In a New York Times op-ed piece on violence in children’s literature, Maria Tatar claims that “the savagery we offer children today is more unforgiving than it once was.” Is that really the case? Adam Gidwitz‘s A Tale Dark And Grimm (reviewed by the Times last November), which underscores the violence inherent in Grimm’s tales, can be read as a counterpoint.
Violence and Darkness for Children
Story Time
The Portable Story Series is accepting submissions to their inaugural contest, judged by Year in Reading alumna Kate Christensen. The theme is hunger, the genre is fiction, the word count is 2000-4000 words, and the deadline is March 28, 2016. The contest benefits three charitable organizations.
Possession is Nine-Tenths of the Law
The newest issue of Granta features some seriously captivating work, like this poem by Juliana Spahr and this story by Lorna Gibb, among many others. This “Possession” issue pairs well with an essay by our own Lydia Kiesling on possessing one’s own words and the narrative potential of leaked emails.
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The High Price
Recommended Reading: On Patricia Highsmith, Carol, and being the queer daughter of a queer mother: "I am doomed to die an ugly death or at least to be separated from my partner, probably violently. So is my queer mother and my partner and my cousin and many of my friends. We are all doomed, it seems, because this is the only story American media tells about queer women."
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Summer Reading at The Brooklyn Rail
Want to know what artists Paul Chan and Richard Serra, poet Eileen Myles, and translator Charlotte Mandell are reading this summer? Check out The Brooklyn Rail’s Summer Reading List.
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The World’s Most Translated Books
This week in book-related infographics: a look at "50 of the World's Most Translated Books."
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