The American author was not only brilliant but also generous and kind to younger writers, writes Emma BrockesThere is that famous photo of Joan Didion, taken in Malibu in 1976, in which she leans on a deck overlooking the beach, cigarette in hand, scotch glass at her elbow, and regards her family – John Dunne, her husband, and their then 10-year-old daughter, Quintana – through lowered, side-long eyes. Like other iconic photos of Didion from the period, she is at one remove from the group, off to the side and in this case, looking not at the camera but at her family as they look at the camera. It’s the pose Didion perfected, in life as in art, and when news of her death at the age of 87 broke on Thursday, it was a shock to see another frame from that sequence surface online. In it, Didion, eyes fixed forward, smiles broadly at the camera in the conventional style – a rare glimpse behind the persona.The paradox of Didion was not unusual among writers, whose confidence is often born of a million anxieties. But her ability to operate outside herself – to measure the gap between inside and out and slyly mock any effort to conceal it – was unparalleled. She was, famously and by her own account, diffident, brittle, runtish, prone to migraines, afraid of the telephone, and as she wrote in the preface to her 1968 collection Slouching Towards Bethlehem, “bad at interviewing people”, apparent deficits that, in Didion’s hands, were of course precisely what permitted her entry to... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2021-12-24 18:44:54 UTC ]
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘Zero Hour’ is a 1949 short story by the American author Ray Bradbury (1920-2012), included in his 1953 collection The Illustrated Man. In the story, which is set in a future America, a young girl is befriended by an alien who needs her help to... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2024-10-23 14:00:07 UTC ]
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Now in his second term, the director of the Royal Spanish Academy is named Liber 2024's Most Outstanding Latin American Author. The post Santiago Muñoz Machado: Liber’s 2024 Top Latin American Author appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-08-30 21:42:11 UTC ]
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The writer of The New York Trilogy, Leviathan and 4 3 2 1 – known for his stylised postmodernist fiction – has died from complications of lung cancer• Paul Auster – a life in quotes• Paul Auster – a life in picturesPaul Auster, the author of 34 books including the acclaimed New York Trilogy, has... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-05-01 04:02:37 UTC ]
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This essay is based on a Master’s lecture delivered at the Conrad Award Gala, Conrad Festival, October 29, 2023. Gloria Anzaldúa, a queer Mexican American author with indigenous heritage, tells us about why she writes: “I write to record what others erase when I speak, to rewrite the stories... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-03-25 08:55:52 UTC ]
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N. Scott Momaday was the first Native American author to win a Pulitzer Prize. He passed away on January 24th at age 89. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-30 20:02:44 UTC ]
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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘Kaleidoscope’ is a short story by the American author Ray Bradbury (1920-2012), included in his 1952 collection of interlinked tales, The Illustrated Man. ‘Kaleidoscope’ deals with the theme of death, and how human beings respond to their imminent... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2023-12-29 15:00:31 UTC ]
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Another year, another crop of newly-minted literary honorees. From the Pulitzer to the Booker, the Nebula to the Edgar, here are the winners of the biggest book prizes of 2023. Congratulations to all! * PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION Awarded for distinguished fiction published in book form during... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-14 09:52:44 UTC ]
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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) The American author Michael Crichton (1942-2008) was a pioneer of what became known as the ‘techno-thriller’. He wrote novels informed by the latest up-to-date science on a range of issues, but what sets him apart is his willingness to adopt a... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2023-10-30 15:00:38 UTC ]
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In Myriam Gurba’s latest essay collection Creep, the Mexican American author interrogates both those who deceive, exploit, and oppress others as well as the culture that enables them. “People who hurt other people can be charming,” Gurba notes in the title essay. “It works in their favor.” In... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-10-26 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Publisher to double dividend after demand grows for books by Sarah J Maas and Samantha ShannonBusiness live – latest updatesThe book publisher Bloomsbury has hit record profits in the first half of the year thanks in part to a boom in fantasy fiction driven by the American author Sarah J Maas,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-10-26 07:50:43 UTC ]
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In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle reviews John Plotz’s personal reading of a fantasy classic by Ursula K. Le Guin The American author Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018) is widely regarded as one of the finest authors of what is broadly termed ‘speculative fiction’.... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2023-10-13 14:00:53 UTC ]
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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) ‘The City’ is a short story about revenge best served cold. Written by the American author Ray Bradbury (1920-2012), the story was included in his 1952 collection The Illustrated Man. The story is about a city which has waited twenty thousand years... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2023-09-17 14:00:52 UTC ]
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The digital media company Vice filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May, and new documents disclosed in the proceedings offer a rare glimpse into the financial maneuvering that led the privately held company to insolvency. In particular, they reveal that Vice raised more than $1.3 billion in debt... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2023-07-24 11:37:29 UTC ]
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Apple is borrowing a marketing tactic from Twitter pirates. The company made the unusual move of uploading the entire first episode of its series Silo to the social platform, allowing anyone there to watch the opening installment for free. The gambit follows Twitter’s move to allow longer video... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-06-27 18:24:03 UTC ]
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The American author Barbara Kingsolver has become the only writer to win the United Kingdom's Women's Prize for Fiction twice. The post Barbara Kingsolver Wins the UK’s Women’s Prize for Fiction appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-06-14 18:31:40 UTC ]
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The American author talks about growing up queer in a family of ‘wolves’, poverty and class in the US, and the 19th-century writers who inspired his latest novelBrandon Taylor writes quickly. “I can type almost as fast as I can think,” he says. The first draft of his debut novel, the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-06-03 10:00:28 UTC ]
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‘The Boarded Window’ is a story by the American author Ambrose Bierce, who is also remembered for his witty The Devil’s Dictionary and for his mysterious disappearance in around 1914. Like many of Bierce’s tales, ‘The Boarded Window’ contains elements of the horror genre. The story is about a... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2023-05-21 14:00:54 UTC ]
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Tasha Jun's memoir shares how she came to reconcile her complex heritage Korean and American heritage and her Christian faith. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-05-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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‘Young Goodman Brown’ is an 1835 short story by the American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Inspired in part by the Salem witch craze of 1692, the story deals with a number of key themes. But what are the most prominent themes of Hawthorne’s story, and how should we approach and interpret […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2023-03-14 15:00:15 UTC ]
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American author Laurie Halse Anderson is the winner of the 2023 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world’s largest children’s book prize. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-03-07 05:00:00 UTC ]
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