About the Inner Lives of Athletes

The 2020 Tokyo Games will be defined by many things—the anachronism of its title, the risk of superspreading, the welcome absence of Matt Lauer—but, hopefully, these Olympics will also be remembered for bringing mental health to the forefront of popular discourse. Simone Biles’ “twisties.”... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-08-10 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Denne Michele Norris Takes the Helm at 'Electric Literature'

Denne Michele Norris has been named editor-in-chief of 'Electric Literature' starting on August 10. She succeeds Jess Zimmerman, who had held the role since 2017 before stepping away earlier this summer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-08-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Redefining What It Means to Be a Horse Girl

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[ Electric Literature | 2021-08-04 11:00:00 UTC ]
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A Memoir About Divorcing the Patriarchy

Gina Frangello had a suspicion there was a hunger to talk about women who break the rules. In advance of the release of Blow Your House Down: A Story of Family, Feminism and Treason, she admits after some prodding, “I got more letters from women before this book came out than I ever received for... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-07-30 11:00:00 UTC ]
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8 Short Stories About People Who Want What They Can’t Have

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[ Electric Literature | 2021-07-26 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Which international city’s public libraries lend the most books per capita?

The pandemic has prompted, among other things, a slew of relocations. Some of those relocations (ie. to your mom’s house) have proved, or will prove, temporary; others, encouraged by new work-from-home policies, may become permanent. Or maybe you’re one of those people who looked around at the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-07-21 17:19:56 UTC ]
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The Acknowledgments Are My Favorite Part of a Book

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[ Electric Literature | 2021-07-20 11:00:00 UTC ]
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7 Short Stories about Political Issues That Resist Easy Answers

It can be too easy to write villains— people stunted and incapable of love or compassion—when we write about opponents of our politics, especially in short stories, which have so much less space to detail nuance. Sometimes writing about villains and pointing the finger is necessary in a world... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-07-16 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Demolishing Public Libraries From The Inside: Niles Public Library Is a Warning

The Niles-Maine Public Library in suburban Chicago is being destroyed from the inside by politically-conservative Board officials. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-07-15 10:40:00 UTC ]
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“The Leftovers” Is Teaching Me Who I Want to Be After Covid

I’ve been watching the Extremely Sad Show for Extremely Sad People for a few months now. I only learned this a few weeks ago, though.  At an editorial meeting for the literary magazine where I’m a columnist, someone said she was watching “the extremely sad show for extremely sad people.” Another... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-06-30 11:00:00 UTC ]
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A Queer Indo-Guyanese Poet’s Postcolonial Memoir of His Search for Belonging

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[ Electric Literature | 2021-06-22 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Cinelle Barnes Doesn’t Care If You Think She’s Soft

In our series “Can Writing Be Taught?” we partner with Catapult to ask their course instructors all our burning questions about the process of teaching writing. This month we’re featuring Cinelle Barnes, author of Monsoon Mansion: A Memoir and Malaya: Essays on Freedom. Barnes is a regular... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2021-06-17 11:00:00 UTC ]
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New York Legislature Passes Library E-book Bill

New York this week became the second state to pass a bill that would ensure public libraries the right to license and lend e-books that are available to consumers in the state. The bill is now headed to governor Andrew Cuomo's desk. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-11 04:00:00 UTC ]
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I Thought This Memoir Wasn’t “Taiwanese Enough”—Because That Was My Fear About Myself

In March of 2004, my family and I were at home in Taiwan for the national election, and I got into my first-ever screaming match with a perfect stranger. The election choice, as always, was between the Kuo Ming Tang, which favors reunification with China; and the Democratic People’s Party, which... Continue reading at Electric Literature

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Maryland Library E-book Bill Becomes Law

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-06-01 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Libraries are crowdfunding an open access collection of American prison newspapers.

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[ Literrary Hub | 2021-05-28 17:24:30 UTC ]
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