“Maybe I could find some peace there, or a husband. Maybe it would be like going home.” Katherina Grace Thomas writes for Guernica about Nina Simone‘s three beautiful years in Liberia during the 1970s. See also: Bill Morris on the Hollywood biopic.
They Put a Spell on Her
Recommended Single Sentence Animation
You may have heard us mention Electric Literature's Recommended Reading project recently. It's a great new venture in which short stories are selected by other prominent writers -- and it's recently surpassed its fundraising goal. Now, they've even combined the project with one of their most beloved classics: Single Sentence Animation. Check out this little ditty to accompany Ben Marcus's "Watching Mysteries With My Mother" and, of course, check out their Kickstarter page.
The Rebel Librarian
Before the regime change in Burma, Ye Htet Oo ran a secret library even though he risked facing “three months in jail for every book he lent without permission from the censorship board.”
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China’s Soccer Problem
Why on Earth can't China field a decent World Cup soccer team?
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HBD EB!
Happy first birthday to Emily Books! The Observer ran a little recap of the book club-slash-store's lascivious first anniversary party, where Kate Zambreno and Tamara Faith Berger both read from their recent novels. Here's the Million's interview with Zambreno, and here's a #LitBeat from one of Berger's previous readings from her steamy wonder of a novel, Maidenhead.
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The Summer Rooster Strikes Back
The second annual Rooster Summer Reading Challenge starts next week with two selections for June: Julián Herbert's Tomb Song and Tayari Jones's An American Marriage. Get yourself ready with an essay about black love stories featuring Jones' novel.