Statistics Show
A National Mission
The new poet laureate of Canada wants to clue his readers in to the prevalence of poetry in their everyday lives. “People often don’t realize they’re surrounded by poetry,” he said in an interview with The Globe and Mail. “At the very least, it’s in the songs they listen to.”
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Career Advancement
From the where are they now file: former NYT fabulist Jayson Blair has started a new career as a life coach. (via)
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Capital G
"Good TV is not merely good TV (i.e. better-than-average TV), but TV that is so good it deserves to be taken as seriously as great films and even great Literature (yes, with a capital 'L'). As such, watching Good TV and discussing Good TV are qualitatively different than watching and talking about other kinds of TV. The emergence of Good TV is a rather big deal in the recent history of American culture. It may well be one of the top two or three cultural developments of this still-young century." Todd Hasak-Lowy dissects the TV revolution. (Pair with: our own Michael Bourne on the new age of cable and Broadway.) (h/t The Rumpus)
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Wise and Beautiful
As you might expect, this grammar quiz targeted at eighth-graders from 1912 will make you feel depressed about the modern age. (h/t The Paris Review Daily)
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The Hated Internet Time Suck
Echoing Kevin Hartnett's new year's resolution here at The Millions, Colson Whitehead tells writers to quit bitching about getting distracted by the internet.
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Speculation
"The only kind of drama is human drama. What matters is how deep you dig." At the Ploughshares blog, a case for science fiction over "dysfunctional family dramas."
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Borders may liquidate
Borders may be on the brink of liquidation. If the deal goes through, you may be able to score some excellent deals.
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