Writing for Lapham’s Quarterly, Caroline Alexander takes a deep dive into Homer’s “wine-dark sea” to uncover the origins and meaning behind the poet’s “incomprehensible” phrase.
The Gray Salt Sea, The Wine-Dark Sea
Paging through the end of summer
Now that summer's nearly over (I know, I know, but I'm looking forward to fall. As if you can blame me) there's a history of summer reading in the Boston Globe. And if you're looking to squeeze in a good summery book this weekend, we've still got you covered, with our list of literary sizzlers. Get 'em while it's hot.
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New Borges Editions
These new Penguin Classics editions of Jorge Luis Borges' essays and poetry make a nice set, with the covers of each of the five books displaying a different rendering of Borges' portrait.
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TransAtlantic Sneak Peek
The folks at Goodreads provide an exclusive sneak peek at Colum McCann’s forthcoming novel, TransAtlantic. The book, which will publish in June, was featured on our Great 2013 Book Preview a few months back.
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The Pathos of Reno
“My friend Kathy was a Mustang Ranch girl in the eighties, had a line on how to bring cocaine into town, and was party girl central and making a lot of money. She was in the center of it in a way that my characters can see but they can’t ever get to. Reno is a beautiful, beat up, and weird town devoted to this false notion of luck. It’s a beautiful place.” Talking with Christian Kiefer.
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Kickstarter: Blessing or Curse?
Is Kickstarter a viable tool for self-published authors, or is it instead “a bit of a nightmare?”
Beauty In Things Exists
Recommended Reading: On Scottish philosopher David Hume and cultivating an effective philosophy which "understands the world in which it operates."
The Well
Anne Fernald writes about getting deep into her research: "Peering down isn’t enough, however. If you want to find the treasure that lies beneath the surface, you have to dive down into the well."
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