Graphic Novel Best Sellers

At Art & Literature, graphic novels rarely receive their due. But with shifting definitions of what constitutes literature, I think it’s time that we give graphic novels some notice. Here is the graphic novel best seller list for the week of May 9 (as reported by The New York Times’ Art Beat): Graphic Best Sellers (Hardcover) 1 DARK TOWER: TREACHERY, by Peter David and Robin Furth. 2... [Read more]

On the Bookshelf: Angels in America, Parts I and II

Playwright Tony Kushner, author of Angels in America,  said of the differences between playwriting and its (in Kusher’s view) once-removed cousin, screenwriting: “Screenwriting is primarily a narrative art–and I don’t think that’s true of playwriting, which is dialogic and dialectic, and is fundamentally always more about an argument than it is about narrative progression.... [Read more]

Tony Award Nominations Announced

This year’s Tony Award nominations have been announced, and “Billy Elliot,” the musical based on the film of the same name, leads the pack with 15 nominations, followed by “Next to Normal” with 11 and the revival of “Hair” with eight.  Here are some of the highlights: Best Play Dividing the Estate God of Carnage Reasons to Be Pretty 33 Variations Best Musical Billy... [Read more]

John Updike, the Poet

When John Updike died in January, it was an enormous blow to the fiction world.  As his newest work, a posthumous collection of poems called “Endpoint: And Other Poems” demonstrates, it was an enormous blow to the poetry world as well. Although Updike was known primarily as novelist, he was endowed with considerable talents that he–as well as his contemporaries–were careful... [Read more]

Carol Ann Duffy Named First British Poet Laureate

After 341 years of male poet laureates such as Tennyson, Wordsworth, Dryden, and Ted Hughes, Britian now has its very first female and its first Scottish poet laureate in Carol Ann Duffy. Duffy, 53, succeeds Andrew Motion and will serve in the position for 10 years. Duffy says that her annual payment of some 5,000 pounds will be donated to the Poetry Society but added, jokingly, that she’s asked... [Read more]

“Waiting for Godot” Broadway Revival

Put your Beckett caps on, theatergoers! “Waiting for Godot” is returning to Broadway this Thursday after being absent for more than 50 years. The revival (aptly) by the Roundabout Theater Company will star Nathan Lane as Estragon, Bill Irwin as Vladimir, John Goodman as Pozzo, and John Glover as Lucky. With the recession tramping on interminably, the play’s elemental yet cryptic quality... [Read more]

Winesburg, Ohio–On the Occasion of Its 90th Anniversary

This year, Sherwood Anderson’s 1919 classic “Winesburg, Ohio” turns 90.  And my has the book weathered the last century well. Anderson’s collection of interconnected short stories involving Winesburg’s eccentric, misfit, and fiercely longing denizens feels just as meaningful today as when it was first published. Full of striking imagery such as the expelled pedagogue... [Read more]

Literature served at Mercury Bar (Honolulu Advertiser)

Honolulu, Hawaii — Authors from Bamboo Ridge, Oiwi and Tinfish will be reading their work 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10 at the Mercury Bar. Here is the original:  Literature served at Mercury Bar (Honolulu Advertiser)  Read More →

Local literature served at Mercury Bar (Honolulu Advertiser)

Honolulu, Hawaii — Authors from Bamboo Ridge, Oiwa and Tinfish will be reading their work 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10 at the Mercury Bar. The rest is here:  Local literature served at Mercury Bar (Honolulu Advertiser)  Read More →

Friedrich supporters protest Weprin mailing (New York Post)

Dozens of supporters of state Assembly candidate Bob Friedrich rallied Sunday afternoon in Little Neck to protest what they describe as hateful campaign literature opponent David Weprin sent out last week condemning Friedrich’s opposition to hate crime legislation as “extremist” and featuring a swastika.The mailings, which went out… Here is the original: Friedrich supporters protest Weprin... [Read more]

One Book Discussion Continues With Lecture on Iranian Women’s Literature (Phillyist)

Photo by Flickr user hapal As part of the One Book, One Philadelphia series focusing on Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis , Dr. See the original post:  One Book Discussion Continues With Lecture on Iranian Women’s Literature (Phillyist)  Read More →

On the job: Nancy R. Kellner, Library teacher-children and #8217;s librarian, Peaslee Elementary School, Northboro (Worcester Telegram & Gazette)

“I work with teachers and direct students to books in the school library. View original here:  On the job: Nancy R. Kellner, Library teacher-children and #8217;s librarian, Peaslee Elementary School, Northboro (Worcester Telegram & Gazette)  Read More →

Luis Leal: World Renowned Scholar in Mexican and Chicano Literature (Santa Barbara Independent)

He was a distinguished and prolific scholar whose career spanned over parts of seven decades. Here is the original: Luis Leal: World Renowned Scholar in Mexican and Chicano Literature (Santa Barbara Independent)  Read More →

Literature alters perspective on medical care (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)

About 20 doctors, nurses, trustees, administrators and other personnel at Kahi Mohala gained new perspectives on clinical practice in an innovative program built on books about the doctor-patient relationship. Read the rest here: Literature alters perspective on medical care (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)  Read More →