Zadie Smith on Male Critics, Appropriation, and What Interests Her Novelistically About Trump

In an interview in 2000, Zadie Smith told the Guardian about the pressure she felt after the astonishing success of her debut novel, White Teeth. “I was expected to be some expert on multicultural affairs, as if multiculturalism is a genre of fiction or something,” she said. “Whereas it’s just a fact of life—like there are people of different races on the planet.” Whether it’s indeed a fact of life or, we now fear, a feature of American life that is at risk of erasure, multiculturalism in all its complexity is at the center of Smith’s books. From White Teeth to NW, which was published in 2012, Smith’s characters inhabit mixed urban communities, often in London. Her latest novel, Swing Time, is out this week; set in England and West Africa, the story concerns the friendship of two young girls who meet in a dance class (“our shade of brown was exactly the same”) and traces the paths of their lives over a quarter-century. Continue reading at 'Slate'

[ Slate | 2016-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #american life #white teeth #swing time #west africa #young girls

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WATCH: Tracy K. Smith and David Lehman Celebrate The Best American Poetry 2021

Founded in October 2009 by Rebecca Fitting and Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, Greenlight Bookstore is an independent bookstore in Brooklyn, New York. Combining the best traditions of the neighborhood bookstore with carefully curated, community-minded events, Greenlight has earned a reputation as a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-11-11 09:49:39 UTC ]
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Will Smith celebrates memoir with Sevenoaks Bookshop art installation

Will Smith has partnered with Black-owned bookshops and artists of colour across the UK and America to celebrate his upcoming memoir Will (Century), with Sevenoaks Bookshop featuring an artist’s display.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-11 02:48:04 UTC ]
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W H Smith reports £116m loss but expects return to profit in 2022

W H Smith reported a group loss before tax of £116m for the year to end August 2021, although the retailer said it expected to return to “meaningful profit” in 2022 with a return to pre-pandemic levels. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-10 20:28:22 UTC ]
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In Will Smith’s memoir, the superstar is self-deprecating but ultimately invincible

It’s hard to imagine a more political flex than publishing a memoir the same month you release your biggest Oscar contender in years. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-11-08 12:00:00 UTC ]
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S&S 'spellbound' by Smith's Cold People

Simon & Schuster UK has landed Tom Rob Smith’s "utterly gripping" novel Cold People in a two-book deal.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-06 04:14:54 UTC ]
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Books in the Media: Critics hail Paul McCartney's 'absorbing' The Lyrics

Paul McCartney’s The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, edited by Paul Muldoon (Allen Lane), was one of the critics' most reviewed books this week. The book was mentioned in the Observer, Daily Mail, Telegraph, Times, Irish Times, Washington Post and the New Yorker. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-11-02 02:24:55 UTC ]
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Steven Pinker argues that critical thinking leads to progress in ‘Rationality’

In his latest book “Rationality,” cognitive scientist Steven Pinker extols the power of critical thinking to propel society forward. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2021-10-28 19:20:41 UTC ]
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Orwell was more than a social critic. Rebecca Solnit’s new book finds him in the garden.

Solnit’s ‘Orwell’s Roses’ is the story of a life that doesn’t read like a typical biography. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-19 14:00:00 UTC ]
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You won’t find Dave Eggers’s new book on Amazon. That’s the most interesting thing about it.

“The Every,” a sequel to “The Circle,” suffers from the Web’s worst quality: unlimited space. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-19 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Granta launches hunts for Best of Young British Novelists

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-13 08:19:00 UTC ]
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Ugandan novelist Rukirabashaija named 2021 International Writer of Courage

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-11 20:57:34 UTC ]
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Cynthia Leitich Smith to Headline 2021 Neustadt Lit Fest

News and Events World Literature Today, the University of Oklahoma’s award-winning magazine of international literature and culture, will host the 2021 Neustadt Lit Festival on Zoom from Oct. 25–27. The festival features numerous panels exploring the... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2021-10-11 18:55:28 UTC ]
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A women’s history of the Trump presidency

Columnist Jennifer Rubin chronicles the activists and politicians who “saved democracy.” Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-08 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Trump demands Pulitzer board rescind awards for Russia interference reporting

2018 award was shared by New York Times and Washington Post for exposing interference and links between Trump and MoscowDonald Trump has again demanded the Pulitzer prize board rescind the prize for national reporting awarded to the New York Times and Washington Post in 2018, for exposing... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-10-04 12:26:08 UTC ]
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An aide dishes on the Trump White House. But what does she say for herself?

Review of “I’ll Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw at the Trump White House” by Stephanie Grisham Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-01 13:30:12 UTC ]
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What Did Critics Think of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road When It First Came Out?

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[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-28 08:53:04 UTC ]
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Will Smith: 'Black Lives Matter' Is A Better Slogan Than 'Defund The Police'

The actor told GQ: “I’m not saying we shouldn’t defund the police. I’m saying, just don’t say that, because then people who would help you won’t.” Continue reading at The Huffington Post

[ The Huffington Post | 2021-09-27 18:04:34 UTC ]
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France’s Rentrée Littéraire: Books About COVID? Not Interested

'Publishers tried, but it really didn't work,' says one Paris bookseller about the question of pandemic-related books this year. The post France’s Rentrée Littéraire: Books About COVID? Not Interested appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-09-27 11:31:21 UTC ]
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Woke academics, Donald Trump and George Will’s ire

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[ The Washington Post | 2021-09-24 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Books in the Media: Critics swoop on Day's fifth novel

Elizabeth Day's latest novel Magpie (Fourth Estate) picked up reviews in the Observer, the Irish Times, the Sunday Times, the Daily Mail and the i this week.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-20 03:19:56 UTC ]
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