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 ]
A founder of the St. Mark’s Bookshop in the East Village, he prided himself on stocking titles that were not “too popular” and stayed in business for four decades. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-11-23 01:12:36 UTC ]
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The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-11-20 17:10:43 UTC ]
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To celebrate the launch of the new Guardian Long Read magazine this week, join the Long Read editor David Wolf in discussion with regular contributors Sophie Elmhirst and Samanth Subramanian• The Guardian Long Read magazine is available to order now• The best stories take time. The Guardian Long... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-11-15 05:00:09 UTC ]
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12 Books for Tolerance and Understanding (2023), by The Editors of WLT Lit Lists [email protected] Tue, 11/14/2023 - 14:07 For years, a prognostication by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe appeared on the masthead page of World Literature Today: “These... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2023-11-14 20:07:42 UTC ]
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I first heard of Willa Cather as a teenage bookseller in North Denver, at a new, used, rare, and antiquarian bookshop that had once been a mechanic’s garage. At the bookstore, there was an entire section of Cather’s famous works, which I had labeled meticulously with colored markers on scraps of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-14 10:00:45 UTC ]
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The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-11-13 16:53:29 UTC ]
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KFC's "Crispy" creative platform, which celebrates the brand's origins, won Kantar's Most Effective TV campaign of 2022. Now the fast-food brand and its French agency, Havas Paris, brings that saga to a close with an ad inspired by science fiction classics Blade Runner and The Fifth Element.... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2023-11-07 07:00:00 UTC ]
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The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-11-06 16:32:39 UTC ]
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Jeanne DuPrau’s “Project F,” Patricia Forde’s “The Girl Who Fell to Earth” and Donna Barba Higuera’s “Alebrijes” answer the question, Could this be the beginning of the end? Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-11-03 09:01:10 UTC ]
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When she was in high school in the early 1950’s, Joanna Russ (1930–2011) read Mark Twain’s short story “A Medieval Romance,” about a duke without a male heir who brings his daughter up to fill the role, hiding her gender from all. Things get complicated when the duke’s niece falls in love with... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-03 08:41:28 UTC ]
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Sarah Anderson, who founded the Travel Bookshop in London before becoming a writer and painter, discusses the value of quiet in 'The Lost Art of Silence' (Shambhala, Dec.). Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-10-30 14:38:41 UTC ]
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The winners of the 2023 Hugo Awards—one of science fiction and fantasy’s most prestigious awards, decided by the popular vote of WorldCon members—were presented this weekend at the 81st WorldCon in Chengdu, China. Here are the winners in the literary categories: Best Novel: Nettle & Bone, by... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-10-23 17:32:12 UTC ]
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The Hugos and several other major science fiction award winners were announced this week. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-10-23 14:50:11 UTC ]
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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) The influence of H. G. Wells (1866-1946) on science fiction goes without saying. Brian Aldiss, in Trillion Year Spree, call him the Shakespeare of science fiction, acknowledging his role in raising the emerging genre to an art form. The tales of The... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2023-10-20 14:00:09 UTC ]
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The King's English Bookshop in Salt Lake City doubles down on supporting Drag Story Hours following a bomb threat, and is preparing to launch a new venture, Mosaics Community Bookstore and Venue. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-10-19 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Computer languages are ultimately rendered in ones and zeros, even AI programs. Though this technology is new, the concept it’s hinged on is not. Isaac Asimov’s iconic science fiction collection I, Robot, tells the story of androids created at U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men Inc. The androids... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2023-10-17 06:00:00 UTC ]
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The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, curated by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-10-16 14:13:47 UTC ]
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These nine medieval science fiction books play with limits of time, space, and history to tell fascinating stories with medieval elements. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-10-13 10:32:00 UTC ]
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The best science fiction and fantasy book deals of the day, all picked by Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-10-09 11:52:40 UTC ]
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