Believe it or not, there may be a connection between Walt Whitman and US drones.
As Bad As The Worst
Help Her, Miss Manners
In the pages of the Washington Post, the venerable Miss Manners responds to an English department secretary who feels “besieged by fringe ‘academics’ who are very adamant that we are part of a conspiracy to cover up the fact that Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, was Shakespeare.”
Lit Pics
Scared of being lonely this Valentine’s Day? If you pre-order Sam Pink’s new novel, Rontel, the author will cheer you up with a personalized sexy text message. (It’s also worth mentioning that Electric Lit is publishing the novel as their first e-book.)
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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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City On A Hill
“I was born in the lair of Romulus and Remus, Washington D.C.” And The Los Angeles Review of Book’s interview with the late Gore Vidal just gets better from there.
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Open Letters Reborn
Open Letters Monthly has relaunched with a smart-looking new site and three new blogs: Like Fire, stevereads, and the Walt Whitman-focused Whitman’s Blog.
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Overshadowed But Not Overlooked
In addition to the shortlist for the IMPAC, the 2012 Guggenheim Fellows and the shortlist for the prestigious sci-fi accolades, The Hugo Awards (including the exotic subgenre Semiprozine), were announced yesterday.
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Reading’s Benefits
This week in book-related infographics: Electric Literature takes a look at all the benefits of reading, from stress reduction to generally becoming a better person.