“To fully understand poetry, familiarize yourself with the elements of a poem, such as meter, which is 3.28 feet.” Katie Burgess teaches us how to properly read a poem for The Rumpus’ Funny Women column.
Poetry for Dummies
Death and Dishonor
At Granta’s website, the novelist David McConnell explains his fascination with the “honor killing,” a hate crime targeted at gay men that inspired his latest book.
Urban Homesteaders
Better late than never, here are eight great new books for Urban Homesteaders.
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Appearing Elsewhere
My story “I am the Lion Now” is the Story of the Week at Narrative Magazine.
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Even More DFW
In honor of this weekend’s U.S. Open, Grantland‘s Michael MacCambridge is revisiting David Foster Wallace‘s epic essay on Roger Federer.
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Turing Geoff Dyer’s Frown Upside Down
“The Dyer visage in repose, its default setting, is that of a man whose jam has regularly been stolen from his doughnut.” Despite how he is prone to frowning, Geoff Dyer believes a smile can make the world a better place.
The Vulgar and Beautiful
At Big Other, Greg Gerke reads William H. Gass’s The Tunnel and looks at language, the controversy over the book, and how the vulgar and the beautiful relate.
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Britain’s Illuminated Manuscripts
Illuminated manuscripts such as bestiaries and bibles, prayer books and propaganda, histories and stories, each owned and annotated by kings and queens, go on display at the British Library in London. (“The Genius of Illumination”, November 11-March 13)
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