Britain's first homegrown existentialist star, he failed to follow up the huge success of his 1956 book, The OutsiderFor a few dazzling months, Colin Wilson, who has died aged 82, was taken at his own valuation in his diary as "the major literary genius of our century", a writer destined to be "Plato's ideal sage and king". The phenomenal reviews and sales of his first book, The Outsider (1956), led him to be seen as a potential saviour of the human spirit, a thinker who might find a way through the spiritual nullity of the postwar years.The book remains extraordinary, more for its reach than its grasp. It was an attempt to map a single, negotiable path of mysticism from the span of recent western art and philosophy. Wilson looked for the path through case studies of the agonies and ecstasies of thinkers, artists and men of action including Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Ernest Hemingway, Vaslav Nijinsky, Vincent van Gogh, Hermann Hesse and Lawrence of Arabia. He condensed them into a single type, "the Outsider", a questing spirit straddled between devastating experiences of nothingness and moments of the highest insight."Our life in modern society is a repetition of Van Gogh's problem," Wilson said, "the day-to-day struggle for intensity that disappears overnight, interrupted by human triviality and endless pettiness." The book was excitingly written, with a sense of revelation. The failing, which took longer to emerge, was that it oversimplified... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
Spinelli, a former v-p and executive art director at Putnam Publishing Group, died on May 9. She was 77. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Award-winning children's book author Jim Murphy, best known for his carefully researched nonfiction documenting dramatic events in history, died suddenly on May 1; he was 74. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-18 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Colin Barrett's second collection, 'Homesickness,' expands the reach of this mordantly funny Irishman beyond the small-town millennials of his debut. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-05-03 13:00:20 UTC ]
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My friend Robert Molteno, who has died aged 79, was the editorial director of Zed Books for 27 years and helped build its reputation as the pre-eminent radical academic publisher concerned with the developing world.Robert combined a sharp analysis of current issues with a commitment to scholars... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-05-01 18:10:50 UTC ]
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Guardian photographer who captured most of the main events and notable people from the early 1960s to the late 90sThe photographer Frank Martin, who has died aged 89, was on the staff of the Guardian from 1964 to 1997, creating an extensive body of work that covered news, arts, fashion, politics... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-04-13 16:01:26 UTC ]
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The activist-quarterback discusses the defining moment that sparked his new children’s book, ‘I Color Myself Different.' Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-04-06 09:00:00 UTC ]
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Award-winning children's book author Patricia MacLachlan, widely lauded for her spare, realistic stories about everyday family life, died on March 31 at her home in Williamsburg, Mass. She was 84. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-04-05 04:00:00 UTC ]
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British author-illustrator Shirley Hughes, best known for her picture books capturing the everyday experiences and emotions of young children, died on February 25 at age 94. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Rising children's author-illustrator Paula Cohen, whose debut solo picture book 'Big Dreams, Small Fish' was published on March 1, died suddenly on February 24; she was 57. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-03 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Prolific author and illustrator whose affectionate image of childhood has been instantly recognisable for more than 60 yearsShirley Hughes, who has died aged 94, was an award-winning author of more than 50 children’s books, and illustrator of some 200 more, with worldwide sales of more than 11m.... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-03-02 11:09:12 UTC ]
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Prolific children's book illustrator Leonard Kessler, known for his wide range of early readers, picture books, and concept books, died on February 16 at age 101. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Duvall Hecht, audiobook pioneer and founder of Books on Tape, died on February 10 at his home in Costa Mesa, Calif. He was 91. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-24 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Rising YA sci-fi and fantasy author Lani Forbes died on February 3 in Boise, Idaho, following a nine-month battle with neuroendocrine cancer. She was 35. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Anti-racism activist and co-founder of New Beacon Books, Britain’s first specialist black bookshop and publishing companyThe veteran activist Sarah White, who has died aged 80, was for more than half a century a stalwart of initiatives dedicated to anti-colonialism, anti-racism and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-02-16 19:10:04 UTC ]
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Award-winning children's book author and illustrator, fine artist, and educator Ashley Bryan, widely known for his passion for poetry and vibrant retellings of folktales rooted in the Black oral tradition, died peacefully on February 4; he was 98. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Jacqueline Wilson’s sequel to Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree books is to launch in May, with publisher Hachette Children’s Books making big plans to celebrate the series’ 80th year. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-22 17:59:02 UTC ]
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Kaepernick will talk with librarians about his first children’s book, illustrated by Eric Wilkerson, 'I Color Myself Different,' which is scheduled for an April, 2022 publication from Scholastic Press and Kaepernick Publishing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-01-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Award-winning children’s author and illustrator Steve Jenkins, widely praised for his distinctive and detailed cut- and torn-paper collages depicting animals and the natural world, has died at age 69. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-01-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Hachette Children’s Group has scooped a brand new Magic Faraway Tree adventure, inspired by Enid Blyton and written by Jacqueline Wilson. It will be the first Magic Faraway Tree book in 75 years and the first in the series by an author other than Blyton. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2022-01-10 14:31:13 UTC ]
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He deciphered the secrets of ants, studied social behavior in organisms and was one of the greatest naturalists of his time. He received two Pulitzer Prizes for nonfiction. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-12-27 10:40:00 UTC ]
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