Essay Photo by Miko Guziuk / Unsplash In his newest book, What Is American Literature? (Oxford University Press, 2022), award-winning cultural commentator, translator, and editor Ilan Stavans, the publisher of Restless Books and the Lewis-Sebring Professor of Humanities and Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College, rereads an assortment of American literary classics through the prism of the Trump years, from the poems of Phillis Wheatley to Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are. In the primer, written during the presidential election won by Joe Biden—and before the January 6, 2021, sedition instigated by Donald Trump—he also reflects on the role public libraries play in disseminating the nation’s literature, the art of teaching it to new generations of students, and the future of the book as an artifact disseminating knowledge in our graphic-driven age. The volume closes with an epistolary account, in Stavans’s words, of “the Second American Civil War.” What follows is the section on teaching. American literature starts and ends in the classroom. It starts there because whoever is a writer-to-be is likely to discover the magic of literature as an assignment, or else in response to the tedium that comes from feeling disengaged with the educational purpose. And it ends in the classroom because, at a time of precipitous declines in reading habits, books have their largest audiences among students enrolled in... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2022-02-02 19:59:22 UTC ]
Rachael Jolley, editor of global freedom of expression magazine, Index on Censorship, has spoken out about the growing importance of public libraries for freedom of expression saying "at the heart of any library is the idea of a freedom to think and discover”. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How do you like 2016 so far? Not that long ago, in a #FutureChat not that far away, we asked you what you considered to have been the high points of 2015 for publishing. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What Twain eventually learned, after an interminable time on the trail, is that turkeys have a genius for feigning injury. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dosdoce, Bookwire and Publishing Perspectives are offering an exclusive ebook licensing guide for global public libraries and publishers. The post Free Guide to Ebook Licensing for Public Libraries and Publishers appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The British Library has appointed Tom Holland as chair of the Public Lending Right (PLR) Advisory Committee for the next three years. Holland said: “I am hugely honoured to be taking on the role of chair of the PLR Advisory Committee, which does such excellent work in promoting the interests of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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On Wednesday, Google announced its Accelerated Mobile Pages project, for which it has partnered with dozens of prominent publishers.In May, Facebook lifted the curtain on Instant Articles, a native publishing platform that hosts articles directly on the social network. For Facebook, which... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2015-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Not long ago, whenever a teacher would assign a book report, most students would sprint to Barnes & Noble to grab the CliffsNotes version that could save their weekend. These days, however, they're more likely to head to YouTube to listen to th... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-10-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Library groups have welcomed education secretary Nicky Morgan’s drive for all children to have a library card, although campaigners say the news rings hollow at a time when many public libraries are closing. Desmond Clarke, a veteran library campaigner who has spoken out against library cuts in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author Ali Smith has used her appearance at the Edinburgh International Book Festival to warn how the closure of public libraries was threatening the “democracy of reading”. Smith, who was interviewed at the festival yesterday (16th August), said the continued closing of libraries would have an... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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People love road trips. Some like 'em more than others. And some like them perhaps a little bit too much. This interactive map from Richard Kreitner and Steven Melendez crams the locations mentioned in twelve road-tripping books including Mark Twain... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2015-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Portrayal of liberal lawyer’s dark side praised for its realism by civil rights campaignerOne of the great figures of American literature has suffered dramatic reputational damage this weekend. The unexpected early release of shocking plot details from the new novel by Harper Lee, a sequel to... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jim Crace’s Harvest (Picador) has won the 2015 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Crace was announced as the winner of the €100,000 prize, awarded for a single novel published in English, today (17th June) at Mansion House in Dublin. The IMPAC receives its nominations from public... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Libraries minister Ed Vaizey has said he is “keen” on the idea of creating a national libraries framework, and urged senior librarians to contribute to discussions on how it can be achieved. The framework could set out guidelines on how public libraries are structured and what they offer. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The government will provide funding to give wi-fi access to all public libraries across England, chanceller George Osborne revealed yesterday (18th March) is his pre-election budget speech. The budget document said that £7.4m would be provided to fund wi-fi. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The jointly developed survey will seek to understand library patrons’ use of digital resources and other services offered by public libraries. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Government ministers will today (26th January) launch a scheme to provide books for people with dementia via public libraries. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Using the hashtag #becauseofapubliclibrary, Ferguson (Mo.) Municipal Public Library library director Scott Bonner sparked an outpouring of library love from the Twitterverse after he tweeted “I was able to help our community.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Sieghart review into public libraries, to be published today (18th December), calls on central government to give local authorities the funding to create a national digital resource for libraries, with free Wi-fi as standard, and workforce training for all public libraries in England. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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iVerse has signed DC Comics to a digital distribution deal via its ComicsPlus app, and has announced other significant upgrades that make it a more attractive option for digital comics consumers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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French Culture Minister Fleur Pellerin has signed a 12-point charter with 10 book organisations in France to promote the loan of ebooks in public libraries. The 10 represent local authorities, libraries, publishers, booksellers and authors and the 12 points include access to all titles... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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