“It will be as long as a book, about 65,000 words. I’m writing my story, weaving together what life is like for LGBT people in Oklahoma and my story of growing up there as well.” Starting this week, Oral Roberts’ grandson, Randy Roberts Potts, is publishing his memoir on Instagram. The Bible Went Down with Birdie Jean takes the form of 300 individual posts, and tells the story of Potts’ rejection from his family alongside interviews with LGBT students at Oral Roberts University. Earlier this year we also considered what might make the Next Great Gay Novel.
All In The Family
German Literature Month
Oktoberfest may be over, but the inaugural German Literature Month is just beginning. If you’re wondering what to imbibe while you sit down with The Sorrows of Young Werther, Magic Mountain, and The Clown, Melville House’s MobyLives blog has you covered.
●
●
Hinchas Nuevos
Hinchas de Poesía, which is “a digital codex of contemporary Pan-American writing,” has just released their 11th issue, and it’s certainly worth checking out.
Vegans and Vegetarians, Take Note
On The Rumpus this week, an interview with a vegan activist, Dr. Neal Barnard, whose appearance at 58 is “an excellent advertisement” for his diet.
●
●
The Opposite of Homesick
“The legal protection the German government gave our American relationship is gone, now that we are back in America.” Alexander Chee on coming home from Leipzig with his partner.
●
●
You are Katniss
Ever spent the whole day reading The Hunger Games and then found yourself paranoid that a tribute was following you? Don’t worry; you aren’t crazy. Turns out that reading a really gripping novel can cause our brains to believe we are in the body of the protagonist, and this effect can last for days after reading according to a scientific study.
Trading Camp Fires for Factions
First there was The Hunger Games summer camp, and now there will be a Divergent theme camp in Naperville, Illinois. Camp Divergent will feature activities based on the five factions, such as brain teasers on Erudite day and planting vegetables on Amity day. Don’t worry; no one will be ziplining off of a skyscraper for Dauntless.
●
●
A dimension of mind
There are two essays on the narrative genius behind The Twilight Zone, Rod Serling, over at Berfrois: Michael A. Moodian on how using genre tropes allowed Serling to tell politically volatile stories during the McArthy era of Hollywood, and Christopher Cappelluti takes a look at how The Twilight Zone changed television history.
●
●