Bollywood + Twitter = ?
Writing on the Wall
"The Chinese people are on high alert that criticism of the government, independent thinking, and challenges to official narratives are dangerous." PEN America has published "Writing on the Wall," a report about the disappearance, late last year, of five Hong Kong booksellers. Only four of the five men have been released from Chinese custody.
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A Bookish Father’s Day
Looking for the perfect book for Father's Day, but didn't find quite what you were looking for in our list? Lit Hub has some supplemental titles you might be interested in.
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Honor My Profession
For Your Viewing Pleasure: an animated lecture by Kurt Vonnegut in which he talks about man-eating lampreys and warheads filled with sperm. It is a lot like what it sounds like.
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Cool For Us
Eileen Myles, the poet and self-described "loudmouthed lesbian (which means mainstream invisible)" has given One Grand Books a list of her ten favorite books from the Djuna Barnes classic Nightwood to John Wieners's Supplication: Selected Poems. Here's a complementary Millions essay on Eileen Myles and the fugitive form.
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New André 3000 on the way
The possibility of a new André 3000 solo album (even if it’s “no sure thing”) is liable to make this writer giddy. Fun Fact: In a print-only interview with Oxford American, National Book Award-winning author Jesmyn Ward nominated Three Stacks as “the most underrated Southern writer.” (And she’s a fan of his collaborations with Frank Ocean, too.) You shouldn’t have needed an endorsement, but if you did, then that should be good enough for you.
Ayobami Adebayo: Rising Star
Ayobami Adebayo is interviewed by Abigail Bereola for Hazlitt and it's fantastic. They discuss proverbs, romantic love, sickle cell anemia and writing your first book. "At the risk of sounding very narcissistic, I’m going to say I write for myself ultimately. And maybe my sister. I think that when I’m working, it’s very difficult for me to think about an audience, perhaps because sometimes it gets a bit overwhelming. I’m trying to figure out so many things that I really don’t start thinking about the idea that other people might read this thing until, 'Oh my God, it’s publication day' and I have a panic attack like 'Oh my God, what have I done?' I think the awareness of an audience is something I’m just coming into because this is a first book."