The Root of Suffering
A Space Odyssey
Arthur C. Clarke’s science fiction is becoming reality. In 2014, a few strands of the late author’s hair will travel on the first solar-powered spacecraft, which is named after his story, “Sunjammer.”
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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.
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First Draft of Infinite Jest
“Behind every great work, there is an ink-stained piece of notebook paper.” Here is the first page of a handwritten draft of Infinite Jest.
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RIP Günter Grass
RIP Günter Grass, who passed away in a hospital in Lübeck, Germany this morning at the age of 87. Grass, who won the Nobel in 1999, achieved fame upon publication of his debut novel, The Tin Drum. For more on the author’s life, you can read Ranbir Sadhu’s review of his memoir.
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This is your brain on metaphor
Annie Murphy Paul looks to neuroscience to understand the pleasure of the written word.
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The Best ‘Homemade’ Video Games
“Video games are worth loving, but loving them comes with shame. Not passing regret or social embarrassment, but a sharp-edged physical guilt: the hunch-backed, raw-fingered, burning-eyed pain that comes at the sad and greasy end of an all-night binge. You have ostentatiously, really viciously wasted your life; you might as well have been masturbating for the last nine hours—your hands, at least, would feel better.” Gabriel Winslow-Yost reviews the best “homemade” video games for n+1.
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I Want to Go to There
“[I]t’s important that people begin to understand that whiteness is not inevitable, and that white dominance is not inevitable.” Claudia Rankine talks to The Guardian about her plans for the Racial Imaginary Institute, a think-tank-cum-gallery that she’s founding with all that MacArthur Genius cash. See also: why Americans love poetry, but not poetry books.