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]

Cologne literature festival delves into politics and power (Deutsche Welle)

Now in its 10th year, lit.COLOGNE has become more politicised than it ever intended. Program director Regina Schilling talks about trouble with China and visits from Nobel Prize winner Herta Mueller and artist Ai Weiwei. Read the original here: Cologne literature festival delves into politics and power (Deutsche Welle)  Read More →

Temple of Literature’s steles recognized as world heritage documents (Vietnam Net)

VietNamNet Bridge – The stone steles at Hanoi’s Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature) were recognized as world heritage documents on March 9 at a UNESCO’s meeting in Macau. Read the original post: Temple of Literature’s steles recognized as world heritage documents (Vietnam Net)  Read More →

The Literature Issue (The Michigan Daily)

This week’s The Statement features the Daily’s annual selections of the best student-submitted poetry and prose. Original post: The Literature Issue (The Michigan Daily)  Read More →

The Literature Issue (The Michigan Daily)

This week’s The Statement features the Daily’s annual selections of the best student-submitted poetry and prose. Click here to read the works. Read the original here: The Literature Issue (The Michigan Daily)  Read More →

Cheap drinks a good mixer with literature, Seattle’s Hugo House finds (Seattle Times)

Richard Hugo House in Capitol Hill often draws standing-room-only crowds for its literary series that mixes readings with $1 wine and beer. Here is the original: Cheap drinks a good mixer with literature, Seattle’s Hugo House finds (Seattle Times)  Read More →

Call for regional Malay publishing cooperation (MalaysiaNews.net)

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei should jointly publish more books on Malay literature to ensure that the language does not diminish. The rest is here:  Call for regional Malay publishing cooperation (MalaysiaNews.net)  Read More →

Children’s literature festival features authors, illustrators (San Bernardino Sun)

It won’t be mere child’s play when noted children’s authors and illustrators from throughout the country gather Friday and Saturday at the University of Redlands. Excerpt from:  Children’s literature festival features authors, illustrators (San Bernardino Sun)  Read More →