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 Kissing Bug' by Daisy Hernández (Tin House) received the evening's top prize, the $75,000 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, at the February 28 event in midtown Manhattan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-03-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Until I was five years old, my mother and I lived with her parents in Flatbush, Brooklyn. We never talked about my father. We never said his name, which meant that we never said my full name, Sherry Zimmerman. I first saw my full name written out in an inscription in a children’s alphabet book […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-28 09:49:55 UTC ]
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During his time at Princeton, the writer was one of the most impactful "militant humanists" working against the Nazis. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-02-18 13:00:42 UTC ]
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He was a president of Students for a Democratic Society and reflected on his activism in “The Sixties,” an acclaimed work of history and memoir. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2022-02-08 03:30:54 UTC ]
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So I wrote a list of books and left off your favorite. Well, I hate to tell you, but I absolutely did on purpose, and here's why. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-01-20 11:36:00 UTC ]
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Dark Horse Media, an independent comics publishing house and entertainment media company, has been acquired by the Embracer Group, a Swedish videogame development company. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-12-22 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Black bookshop owners are finding that their efforts are paying off by sharing stories and bringing communities closer together through their local store. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-03 08:27:39 UTC ]
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Publishers and editors discuss their efforts to broaden their lists to reach those in underrepresented communities. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-11-19 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House Children's is to launch a programme of commemorative publishing next year, in celebration of the 120th anniversary of Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-11 17:06:39 UTC ]
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Children's books by Maisie Chan, Lan Cook and Rashmi Sirdeshpande are on the shortlist for the Blue Peter Book Awards 2022, in a line-up that focuses on climate change, diversity and spotting misinformation. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-11 04:37:39 UTC ]
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Uwem Akpan’s novel follows Ekong — whose name means war — as he travels to the United States. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-11-02 17:31:46 UTC ]
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The best-selling writer’s new book, published 10 months after his death at age 89, delivers a thought-provoking story — and a warning. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-13 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Book Reviews Photo by andy lapham / Flickr Whether he is recounting his nighttime drive with a late colleague and poet around the beltway of the pulsing and vibrant São Paulo—a city so full of people and culture that it seems to have its own... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-10-11 20:56:08 UTC ]
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John le Carré's final novel Silverview (Viking) dominated the review pages this week, picking up mentions from the Sunday Times, Times, Guardian, Financial Times, Sunday Telegraph, the i and the Scotsman. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-11 06:20:33 UTC ]
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This is a Shel Silverstein appreciation post. He has given us so much over the years! Most famously, we have The Giving Tree, a twisted children’s book about a benevolent tree that gives up its whole self for an unappreciative little boy. By extension, we can also thank Shel Silverstein for Ryan... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-24 14:00:42 UTC ]
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Helena Merriman tells how a passage to freedom was dug under the Berlin Wall in 1962. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-24 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Merve Emre’s “The Annotated Mrs. Dalloway” highlights the many reasons Woolf’s book is a masterpiece. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-15 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Peter Warner, former president and publisher of Thames & Hudson, has died at the age of 79 from complications of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-12 20:14:10 UTC ]
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Maggie Nelson explores the concept in the realms of art, sex, drugs and the climate crisis. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-10 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Peter Warner, the longtime president of Thames & Hudson, died on September 9 from complications due to myelodysplastic syndrome. He was 79. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-09 04:00:00 UTC ]
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