A scholar studying Jane Austen’s original manuscripts finds “we have simply overestimated her as a perfect English stylist at the expense of how experimental she was.”
Reconsidering Jane
Uprooted
What is deracination, and why is it key to understanding American fiction? In her novel Housekeeping, Pulitzer laureate Marilynne Robinson defines it as “the free appreciation of whatever comes under one’s eye,” inspired by the Western sentiment of “feeling no tie of particularity to any single past or history.” In the Boston Review, Jess Row states that deracination is “a long-lived and nearly universal trope in white American literature,” claiming it represents “an American ideal: not to strip from the roots, but to de-race oneself.”
Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Cusk, Barry, Eltahawy, Foer, Klein, Kois, and More
It's blockbuster season, which means new books from big names: Naomi Klein, Jonathan Safran Foer, Jacqueline Woodson, and Tracey Chevalier.
●
●
●
AWP Events You Can’t Miss
●
●
19th Century Gifs
When University of Iowa Special Collections librarian Colleen Theisen found hidden fore-edge paintings on a 19th century scientific book Autumn, she made a gif of it, of course. Then, she realized there were more secret paintings for each season and more gifs followed. Who said old books weren’t interactive?
●
●
Calling All Grammar Nazis
To quote Raymond Chandler: “When I split an infinitive, God damn it, I split it so it will remain split.” Or, dispelling grammar myths, like not ending sentences with prepositions.
●
●
On Not Dating Natalie Portman
Moby, the electronic music producer currently elbowing his way back into the cultural imaginary, has cancelled his upcoming book tour.
●
●
●