Death of Maya Angelou The biggest story of the literary world this past week has been the death of Maya Angelou at age 86. The coverage has been extensive, but here are a few stories I’ve chosen as providing a good overview of her influence and significance: Maya Angelou: The essential reading list From USA […]
When the Water’s Too Cold, Something Else to Dive Into: A Critic’s Survey of Summer Books As for this summer’s brand-new reading, if there’s one overriding motif, it’s this: the crazier, the better. Here’s a whole long list of recommended summer reading. Norman Mailer’s A Fire on the Moon: a giant leap for reportage On the
Hunt on to find Cervantes — Spain’s great writer Miguel de Cervantes, Spain’s greatest writer, was a soldier of little fortune. He died broke in Madrid, his body riddled with bullets. His burial place was a tiny convent church no larger than the entrance hall of an average house. No more was heard of the
The World Within: Fiction Illuminating Neuroses of Our Time Edited by Mary Louise Aswell Notes and Introduction by Frederic Wertham, M.D. New York: Whittlesey House, 1947 The World Within was one of the first literary collections assembled to spotlight a psychological approach to literature. It couples a literary editor’s introductory remarks with analysis
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Literary legacy contributes to sense of community Here’s an article about one of the most famous authors you’ve probably never heard of: Harold Bell Wright was among the most popular American authors of his time, penning 19 novels — with 15 of them making their way to the silver screen. In 1930, The New York
Top 10 books about missing persons Top-notch mystery writer Laura Lippman discusses “the 10 best books about mysterious disappearances”: And while most missing person stories centre on those left behind, the “disappeared” have their stories to tell as well. These are often crime stories, and always love stories. In fact, the most satisfying ones are
Mary Cheever, a Central Figure in a Literary Family, Dies at 95 – NYTimes.com Mary Cheever, a central figure in a family of prominent American writers whose most notable member was her husband, John, with whom she had a relationship as complex as those he wrote about in his prizewinning short stories and novels, died
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The Conclusion of Women’s History Month As Women’s History month ends, here are two commemorative lists: 14 Totally Badass Female Authors Though many truly badass women authors are alive and working today, their stories aren’t yet finished. So as Women’s History Month draws to a close, we wanted to look back on some of the
Harlan Coben: By the Book This week’s New York Times‘s Sunday Book Review includes an interview with one of my favorite thriller authors, Harlan Coben. Related Posts: Harlan Coben in St. Louis: Part I Harlan Coben in St. Louis: Part II From Distant Admirers to Library Lovers–and beyond The Pew Research Center continues its study of
Book review: “The Golden Thread: The Story of Writing,” by Ewan Clayton Anyone who loves books will be interested in this book, which tells the story of typography: Writing matters, says Ewan Clayton, calligrapher, former monk, design and media professor and visual consultant to Xerox in Palo Alto, Calif., the folks who made the first
