Laughing with Shakespeare
Karen Russell, Short Story Sorcerer
A master of the short story, Karen Russell discusses supernatural metaphors for motherhood, lonely mutants, and the pleasures of world-building.
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Heated Opinions
Some people scribble in books. Some don’t. Some people (like former Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas) chuck books with marginalia out the window.
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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Zadie Smith in conversation
Carve out some time to watch all forty-five minutes of Zadie Smith and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s recent “Between the Lines” conversation if you want to find out why Americanah qualifies as Adichie’s “fuck you” book. (You can also just skip to the 16:16 mark if you’re unable to carve out enough time.)
The Lost Female Beat Poet
The Beat Generation was such a largely male-dominated literary movement that its few female writers have mostly been forgotten. At The Toast, Megan Keeling remembers Beat poet Elise Cowen, who is mostly known as Allen Ginsberg’s paramour but also wrote poetry of her own. “Her surviving poetry shows a unique perspective on the rigid cultural conformity of the 1950s and also the fringe artistic community of the Beat Generation.” A collection of her poetry, Elise Cowen: Poems and Fragments, was just published.
Her surviving poetry shows a unique perspective on the rigid cultural conformity of the 1950s and also the fringe artistic community of the Beat Generation.
Read more at http://the-toast.net/2014/04/24/elise-cowen-and-the-female-beat-poets/#W1BLwQlomazyFTiH.99
Her surviving poetry shows a unique perspective on the rigid cultural conformity of the 1950s and also the fringe artistic community of the Beat Generation.
Read more at http://the-toast.net/2014/04/24/elise-cowen-and-the-female-beat-poets/#W1BLwQlomazyFTiH.99
The Best (and Worst) of Wikipedia
Stop reading this post if you have things to do. Still here? You’ve been warned. Ray Cadaster compiled a list of The 50 Most Interesting Articles on Wikipedia, and then followed it up with a sequel containing 50 more. Over at Ploughshares, Justin Alvarez discusses his favorites among both lists, and he asks readers to share their best discoveries. As you go through these articles, keep an eye peeled for posts worthy of Citation Needed.
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