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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Can Liz Cheney defeat 'Orange Jesus'? Her anti-Trump book sure feels like a campaign memoir

In 'Oath and Honor,' Rep. Liz Cheney exposes the actions of Kevin McCarthy and other Jan. 6 enablers of Donald Trump, but fails to compel readers. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-12-04 20:11:02 UTC ]
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Will Haberman and Swan’s 2025 Trump book be a comedy or a tragedy?

Photo by Rachel Cobb Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan have signed a lucrative deal with Simon & Schuster to write a book about whatever the hell happens to Donald Trump in 2024. Oh, sorry: THIS IS AN AXIOS SCOOP!  • SCOOP! • SCOOP! Yes, that’s right, this book will be either a gritty... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-27 13:59:34 UTC ]
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Herbert Gold, Postwar Novelist of Love and Marriage, Dies at 99

He emerged in the 1950s as a promising young writer exploring the emotional lives of ordinary men and women and the complexities of Jewish identity in America. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-11-20 23:46:03 UTC ]
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Book Review: ‘Critical Hits,’ edited by J. Robert Lennon and Carmen Maria Machado

In the anthology “Critical Hits,” gamers like Hanif Abdurraqib, Alexander Chee and Larissa Pham explain what the medium means to them. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-11-20 10:00:28 UTC ]
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Mick Herron’s Surprise Career as a Blockbuster Spy Novelist

The author of the “Slow Horses” series says he relates more with failures. With millions of books sold and the third season of the series airing next month, he may have to wrap his head around success. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-11-19 10:00:58 UTC ]
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Interview: Tracy K. Smith

“I have a lot of books on near-death experiences, psychic phenomena and past-life regression on my shelves,” says the two-time poet laureate, whose new book is the memoir “To Free the Captives.” “These kinds of books nudge me to remember our world is but one facet of an enormous continuity.” Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-11-16 10:00:11 UTC ]
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‘It is a beast that needs to be tamed’: leading novelists on how AI could rewrite the future

Novelists and poets, Bernardine Evaristo, Jeanette Winterson, Stephen Marche and others, consider the threats and thrilling possibilities of artificial intelligenceChatGPT seems to have blindsided us all. In less than a year it has proved that it can make writers redundant, which is one of the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-11-11 09:00:30 UTC ]
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Writing Discipline Envy: Tracy K. Smith Wakes Early and Meditates

Tracy K. Smith’s To Free the Captives: A Plea for the American Soul is available tomorrow, so we asked her a few questions about her readers, when she writes, and her favorite book to recommend to others. * Who do you most wish would read your book? People who are weary of the limits of […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-06 09:56:46 UTC ]
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Jada Pinkett Smith Congratulates Britney Spears With An Amazing Throwback Video

“Welcome to the ‘Bad Ass Women Memoir Club,’” Pinkett Smith wrote in a cheeky note to the fellow first-time author. Continue reading at HuffPost

[ HuffPost | 2023-10-25 17:27:27 UTC ]
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How the nation's most famous newspaper editor took on Trump and his own reporters

Former Washington Post editor Martin Baron joins the L.A. Times Book Club Oct. 11 to discuss "Collision of Power," his book about Trump, Bezos and the future of journalism. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-10-02 13:00:31 UTC ]
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The Fall review: Michael Wolff spills the goss on Murdoch, Trump and Fox

The Fire and Fury author returns with a typically readable account of the declining years of a rightwing media behemothIn September, Rupert Murdoch ceded direct control of Fox and News Corp to Lachlan Murdoch, his oldest son. At 92, Rupert became chairman emeritus. He is off the stage but... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-10-01 06:00:36 UTC ]
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Cassidy Hutchinson Reappears. She Has More Trump Stories to Tell.

“I would like not to be a hermit,” the former White House aide says upon the publication of a memoir about her journey down a political rabbit hole. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-09-23 12:54:00 UTC ]
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‘I didn’t think it was possible to be a novelist’: Julian Barnes on literature, loss – and his late friend Martin Amis

The Booker winning author talks about how his most recent work was inspired by Hilary Mantel, and the way the books world has changed since his debut was published more than 40 years agoToo many people have been dying lately,” Julian Barnes reflects over the phone from his home in north London.... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-09-16 08:00:25 UTC ]
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Takeaways From the Romney Biography: Thoughts on Trump, McConnell and More

The Utah Republican’s announcement that he would retire coincided with the publication of a forthcoming book based on extensive interviews in which he slammed his party and the Senate. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-09-14 17:49:51 UTC ]
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The Morning After: Twitter hands over Trump’s DMs

Newly unsealed court filings reveal how much data Xwitter has handed over to the January 6 investigation. This includes all tweets sent, drafted, liked and retweeted – even if they were subsequently deleted – by Donald Trump’s official account. This cache also included DMs sent, received or... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2023-08-17 11:15:13 UTC ]
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Carol Smith obituary

My cousin Carol Smith, who has died aged 84, was a literary agent and author best known for her thrillers Kensington Court (1996) and Unfinished Business (2000).Born in London to Winifred (nee Mapleston), a teacher, and David Smith, a businessman, Carol attended the North London Collegiate,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-07-25 15:31:17 UTC ]
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Sarah Silverman and novelists sue ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for ingesting their books

Ask ChatGPT about comedian Sarah Silverman’s memoir “The Bedwetter” and the artificial intelligence chatbot can come up with a detailed synopsis of every part of the book Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-07-12 22:32:35 UTC ]
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Sarah Silverman and novelists sue ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for ingesting their books

Ask ChatGPT about comedian Sarah Silverman’s memoir “The Bedwetter” and the artificial intelligence chatbot can come up with a detailed synopsis of every part of the book Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2023-07-12 22:32:31 UTC ]
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RIP to one of the great horny novelists of the 20th century, Milan Kundera.

I was surprised to read this morning that Milan Kundera, the eminent Czech novelist best known for The Unbearable Lightness of Being, died yesterday at the age of 94. Mainly because I thought he was already dead. For a generation of literary types (Gen X in particular), Kundera was the cool,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-07-12 15:34:43 UTC ]
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Milan Kundera, Acclaimed Czech Novelist, Dies at 94

The Czech-born writer, who spent his most creatively productive years in exile in France, was known for his light, philosophical touch and acerbic views of men and women, most notably depicted in 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-07-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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