John Cline is retracing the Great Migration route from New Orleans to Chicago for his Oxford American column, “Arterial America.” In his latest dispatch, he discovers Jackson, Mississippi’s hip-hop community.
Blues Traveler
Dzanc Sessions
With sessions beginning this month, “The Dzanc Sessions are designed for writers who are ready to amplify, polish, and advance their writing. An eclectic platform of craft-based workshops are offered in a series of online sessions throughout the year, with specializations in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and screenwriting.” Signing up earns you a free print book or access to their eBook club.
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The Other Side of Europe
Recommended Reading: On translating the literature of smaller European nations.
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Kathleen Alcott on the Writing Life
At the Rumpus, Kathleen Alcott provides a poignant recollection of what she inherited as a writer from her father: “And is it worth it? Was it for my father, is it for me, for nearly every writer I’ve met, whose default answer is ‘Yes’?”
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Literary Real Estate
Test your knowledge of famous settings and / or fantasize about living in a “secluded picturesque manor with history” or a “palatial long island home” perfect for parties: “Classic Houses in Literature Go on the Imaginary Real Estate Market – a Quiz.”
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A Look at J.K. Rowling
The Casual Vacancy, the first novel for adults by J.K. Rowling, is already breaking records for the highest number of preorders this year. To whet your appetite for the book’s release on Thursday, check out Ian Parker‘s new profile in The New Yorker.
Good/Bad Franzen
Get to know the ins and outs of bookstore reading etiquette with this helpful guide (featuring none other than Jonathan Franzen) illustrated by Kate Gavino. Gavino, whose book Last Night’s Reading: Illustrated Encounters with Extraordinary Authors is out now, got her start with a wildly successful Tumblr account.