Gearing up for his forthcoming retrospective at the Tate Modern, Damien Hirst told the Guardian that he “still believe[s] art is more powerful than money.” This from the man whose tiger shark and formaldehyde sculpture “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living” sold for $12 million– the figure that Don Thompson reports in The $12 Million Stuffed Shark.
So do we drop the ‘Y’ in YBA now?
Lit Mag Happenings
Just released: the latest issue of DIAGRAM, which is consistently one of the most interesting magazines in publication. Coming soon: Hobart‘s 15th issue, which is focused on “Hotel Culture,” and will hit shelves in February/March. (Although you can preorder a copy now.)
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My Neighbor, the Poet Laureate
Poets & Writers magazine has posted my interview with my Brooklyn neighbor and U.S. Poet Laureate Philip Levine, along with a lovely recording of him reading his poem “The Mercy.” It’s worth a listen.
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Fifty Shades of Scandal
What’s the translation of “ooh la la”? Looks like Fifty Shades of Grey has become a contraband hit in China.
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Dispatches From ‘Nam
“In Saigon I always went to sleep stoned so I always lost my dreams, probably just as well, sock in deep and dim under that information and get whatever rest you could, wake up tapped of all images but the one remembered from the day before, with only the taste of a bad dream in your mouth like you’d been chewing on a roll of dirty old pennies in your sleep.” The 100 Best Nonfiction Books of All Time series over at The Guardian soldiers on with its ninth pick, Michael Herr’s Dispatches.
Your Literary Superpower
Does reading a novel for a few hours make you feel smarter? You’re not alone: a new study suggests that reading novels heightens activity in the left temporal cortex, also known as the part of the brain associated with receptivity to language. The best part? The changes last for five days.
Print Magazine Goes Digital
The fall issue of Washington Square Review is now available online, featuring new work by Morgan Parker, Ron Padgett, Mariama Lockington, and interviews with Year in Reading alumnus Nick Flynn, Jenny Offill, Jericho Brown, and Henri Cole. Pair with this Millions profile of Flynn.
Time and Relationships
“When we think of novels, we often think of chunks of time and the action during those periods. But when I think of time, my teenage years particularly, I think of relationships.” Recent Year in Reading alum Darcey Steinke talks with The Rumpus about being a teenage girl, motherlessness, “quiet” books and her new novel, Sister Golden Hair.