Essay “Literature was a vast minefield occupied by enemies,” Roberto Bolaño, who enjoyed accruing enemies in the pantheon of Latin American letters, writes in the short story “Meeting with Enrique Lihn” (New Yorker, December 22, 2008): except for a few classic authors (just a few), and every day I had to walk through that minefield, where any false move could be fatal, with only the poems of Archilochus to guide me. It’s like that for all young writers. There comes a time when you have no support, not even from friends, forget about mentors, and there’s no one to give you a hand; publication, prizes, and grants are reserved for the others, the ones who said “Yes, sir,” over and over, or those who praised the literary mandarins, a never-ending horde distinguished only by their aptitude for discipline and punishment—nothing escapes them and they forgive nothing. Aptitude for discipline and punishment Bolaño himself had aplenty, too. And in spite of his precarious health, he had stamina. At a young age, he had made up his mind he would die. Who cared if he annoyed others? His mission, as is clear from The Savage Detectives (1998), was to upend that tradition, to take it by the neck and expose its platitudes. What is the use of sacred cows if not to be desecrated? Indeed, every tradition needs an enfant terrible, maybe more than one. When was the last time a rabble-rouser came along in Latin American literature? As Bolaño put it in... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2022-02-28 21:05:10 UTC ]
This month, science fiction fans and Solaris lovers everywhere have cause to celebrate: six newly-illustrated editions of work by the late Polish author Stanisław Lem (1921-2006) are being published by The MIT Press. Lem’s influence on science fiction has been compared to that of authors like... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-20 16:57:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this
It’s an exciting year for the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes! This will be its 40th year of celebrating the literary community. The Times announced their 2019 Book Prize finalists today; the winners will be announced at a ceremony in Los Angeles on April 17th. Additionally, bestselling crime... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-19 17:41:26 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Psychologists have stigmatised science fiction fans as losers who retreat into fantasy worlds. This is unfair. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2020-02-18 10:26:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A reader new to science fiction and fantasy embraces the genre and explores some of the great new works of SFF on shelves now. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-02-17 11:40:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this
20 of the best audiobooks narrated by black women, including fiction, classics, science fiction and fantasy, memoir, essays, and poetry. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-02-14 11:38:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Bookshop Santa Cruz in California and Changing Hands Bookstore in Arizona, have partnered in a drive to register Arizona voters and persuade them to vote Democrat in this year's presidential election. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Could a bespoke book subscription service break you out of your reading rut or encourage you to explore new genres?Heywood Hill bookshop has stood on the same spot since 1936. It inhabits a Georgian townhouse at 10 Curzon Street in Mayfair, London, a blue plaque outside commemorating its most... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-02-13 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A pair of Prosecco-drinking burglars have been sentenced after police caught the two men knocking back alcohol during a break-in at Gay's the Word bookshop. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-13 04:34:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Just a month into 2020 and my wishlist is already straining under the weight of all the new titles I’m looking forward to being published. Maybe it’s working in a bookshop or the concentrated effort I’ve been making to retreat into a fantasy-bubble when I’m at home, but I’ve found myself excited... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-02-03 09:50:09 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The copy of Françoise Frenkel’s No Place to Lay One’s Head that was recently found, I’m told, in Nice, in an Emmaus Companions charity jumble sale, had a curious effect on me. Perhaps because it had been printed in Switzerland in September 1945 for Geneva-based publishers Jeheber. That... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-27 09:49:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this
‘Do You Compute?’ investigates how technology went from being written off as science fiction to something we engage with every day. In the years following the end of World War II, computers were just starting to make their way into the public consciousness. The intimidatingly technical devices... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2020-01-27 09:00:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this
WILLIAM GIBSON NOTICES THINGS others miss. While his science fiction novels are often described as prescient, what defines Gibson’s body of work is the extraordinary refinement of his focus on the present. When everyone is talking about the features of the latest Silicon Valley gadget, he might... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books
[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-01-25 13:30:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Decades of science fiction assured us all that, yes, one day we'd be able to control the immensely complex gadgetry around us with just our voices. It was right, mostly. The rise of the virtual assistant, built atop still other developments in cloud... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2020-01-23 16:30:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Christopher Tolkien helped edit and publish much of J.R.R. Tolkien's work after the science fiction and fantasy writer died in 1973. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-01-17 19:03:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this
A young writer wrote a controversial bit of military science fiction about sexual politics. The fallout was nuclear. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2020-01-17 14:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Sometimes you just have to read between the lines—the felines, that is! There’s something about books and cats that just go together. You’ve probably met your fair share of bookshop cats, but have you ever stumbled into a store looking for A Tale of Two Cities and left with two kitties? Otis and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-16 18:38:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this
An indie bookshop which was the official bookseller of the Barnes Children’s Literature Festival has been replaced by organisers in favour of Waterstones. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-14 03:02:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The new online bookstore intended to benefit indies is nearly ready to go, and will launch January 28. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-01-10 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
We're in a new golden age of science fiction, especially science fiction short stories. These are some of the best stories you can read right now online. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-01-09 11:35:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this
“Alternate history, in my opinion, is a more demanding game,” says the author of “Agency” and other science fiction novels, “if only because conventional historical fiction, like history, is itself highly speculative.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-01-09 10:00:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this