“’There is absolutely no truth to this allegation [that the CIA is trying to remove ‘ë’ from the Russian alphabet],’ the spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal. ‘The Agency supports the practice of good grammar and pronunciation in any language.’”
The CIA Supports the Practice of Good Grammar
The World Cup of Tabs
You’re probably up to your neck in World Cup coverage, but here are some gems well worth your attention no matter what: Teju Cole created a “Copa do Mundo do Brasil” playlist to set the mood; Pablo Torre’s one-sentence-long summation of Day One in São Paulo; an excerpt from Aleksandar Hemon’s The Matters of Life, Death, and More: Writing on Soccer; The New Republic’s round-up of “eleven writers and intellectuals on the World Cup’s most compelling characters“; and, of course, Shaj Mathew’s recent Millions review of Brazil’s Dance with the Devil.
“The worlds of rock and lit appear to be merging”
What do indie rock musicians share in common with experimental writers? A great deal, and not just a distaste for both of those over-used adjectives.
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Fighting Words
Mark McGurl author of the book that got everyone talking about MFA programs, The Program Era, mounts a spirited defense against Elif Batuman’s much discussed review of the book. Among his ripostes: “One can be all for the deflation of liberal pieties without being a gleeful ignoramus about it, as though literary journalism needs its own Ann Coulter.” Zing!
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“Life around the pool”
Recommended Reading: Colm Tóibín on a new biography of the artist David Hockney.
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I Heard You Like Underground So…
Xzibit would have a field day with this one: an underground bookshop that sells underground books and zines.
Changing Definitions
With the Internet endlessly reshaping, reforming, upending our lives, etc., it’s important to ask: what exactly constitutes a magazine these days?
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Tuesday New Release Day: Adiga; Raymond; Ruskovich; Peacock; Williams; Gay
Out this week: Selection Day by Aravind Adiga; Freebird by Jon Raymond; Idaho by Emily Ruskovich; The Analyst by Molly Peacock; Falling Ill by C.K. Williams; and Difficult Women by Roxane Gay.