Did Gollum have a vitamin D deficiency? In the Medical Journal of Australia, Joseph A. Hopkinson and Nicholas S. Hopkinson posit that the Lord of the Rings saga could’ve been prevented had the inhabitants of Middle Earth just gotten a little more sunlight. “Systematic textual analysis of The Hobbit supports our initial hypothesis that the triumph of good over evil may be assisted to some extent by the poor diet and lack of sunlight experienced by the evil characters.”
Take Your Vitamins
A Book about Beauty
In his latest Year in Reading, Chigozie Obioma told us about Eka Kurniawan’s Beauty Is a Wound, “the howling masterpiece of 2015...a howl, an outrage, and a sheer burst of particular talent.” In an illuminating interview for Electric Literature, Kurniawan discusses the label “magic realism,” epic creation, and his ideas for his next novel.
Redefining Speculative Fiction
"In a genre that has long been dominated by white men and Western mythological tropes, Ms. Okorafor’s stories, which feature young black girls in starring roles as superheroes and saviors of humanity, have been hailed as groundbreaking." The New York Times shines a spotlight on Nnedi Okorafor and other African American science fiction and fantasy writers building on -and popularizing-a tradition of African and African American folklore in the sci fi and fantasy genre.
The Joy of Work
Recommended: Catie Disabato on day jobs.
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“Cue the 8-bit music”
Recommended Reading: Two poems by S.P. MacIntyre.
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Avatar in Russia
James Cameron just can't win with the Reds. Not just the Chinese communists, but the Russians, as well, have taken issue with Avatar's politics.
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Homecoming
Inaugural poet Richard Blanco talks to NPR about the experience.
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An idiotic contention if intended seriously, given that neither neither Gollum, Saruman, Sauron, or the Orcs were human. And most characters, good and bad, lived for centuries.