Recommended Reading: On Helen DeWitt’s novel The Last Samurai and how it cultivates ambition in its readers.
The Last Samurai
Wanting to Be White
“How easy for the waterfall to turn back / into the river, the long, silent face / holding all that has passed through it / as though untouched…” A new poem from Charif Shanahan at Lit Hub, “Wanting to Be White,” forces the audience “to reconsider poetics and race, distinct yet indivisible in the American grain.” Not a fan of poetry? Check out our list of ten poems for people who hate poetry.
Dear Colon
On the heels of all this talk of colons, Emdashes solicits open letters to punctuation marks.
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Very Short Story Contest
Want a chance to win $200 and a shot at glory? Consider entering The Coffin Factory’s “Very Short Story Contest.” The deadline is August 15th.
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Richard Wright, 106
Richard Wright‘s 106th birthday passed this last week, and in celebration The Paris Review posted an excerpt from a 2003 remembrance. Pair with our own Lydia Kiesling‘s review of Wright’s Native Son.
Literary Disco
Literary Disco, a podcast hosted by Julia Pistell, Tod Goldberg, and Rider Strong (yeah! Sean from Boy Meets World!) is just great. In the most recent installment the hosts revisit their bookshelves and describe their new findings from rereading some faves, including Strong’s overwhelming reaction to T.C. Boyle‘s author photo.
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