Does the central, eponymous poem from Vladimir Nabokov’s Pale Fire stand on its own as a literary masterwork?
“I was the shadow of the waxwing slain”
#Dragons and #TheWall
As if the guy needs any additional distractions to keep him from writing the seventh (or eighth!) books in his Song of Ice and Fire series, George R. R. Martin recently decided to join Twitter. If he ends book six with ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, then I presume you’ll know why.
●
●
The Millions Needs Your Votes!
Voting in the 3 Quarks Daily 2010 Arts & Literature Prize is about to come to an end, so this is your last chance to click over and vote for your favorite Millions essay to win the prize. Pick your favorite and place your vote.
●
●
Grammatical Tweets
Are birds’ tweets grammatical? According to a recent study by Kentaro Abe and Dai Watanabe of Kyoto University, songbirds may communicate using sophisticated grammar.
●
●
Can You Figure Out Dutch Ovens While You’re at It?
Is Scotch tape Scottish? The Paris Review asks a question that has to be asked.
●
●
Asymptote’s Global Birthday Party
This year marks the second anniversary of Asymptote, an international journal focusing on literature in translation. The staff is commemorating the occasion by hosting a series of events in eight different locales around the globe: Beijing, Barcelona, Berlin, Islamabad, Chicago, Taipei, Singapore and New York City. Folks attending The Big Apple’s event on January 20th will get to see Millions contributor Reif Larsen live in action alongside Cole Swensen, Paul Legault, Adam Sorkin, and Ariana Reines.
New McEwan on the Way
Ian McEwan is going after religion in his latest novel. The Children Act will focus on the conflict of parents who refuse medical treatment for their children due to religious beliefs. You can expect the book in September.
●
●
King’s Critics
"It just goes to show you: it’s not just luck you need to have a successful literary career. It’s luck, piled on luck, piled on luck again, and around the corner, you need another sprinkling of it" says Michelle Dean, after investigating Stephen King's rise in response partly to Dwight Allen's "Snob Notes" on the author. Colin Dickey and Sarah Langan have both previously weighed on on Allen's essay and King's particular strengths.
●
●
DJ Poet Laureate
California poet laureate Juan Felipe Herrera dropped in on NPR as guest DJ last week, and you can listen to the full thirty-minute radio show, as well as five of the tracks he played.
●
●