Perhaps the best mashup of highbrow and lowbrow to grace the cultural ether in recent years is this innovative scratch-and-sniff guide to becoming a wine expert. The book, which is exactly what you think it is, declares that “not all oaks are created equal” and includes a diagram of “all the smells in the world.” (Related: literary tourism at Suttree’s High Gravity Beer Tavern.)
A Bit Woody
Kriegman Explains It All
This Splitsider interview with Clarissa Explains It All creator Mitchell Kriegman is fantastic. Among the many revelations that come out of the interview is this gem: "The most amazing person that you would never guess worked on the show was [The Hunger Games author] Suzanne Collins. She was the quietest, nicest person. Like having JK Rowling working on your show!"
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More On Hitchens
In tribute to the passing of Christopher Hitchens, The Browser has collected some of his essays. His final memoir will be released in the states in April of next year.
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Hey, That’s My Thought!
"Why would a poet ever plagiarize? You’re not going to get famous, and you’re really not going to get rich." Where does inspiration end and plagiarism begin? This piece at Electric Literature examines what happens when a poet steals a line.
Graffiti Lit
When street art and literature combine: on "The Moving, Playful Poetry of the World's Textual Graffiti Artists," from Slate.
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$50,000 / Free
Michael Kimball wants to save you $50,000 dollars on an MFA - by sharing what's he taught himself. Interested in reading more from someone without a traditional writing degree? Our own Hannah Gersen explains "The Value of Writing Programs: On Why I Don't Have an MFA."
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All Voices Must Be Heard
“The last two years have given long overdue visibility to trans / non-binary realities, pushing us to re-imagine what centering the margins truly means. Being intentional, though, is more than a special issue of a literary journal for the ‘marginalized;’ it’s about creating a space for folk to curate, create, and declare their own bodies: of work, of resistance, of survival.” Editor Jayy Dodd introduces the new issue of The Offing, devoted to trans and non-binary artists. Pair with our own Sonya Chung’s piece on literary activism.
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For Whom The Bell Tolls
No, not "whom"! - The death of a word.
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