Essay Photo by Tyler Quiring / Unsplash Ismail Kadare has a remarkable quality of saying a great deal and with much clarity, but in an elusive, oblique, and allegorical way. Peter Constantine situates Kadare’s work in the long history of the Balkans and in the broader tradition of writers who practice their craft under the constraints of censorship. Anton Chekhov, in his comical short story “The Cross,” which he wrote in 1883, sets the scene in a high-society Moscow salon: a gathering of elegant Muscovites is crowding around a poet who, it seems, has just received a medal for his work. Is it a Stanislav Cross for the valor of his latest book of poetry? Is it an Order of Saint Anna Cross for patriotic stanzas in service of Imperial Russia? The tension mounts until the poet holds up his book and the guests see the large red cross of the czar’s censorship bureau. The poet’s latest book of poems has been banned. The eye of the imperial censor was severe, and some of its censors, such as Ivan Goncharov, were literary celebrities in their own right. All the great authors of the Russian literary canon of the nineteenth century—Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Gogol, Chekhov—had to set pen to paper with great care to avoid the censor’s red cross, and the problems that might follow in its wake. They each developed a personal way of self-censoring, a way of saying things without actually saying them, perhaps crossing the line occasionally, but... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2021-02-18 14:09:58 UTC ]
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The Leeds-born novelist whose work included poetry and short stories as well as his bestselling thrillers will be remembered as a master of plot and characterThe crime writer Peter Robinson has died aged 72, his publisher has announced.The Yorkshire-born author died suddenly on the 4 October... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-07 11:56:17 UTC ]
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It’s difficult to say anything that hasn’t already been said about Torrey Peters’s debut novel, Detransition, Baby. It won the PEN/Hemingway Award, was a national bestseller, a NYT Notable Book, and named a Book of the Year by more publications than my word count limit will let me include. Not... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-09-26 11:05:00 UTC ]
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A princess and an ambassador were among those who helped a reluctant Freud and his family flee Austria. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-02 10:00:55 UTC ]
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In her gentrifying D.C. neighborhood, Helena Andrews-Dyer confronts issues of race and belonging — and, as a new mom, finds a place to vent. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-02 10:00:29 UTC ]
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I think every aspiring writer should work in a used bookstore. For a little while, at least. If nothing else, the ego death is electric. * I am lucky. A fellowship after my MFA has left me with all kinds of time to write and live out this romantic dream job. Ensconced in an Ann […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-24 08:53:03 UTC ]
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Every few months, I receive an email or phone call from someone who claims to work for a literary agency or publishing entity. In the lengthy messages variegated with bold-faced sentences, or voicemails in which the speaker mispronounces my maiden name, I’m promised six-figure book deals with... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-22 08:52:55 UTC ]
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After several flight delays, passengers flying out of Toronto's Pearson airport were made to sleep on the floor when their flights to Winnipeg were finally cancelled around midnight on Sunday morning. Continue reading at CBC
[ CBC | 2022-08-08 12:16:55 UTC ]
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In 2008, after 13 years together, my literary agent and I parted ways. (To preserve her anonymity, let’s call her Michael Ovitz.) Between 1995 and 2002, Michael Ovitz sold two of my novels, including my debut, Hunger Point. By any measure, our partnership was a terrific success. Michael Ovitz... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-05 08:53:09 UTC ]
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Lori Garver's new memoir details her struggles to get NASA colleagues to embrace SpaceX and Blue Origin. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2022-07-29 16:00:00 UTC ]
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Covid-19 deaths are a symptom of many other social ills, including inequality, federalism and factory farms, John Ehrenreich argues. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-07-29 12:00:40 UTC ]
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"The Forgiven" author Lawrence Osborne discusses the impulses that drive his fiction. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-07-22 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Journalist Matt Richtel doesn't have all the answers about the creative process — and that's a good thing. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-06-24 12:00:37 UTC ]
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With the newspaper’s founder and senior editors jailed, other pro-democracy media outlets shut and 1,000 journalists out of work, can press freedom survive in the territory?Read more: ‘My career is finished, my friends are in prison and I’m an alien in my city’: life after Hong Kong’s Apple... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-06-24 05:01:07 UTC ]
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“Half my students had never read a Shakespeare play,” says the historical novelist, whose latest book is “Horse.” “That set my hair on fire.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-06-16 09:00:23 UTC ]
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Kathleen Buhle’s memoir, "If We Break," reveals the details of a marriage the author once called "special." Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-06-14 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Jen Silverman’s novel, We Play Ourselves, is out now in paperback from Random House, so we asked about her favorite books to give to friends, the best stories to revisit, and how she procrastinates. * What is your favorite book to give as a gift? I am bad at many things in life, among them... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-05-24 08:51:33 UTC ]
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Lizz Huerta didn't get an MFA, but she did get an education while working on construction sites. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-05-05 10:00:00 UTC ]
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"The Unwritten Book" is a memoir and essay collection that finds beauty in impermanence. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-04-11 10:00:28 UTC ]
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Nick Beilenson, who took over his parents' publishing business, Peter Pauper Press, in 1981 died on February 22 of complications from Covid-19. He was 85. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-02 05:00:00 UTC ]
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