Recommended Reading: Millions contributor Shaj Mathew on avant-garde fiction.
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Still Kicking
How often do journalists unfairly stereotype the Rust Belt? All the time, says Jim Russell. In a piece for Pacific Standard, he argues that much of the reporting on Dayton, Flint and other industrial towns falls prey to hyperbole and generalization. (Related: Darryl Campbell on the recession and Rust Belt fiction.)
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Fear in Christian America
Recommended Reading: Marilynne Robinson on the functions of fear and Christianity in America in The New York Review of Books. You could also check out Alex Engebretson’s essay comparing Robinson’s Housekeeping to the Gilead novels.
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8Bits and Ottoman arts
RIP Mavis Gallant
The Canadian writer Mavis Gallant passed away on Tuesday morning at the age of 91. A frequent New Yorker contributor, Gallant published two novels and ten volumes of short fiction in her lifetime, one of which, Home Truths, won the Governor General’s Award. The Globe and Mail's obituary describes her as having “a journalist’s nose, a cinematographer’s eye and a novelist’s imagination.” (Andrew Saikali wrote about Gallant for The Millions back in 2008.)
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Beware of the Gravedigger
Recommended Reading: On the literary tradition of objectifying and consuming women’s corpses.
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Prank Fodder
With April Fool’s Day approaching, it’s a good time to wonder: what kinds of horrible things will you do to the people you love? At the OUP's blog, a list of great pranks for inspiration.