Before they were famous…
October 19, 2011
An interesting list of the jobs some authors had before they became famous…
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Ohio Animals on the Loose: Life Parallels Fiction?
October 19, 2011
The recent news item about wild animals escaping their cages and the owner who was found dead is quite similar to a novel that came out this year by Michael Koryta called The Ridge. His plot involves some paranormal themes, but the basic setting of an exotic animal farm, animals escaping, and dead/injured people strangely […]
Trailer for “The Raven” starring John Cusack
October 18, 2011
A trailer is out featuring John Cusack as Edgar Allen Poe. He helps a detective pursue a serial killer who uses Poe’s writing as the basis for his crimes. Relativity Media issued the release in honor of the author’s 162nd death. Early reactions seem favorable. Use this link for EPL’s holdings of Poe’s works. Shira […]
Julian Barnes wins the 2011 Man Booker Prize
October 18, 2011
Julian Barnes has won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, for the novel The Sense of an Ending. This is his fourth nomination and first win.
Spooky…the Literary Dead and the Undead
October 16, 2011
Which is the “most literary” of all cemeteries? Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Mass., may very well be the one. Writers of no less stature than Thoreau, Emerson, and Louisa May Alcott rest there for eternity. Read this off-beat post on PWxyz and see the interesting responses from readers. A new anthology on Zombies entitled […]
First Art Gallery?
October 14, 2011
From CNN News (online) comes report of discovery by archaeologists of what they believe is a 100,000-year-old paint workshop in Blombos Cave, South Africa, about 186 miles east of Cape Town. Researchers found hammers and grindstones that could have been used to make ochre powder in the cave (ochre which contains red or yellow oxides […]
2011 National Book Award Finalists Announced*
October 12, 2011
This year, 1,223 books were submitted for the National Book Awards: Fiction – 315 Nonfiction – 441 Poetry – 189 Young People’s Literature (YPL) – 278 Today the 26 finalists were revealed! Usually there are five named in each genre, but this time there are six in the YPL category due to a “miscommunication” during the […]
Top Classical Music Award Given to Czech Quartet
October 9, 2011
The Pavel Haas Quartet won the classical music world’s top award for their recordings of Dvorak’s quartets for strings, the no.12 (American) and no.13. Go here for a chance to sample their sublime music. (Who knew a string quartet could look so hip?) Shira S.
Nobel Prize in Literature Announced
October 7, 2011
Swedish Poet Tomas Transtromer was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize for Literature Thursday. Although he may not be familiar to many Americans, he was the subject of a 1986 Washington Post profile, and his work has been translated into more than 60 languages. The 80-year-old poet was called the “Ingmar Bergman of poetry” by president Jonathan Galassi […]
Quick Fun Exercise
October 6, 2011
This is a really short game (so you won’t miss more than a few seconds of work). Try to guess the authors real name or pseudonym. I was surprised by a few. Shira S.