This week in book-related infographics: “Inspirational Quotes from Literature” by authors ranging from Leo Tolstoy to Ernest Hemingway to J.K. Rowling, all handily grouped by theme.
Inspirational Infographic
Belladonna* Prose Event
File under events you won’t want to miss: Kate Zambreno hosts her second Belladonna* Prose Event this Tuesday in New York, featuring three leading ladies of innovative lit. Renee Gladman, Danielle Dutton, and Amina Cain will discuss the walker as essayist, flaneuring through urban space, and skirting the margins of genre. 7:30pm, at Dixon Place.
Netherworlds of the Twittersphere
“The greatest Intelligence Agency use of Twitter that never really happened is @US_CIA, a remarkable account that posted plausible Langley public notices that became noticeably stranger over time. Eventually it was claiming 30% of all CIA employees were LGBT and/or First Nation and tweeting directly to @khamenei_ir, Iran's ayatollah.” At The Awl, Ken Layne investigates the world of Espionage Twitter.
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“This Website is Pretty Good…”
I had no idea Kanye read The Millions. Apparently, he's not that impressed by our recent comments about him.
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Bad Habits
There are many things you could call William S. Burroughs, who was born a hundred years ago this month, but Will Self prefers to call him “the original junkie,” a title which reflects the author’s hedonistic background and the strangeness of books like Naked Lunch. Self takes a close look at Burroughs’s novel-cum-memoir, Junky, in The Guardian.
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The Too-Short History of Soft Skull
NY Press has a long look at the history of iconoclastic indie press Soft Skull, which recently shuttered its New York office, effectively ending the publisher's run as a standalone press and making it just an imprint of California-based parent (and, it should be noted, rescuer from financial straights) Counterpoint. Incidentally, I've had a front row seat for all this, as, for the book I'm co-editing, I was initially working with the good folks in New York and then everything was suddenly (and thankfully without a hitch) transferred to the folks in Berkeley. (Thanks, Craig)
Poetry Anonymous
There are a lot of reasons to start writing poetry, but McSweeney's gives you a list on when to put the pen down. "You were witty that one time while drinking wine at book club" is not an excuse.
Charles Bock Interviewed
Charles Bock (Beautiful Children), in a recent interview, sounding perturbed: "Where are you right now? I’m in a writer’s room in Manhattan. There’s all these other people with their fucking computers doing their stupid little bullshit. It feels pointless. You wanna feel like it matters. It’s hard to do that when you’re in a room like this. At least it’s quiet."
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