Cultural Cross Sections Will Hagle Photo courtesy of the author Following decades of British colonial rule to the rapidly tightening grip of mainland China and all the stories told about that chunk of land along the way, Hong Kong has grown accustomed to outsiders imposing manufactured identities and narratives upon it. Any attempt to summarize—let alone explain—what has been happening on its city streets for five months and counting would be a uniquely modern form of cultural imperialism. That story would be best told by those who are there. I can only tell you about what I’ve learned, from where I am and where I’ve been. During the span of the 2019 anti-extradition law amendment protests, which have since evolved beyond opposing the bill that would have allowed for the extradition of certain arrested residents to mainland China, I have been to Hong Kong and back in my adopted hometown of Los Angeles, thinking about the fragile concept of location-based identity. What I’ve learned is this: if the true nature of a location can be grappled with, confronted, and preserved anywhere, it is in literature; and the literature of Hong Kong portrays a place as complex, vibrant, challenging, and politically unstable as current news dispatches would suggest. If the true nature of a location can be grappled with, confronted, and preserved anywhere, it is in literature; and the literature of Hong Kong portrays a place as complex, vibrant,... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2019-12-17 15:28:20 UTC ]
With voter registration deadlines approaching and misinformation around voter fraud spreading, a newly-formed coalition of writers is volunteering their time to defeat Donald Trump in the presidential election this fall. The group, Writers Against Trump—whose initial members include Paul Auster,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-08-25 17:07:21 UTC ]
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The National Book Foundation has announced that this year’s National Book Awards events—including the 71st annual ceremony—will be held digitally, due to the ongoing, not-even-remotely-controlled, coronavirus pandemic. Lisa Lucas, the National Book Foundation’s Executive Director, said of the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-10 14:22:53 UTC ]
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THESE TIMES: Lit Hub editor Jonny Diamond on literary community in a time of global pandemic • Ysabelle Cheung on trying to write in Hong Kong during the rise of the novel coronavirus • Italian editor Sara Reggiani on life in lock-down • How to support your local bookstores during the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-21 11:30:33 UTC ]
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THESE TIMES: How to support your local bookstores during the coronavirus pandemic · What China’s literary community is reading during the pandemic · The first lines of 10 classic novels rewritten for social distancing · Can’t decide what to read? Tell us your favorites and we’ll recommend a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-17 10:30:26 UTC ]
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I had a fight with my mother the other day. In the past we had argued on many things but never politics, because we’d seldom talked about it. The video call, which started with her asking me about the outbreak in the US, ended up opening my eyes to the chasm between me and the […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-17 08:49:21 UTC ]
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We are at the beginning of a frightening and difficult time in America. Though we glimpse—in the overflowing hospitals of Milan, the shuttered plazas of Madrid—that which may come to pass, it is impossible to know just how hard hit the United States will be by the novel coronavirus. This nation... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-16 14:00:35 UTC ]
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Interviews Veronica Esposito Ottilie Mulzet is the principal English-language translator of Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, winner of numerous international honors. Together, they received the 2019 National Book Award in Translation for Mulzet’s... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-02-20 14:05:36 UTC ]
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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 ]
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Essay John Weir Adapted from a photo by Jake weirick on Unsplash Like a dead pop star, Susan Sontag left behind a lot of fans who claim they knew her. After the release last September of Benjamin Moser’s new biography, Susan Sontag: Her Life and Work,... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-01-07 22:09:56 UTC ]
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Cultural Cross Sections Will Hagle Photo courtesy of the author Following decades of British colonial rule to the rapidly tightening grip of mainland China and all the stories told about that chunk of land along the way, Hong Kong has grown accustomed... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2019-12-17 15:28:20 UTC ]
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On November 12, at the Pen Parentis Literary Salon in Lower Manhattan, I hear author Jimin Han say something I’ve never heard a writer admit before. “I didn’t really commit to being a writer until I had children,” Han says to a room of 20 or so writers, all of whom are parents. There is […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-12-06 09:47:14 UTC ]
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News and Events WLT Photo by J. Foley Opale World Literature Today, the University of Oklahoma’s award-winning magazine of international literature and culture, announced late Wednesday evening that Ismail Kadare is the 26th laureate of the renowned... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2019-10-16 22:21:35 UTC ]
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Affordable rents and the ever-burgeoning Brooklyn literary community have drawn indie presses to the Old American Can Factory in Gowanus. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-08-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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This morning, the Whiting Foundation has announced the winners of the second annual Literary Magazine Prizes, which are given “for superb publishing, advocating for writers, and strengthening the literary community.” This year, the number of awards was increased from three to five, with two new... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-07-18 13:00:28 UTC ]
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Approved by the board of the Börsenverein in late June, this year's sales days at the Frankfurter Buchmesse will double on the weekend, October 19 and 20 The post Frankfurter Buchmesse Announces Extended Sales Days appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2019-07-08 05:13:54 UTC ]
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As America marks this July 4th holiday, an outcry on immigration is leading to national headlines, including from a congressional delegation that visited an immigration detention center in El Paso, Texas, this week. PEN America has gathered a series of statements from a number of writers and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-07-03 08:48:26 UTC ]
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Gains in three of the four major publishing categories led to a 2.1% increase in print unit sales in the week ended June 22, 2019. over the comparable week in 2018. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-06-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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“Harry Potter: A Journey Through Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts” and “A Journey Through Potions and Herbology” are arriving in late June. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2019-05-31 18:46:34 UTC ]
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The news that J.D. Salinger's family is preparing to publish the late author's previously unseen works has left some literary observers excited and some unsettled. On Friday, the Guardian reported that Matt Salinger, the son of the legendary author of "The Catcher in the Rye," is working to... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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