There’s a Chicago Poetry Brothel, FYI.
Half-off if you wear Victorian costume
Satire and Self-Laceration
At The Rumpus, a chat with the poet Randall Mann, whose new book, Straight Razor, came out last week. Among the more interesting tidbits revealed in the interview: Mann’s father was an Olympic silver medalist.
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What the Bestseller List Says about 2017
Slate books and culture columnist Laura Miller looks at what this year's bestseller list tells us about 2017. One of her conclusions, "2017 was the year that the very concept of a best-seller became even more dubious." After reading her analysis, check out our Year in Reading lists, whose authors found joy in reading and viewed it as one of the few good things of this year, even if the bestsellers of the year didn't reflect those feelings.
Hard to Recall
"Thinking about her life is like sifting ashes. You believe you see the clear outline of a message, but it inevitably disintegrates before you can be sure of its sense. The mantle of a 'rediscovered writer' has never settled firmly around [her] shoulders; she has a way of resisting the platitudes of remembering." Michelle Dean on the writer Nella Larsen.
Illustrating the Cave
TED-Ed illustrates Plato’s allegory of the cave in this fun video.
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