Following a long battle with cancer, David Rakoff died Thursday night at the age of 47. Rakoff recently delivered a novel entitled Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die; Cherish, Perish to Doubleday, and fans can look out for it next year. Reflections on Rakoff’s life and legacy can be read courtesy of Jason Diamond and Choire Sicha, and two of Rakoff’s best This American Life pieces can be found here and here.
“When God speaks, he sounds just like David Rakoff did.”
Diving Into the Wreck
It's time for a game of critic versus critic: at the Nation and the Huffington Post, respectively, Ange Mlinko and Carol Muske-Dukes consider and reconsider the poetry of Adrienne Rich.
It’s cool, he senses the danger of genius
John Jeremiah Sullivan spoke to the Guardian about writing, Pulphead, and "finding that island of legitimacy." And then there's his recent NYT Magazine piece on Venus and Serena Williams.
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Light Fare
Sometimes, it’s easier to read or watch something that’s light and airy, as opposed to seeking out art that challenges your perspective. Millions contributor Fiona Maazel generally thinks of herself as a person who instinctively chose nuance over breeziness. But lately, she’s had to ask herself a tough question -- is she actually more attracted to the anodyne?
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Dzanc and Melville Houses’s Independence Sales
Not to be outdone by Graywolf, Dzanc Books is also offering an Independence Sale of its own. You have until July 7th to buy one, get one free over at their website. Likewise for Melville House, which is offering a 40% discount on everything it’s got.
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They’re Just Kids
Are the kids really all right, though? Larry Clark's notorious indie-skater odyssey Kids, which Rolling Stone once called "the most controversial film of the nineties" turns twenty this year, and The Literary Hub takes a look back.
Benefits Does Have a Nicer Ring to It
In its treatment of the poor, Britain may be “going back to the Middle Ages,” says Booker repeat winner Hilary Mantel. Indeed, she explains, “In some respects … Cromwell lived in a more enlightened time.” And she’s not the only high profile UK author to come to the side of government welfare these days. In a two-part interview for The Daily Show, J.K. Rowling notes that she couldn’t have written her first books without government “benefits.”
Which Wilder?
We've written about the newly published Laura Ingalls Wilder memoir several times, but a new review in the LA Times calls attention to one of the most interesting questions raised by the work: how much influence did Wilder's daughter Rose Wilder Lane, an accomplished author in her own right, have on the final Little House books?
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Tuesday New Release Day: Gaiman, Hage, Bell, Delijani, Calvino, Peach
New this week: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, Carnival by Rawi Hage, In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods by Matt Bell, Children of the Jacaranda Tree by Sahar Delijani, the collected letters of Italo Calvino, and the seventh issue of McSweeney's food mag Lucky Peach.
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