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 ]
E.J. Koh’s memoir The Magical Language of Others floats stunningly through the abandonment she experienced as a teenager. When she was fifteen, her parents returned home to South Korea for a more lucrative job opportunity, leaving her behind in the United States with her college-going brother. ... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-02-28 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Constable is publishing a memoir by radio and television presenter Pat Sharp, best known for hosting ITV children’s game show "Fun House". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-27 13:41:07 UTC ]
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Not many people know this, but the first memoir in the English language was probably written by a mom who cried a lot. The Book of Margery Kempe is mostly the kind of text you read if you’re a medievalist, or maybe an English major at a women’s college, although I was an English major […] The... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-02-27 12:00:00 UTC ]
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“I try to hide how unreal those two deaths are to me. No, not unreal. It’s just I can’t make them matter.” Elizabeth Tallent on death, silence and the intimacies of sadness. | Lit Hub Memoir Pod Save America’s Dan Pfeiffer lays out a plan for the future of democracy. | Lit Hub Politics “It’s […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-27 11:30:28 UTC ]
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Headline has picked up The Yorkshire Forager, a “wonderfully wild” memoir and field guide by forager Alysia Vasey. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-27 10:30:25 UTC ]
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Zondervan nabbed a new book by Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae; Jordan Lee Dooley brings two books to WaterBrook, a memoir on autism lands at Brazos, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-26 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Unbound has launched memoir How to Glitter a Turd from Coppafeel! founder Kris Hallenga. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-25 23:24:09 UTC ]
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ERIN KHAR’S TENDER, at times desolate, yet boundlessly hopeful memoir Strung Out: One Last Hit and Other Lies That Nearly Killed Me is, in many ways, a love letter to her oldest son, Atticus. Startled by a story he’d heard on the news about a successful dermatologist who had died of a drug... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-02-25 20:00:40 UTC ]
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It’s damn near inevitable—someone asking me “who do I write for?” Most times I say, I’m writing for a 20-year-old version of myself, a young man who wasn’t a reader, but who might’ve been had he been exposed to the right books; who wasn’t an intellectual, but was ever curious; who listened to... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-25 19:00:48 UTC ]
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Mirror Books is set to publish a memoir by Aneira Thomas, the first baby born on the NHS. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-24 20:50:00 UTC ]
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The memoir from the former Uber engineer Susan Fowler is a life story that doubles as a cultural indictment. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2020-02-23 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The Virago publisher is eloquent and inspiring on writing – but her memoir lacks grit and gossipLennie Goodings has had a long and highly respected career in publishing. She is chair of Virago Press, the pioneering publishing house that champions women’s writing. She’s been with Virago since the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-02-23 09:00:48 UTC ]
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The president has called his former national security adviser a traitor and says the highly anticipated memoir shouldn't be published before November. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2020-02-22 15:12:08 UTC ]
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This amusing memoir feels like a Silicon Valley version of The Devil Wears Prada. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2020-02-21 16:00:00 UTC ]
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Kim Hyun Sook’s irresistible memoir conveys her political and social awakening with equal measures of hilarity and terror. The post Panel Mania: ‘Banned Book Club’ appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2020-02-21 11:00:33 UTC ]
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The author, born into the Church of Synanon cult, tells his heart-wrenching story of love and redemption in words and music. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-21 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Michael Joseph is posthumously publishing the memoir of a Jewish dressmaker who survived three concentration camps. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-21 04:05:58 UTC ]
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Ebury has signed a memoir from poet and novelist Helen Mort which it says could do for climbing what other books have done for running and wild swimming. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-20 11:08:11 UTC ]
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The former Uber engineer paints a damning portrait of the culture Travis Kalanick built. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2020-02-19 21:07:39 UTC ]
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Greta Thunberg’s "raw and powerful" family story, written largely by her mother Malena Ernman, will be published by Allen Lane on 5th March. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-18 15:10:37 UTC ]
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