On the Mark
Texas Book Festival
The Texas Book Festival lineup has been announced. If you’re in Austin this October, stop by the check out Chad Harbach, Erin Morgenstern, Lev Grossman, and Amy Waldman among others.
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The Power of Poetry
Computational linguists Marjan Ghazvininejad and Kevin Knight have created a computer program that uses meter and rhyme to generate more secure, memorable passwords. You could also check out Andrew Kay’s Millions essay on the power of poetry.
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Reading Unites
“I’m here to visit the prison’s weekly book club. Six men burst through the library doors, holding copies of White Teeth by Zadie Smith.” Emily Rhodes shares stories from inside a prison book group.
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Trololololol
“They said banning me from Twitter would finish me off. Just as I predicted, the opposite has happened.” Talking Points Memo reports that Simon & Schuster is moving forward with plans to publish a book by Breitbart News editor and white nationalist Milo Yiannopoulos, whose extended harassment of comedian Leslie Jones finally led to his expulsion from Twitter last year. Critics of the publishing house have called for its boycott, including some of its own authors.
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Show Me (Don’t Tell Me) State
Tired of the writerly hustle and bustle of New York City? Give Kansas City a try: “People stay here, or move here, because they have the cultural and financial freedom to try shit; if it doesn’t work, they try again.”
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