In his new book, one of three coming out now or soon, Australian poet Clive James assembles his decades of knowledge into a series of mini-essays, many of which originally appeared in Poetry magazine. At Slate, Katy Waldman reads the collection, explaining why it gave her the urge to quote James ad infinitum. You could also read our own Garth Risk Hallberg on the poet’s book Cultural Amnesia.
Studies of Intensity
Rhyme Time
Now this is a headline for the ages: “‘Self-Harmers are Not Just Depressives’: Writing a Book About Cutters Who Cook.” (Incidentally, the book in question is Jessica Soffer’s Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots, which we covered last week.)
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The Profane New Yorker
Earlier this week, The Awl diligently compiled the initial instances of various profanities in the New Yorker over the years. Now those meticulous folks at the New Yorker have offered up a number of corrections, including a visual first.
the looking glass of this language
This National Geographic piece on the desire to document and preserve the world’s many dying languages is great.
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Pinochet’s Library
According to The Secret Literary Life of Augusto Pinochet author Cristóbal Peña, the Chilean dictator “was tormented by an intense inferiority complex, which he tried to deal with by collecting books.” A recent article in The New York Times provides a look at that book collection, which totaled around 50,000 books and has been valued at around $3 million.
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Choose Your Own Adventure Real Talk
For the most part, the scariest thing you can do in a choose your own adventure book is choose to enter a cave. At The Toast, Mallory Ortberg shows us what choose your own adventure would’ve looked like if it were historically accurate. “It is daytime. Turn to page 19. Page 19: You have died in childbirth.”
Page 19: You have died in childbirth
Read more at http://the-toast.net/2014/04/23/choose-adventure-human-history/#crEV03DC0ezuzuuz.99
It is daytime. Turn to page 19.
Read more at http://the-toast.net/2014/04/23/choose-adventure-human-history/#crEV03DC0ezuzuuz.99
It is daytime. Turn to page 19.
Read more at http://the-toast.net/2014/04/23/choose-adventure-human-history/#crEV03DC0ezuzuuz.99
It is daytime. Turn to page 19.
Read more at http://the-toast.net/2014/04/23/choose-adventure-human-history/#crEV03DC0ezuzuuz.99
It is daytime. Turn to page 19.
Read more at http://the-toast.net/2014/04/23/choose-adventure-human-history/#crEV03DC0ezuzuuz.99
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“Requisite dog bark. Far off.”
Recommended Reading: “Bitter Night in the Country” by Hayden Saunier.
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