Could the reinvention of prolific food chronicler Ricky Rozay’s rap persona provide a guidebook for the recently exposed Jonah Lehrer? (h/t Ryan Chapman)
Or Is this Just a Silly Comparison?
Scent of a Woman
What happens when a grown woman wears a ton of Axe body spray? The question is nightmare fuel, but Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick -- in what can only be described as a heroic act of journalism -- doused herself in America’s most notorious fragrance for a week to see how it felt.
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Erotic Eight
The second round of the Tournament of Literary Sex Writing, the aptly-named Erotic Eight, has kicked off over at The Literary Hub. This round is home to some downright ridiculous pairings (I'm looking at you, "Bram Stoker vs. James Baldwin as judged by Roxane Gay") and the judges are as careful and attentive as ever.
Pablo Neruda’s Body to be Exhumed
In 2011 I wrote about a group of Chilean Communists who wished to exhume Pablo Neruda’s body. They alleged that Neruda was murdered. Now, two years later, a judge has ordered the corpse to be exhumed and autopsied in order to set the record straight.
The Marriage Plot, The Movie?
Superbad and Adventureland director Greg Mottola is reportedly eying Jeffrey Eugenides’ novel The Marriage Plot for a possible big screen adaptation.
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Something Pagan In Me
What is the greatest crime in literary history? Depending on who you ask, it was probably the burning of Byron's memoirs. Shortly after his death, three of Byron's closest friends, along with a few attorneys representing family interests, decided that the memoirs were too scandalous to publish and thus tossed them bit by bit into a fireplace. They claim to have been acting in his best interest, and, as Byron himself said, "There is no instinct like that of the heart."
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Hitch Hearts Hilary
Hitchens elevates Hilary Mantel to "the very first rank of historical novelists" in a long consideration of Wolf Hall.
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