Essay Photos by Mai Al-Nakib / Courtesy of the author Civilizations, empires, dynasties, and monarchies end, leaving behind ruins of their fabled splendor. Traces of achievements become more or less decipherable, contingent upon the mercy of elements and vagaries of time. Global ascents have been awesome. The point, however, is that no matter how accomplished or established the power, no matter how seemingly eternal, its passing is guaranteed. In the shadow of World War II, Walter Benjamin described the angel of history with his face turned toward the past: “Where we perceive a chain of events, he sees one single catastrophe which keeps piling wreckage upon wreckage.” Unlike most of us, the angel of history takes the long view. He bears witness to the rising debris, which periodically may initiate a state of emergency, such as genocide or war. Whether this state of emergency brings about radical transformation or more of the same cannot be determined in advance. A cursory archaeology of our planetary ruins reveals the latter to be the case more frequently. Any citizen of a failing nation-state adopting the angel of history’s long view must ask herself a series of sobering questions. Given its recent past, the parameters of its present, and the constitution of its population and leadership, how likely is it that the kind of sweeping change a country needs in order to survive will occur? Have the sacrifices of the many over... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2021-07-07 12:48:10 UTC ]
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Essay Photos by Mai Al-Nakib / Courtesy of the author Civilizations, empires, dynasties, and monarchies end, leaving behind ruins of their fabled splendor. Traces of achievements become more or less decipherable, contingent upon the mercy of... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-07-07 12:48:10 UTC ]
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Of all the great premises™ boasted by this year’s slate of movies, the wonderful American Fiction has one of the very best. The film is about a veteran writer of literary fiction who, as a Black man, finds himself undesirable in the literary market for his lack of conforming to type. The... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-15 09:55:27 UTC ]
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Baker & Taylor’s Aman Kochar has embraced the wholesaler’s role as a conduit between libraries and publishers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
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With Halloween around the corner, Gilbert Cruz talks to the Book Review editors Tina Jordan and Sadie Stein about their favorite creepy books. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-10-27 15:52:21 UTC ]
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Patty Lin says that Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry and co forced rewrites of gags they didn’t like by performing them badlyFriends may have been a worldwide smash hit that made megastars of its cast, but – according to one of its writers – the actors weren’t always trying their... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-08-24 10:34:01 UTC ]
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Fictional Translations: Pablo Neruda’s “Oda al actor,” by Ilan Stavans Poetry [email protected] Mon, 06/26/2023 - 13:48 Photo by throgers / FlickrIn what follows, I have created three heteronyms to render Pablo Neruda’s “Oda al actor” into English.... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2023-06-26 18:48:50 UTC ]
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The new Harry Potter game, Hogwarts Legacy, has generated a lot of controversy, which is reflected within the gameplay itself. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2023-02-15 04:01:53 UTC ]
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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... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-01-05 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The Baillie Gifford Prize is the most prestigious nonfiction literary award in the world. We checked in with some past winners about their year in reading. * Craig Brown, 2020 Baillie Gifford Prize-winner for 150 Glimpses of the Beatles, recommends: Geoff Dyer is the funniest and most original... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-01-01 14:20:48 UTC ]
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Hervé Tullet is a perennial favorite among buyers and sellers of children’s books as well as among the art crowd. His books have been translated into many languages, and he’s been featured in exhibitions around the world. * THE BOOKS Comment papa a rencontré maman (How dad met mom), Hachette... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-12-21 09:52:36 UTC ]
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Bodour Al Qasimi, who is from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, has been the Arab world’s unofficial publishing ambassador since she came on the international publishing scene in 2007, after launching the Arabic-language children’s publishing house Kalimat. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
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A prized center of Arabic language, culture, and literature in London is closing amid mounting economic and post-Brexit challenges. The post London’s Al Saqi Bookstore Is Closing, Ending a 44-Year Run appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-12-06 02:05:02 UTC ]
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While some of the most popular writers on the publishing platform were able to convert their sizable Twitter following into newsletter subscriptions, a huge Twitter presence isn’t necessarily a prerequisite for Substack success. In just a few weeks, Elon Musk has created a number of questions... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2022-11-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
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In his memoir “A Heart That Works,” the comedian and actor grapples with the pain of losing a child, and how to keep living. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-11-12 10:00:26 UTC ]
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Here’s a quick look at some notable books—new titles from Percival Everett, Katherine Dunn, Hilton Als, and more—that are publishing this week. Want to learn more about upcoming titles? Then go read our most recent book preview. Want to help The Millions keep churning out great books... Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2022-11-01 09:59:41 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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Andrew Kirtzman explains how America's Mayor became a nonsense-peddling Trump loyalist. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-16 10:00:50 UTC ]
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Book review of O Say Can You Hear: A Cultural Biography of The Star Spangled Banner by Mark Clague Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-07-01 12:00:42 UTC ]
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