A chance to be a part of literary history? David Mitchell fans can now bid in a charity auction to have a character named after them in a future novel of his.
The Thousand Autumns of C. Max Magee
Canon Fodder
I know, I know – another piece about “the canon.” This one, however, is sure to elicit a response one way or another. A sampling: “There are few (arguably no) female poets writing in Chaucer’s time who rival Chaucer in wit, transgressiveness, texture, or psychological insight. The lack of equal opportunity was a tremendous injustice stemming from oppressive social norms, but we can’t reverse it by willing brilliant female wordsmiths into the past. Same goes for people of color in Wordsworth’s day, or openly queer people in Pope’s, or …”
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Stellar Memoir
Maclean’s has an excerpt from Chris Hadfield’s forthcoming memoir, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth.
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Fini
Recommended Reading: Colm Tóibín reads a new French novel, The End of Eddy.
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Dear Matthew Specktor
Thanks to Stephen Elliot‘s Letters in the Mail project, LARB senior editor Matthew Specktor finds himself admiring the gorgeous handwriting of strangers, feeling tickled and gobsmacked, and reflecting on letter writing as something “beautifully useless to do.”
Lucky Girl
Every sixteen-year-old girl in Sweden will receive a copy of Year in Reading alumna Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s essay “We Should All Be Feminists.” Pair with this Millions essay on feminist pop anthems.