Posts by author
Ian MacAllen
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Rushdie Slams Withdrawn PEN Panelists
PEN America announced on Sunday their intention to honor Charlie Hebdo’s surviving staff with the Freedom of Expression Courage award at their May 5 Gala. The novelists Peter Carey, Michael Ondaatje, Francine Prose, Teju Cole, Rachel Kushner, and Taiye Selasi…
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Baltimore: A Rumpus Roundup
On April 12th, four Baltimore bicycle police arrested 25-year-old Freddie Gray. Gray sustained injuries while in police custody. He asked for medical assistance repeatedly before slipping into a coma. A week later, he died.
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Kafka’s Father
Franz Kafka’s letters reveal how the author’s father impacted his writing and his life, and a relationship fraught with fear. Kafka worried about his father’s “intellectual domination” creating an environment of “emotional tyranny.” Over at Brain Pickings, Maria Popova finds…
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In Search of Women
The latest VIDA count might have some disappointing if unsurprising results, but there are empowered women involved in the literary community if you know where to look. Danielle Lazarin compiled a list of journals run by women over at The…
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Notable NYC: 4/25–5/1
Saturday 4/25: Cassandra Seltman, Ian Hatcher, and Clare Nazarena Tascio celebrate the release of Seltman’s poetry volume Palimpset: Down. Mellow Pages, 7 p.m., free. Ronaldo V. Wilson and Renée Green join the Segue Series. Zinc Bar, 4:30 p.m., $5. Sunday…
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Rich Writers Get Richer
For most writers, income may be falling, but not for everyone. A new study shows that just as in other industries, income disparity is a growing problem between the writing elite and the rest of us. BBC News reports that just 5%…
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Reviewing the Absurd
Wired is launching a book review section—of absurd self-published titles. Jason Kehe will in fact be judging books by their cover, selecting the books he reviews for the regular column by browsing the blog Kindle Cover Disasters. The first title…
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Curating Life
You might say that our blog offers curated literary articles. That might sound pretentious, but not nearly as pretentious as a curated salad, a curated college application, or a curated wine list. The Guardian takes a look at the use, overuse, and…
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A Live-In Library
Two Denver booksellers have been saving for the last twenty years to launch the Rocky Mountain Land Library. With more than 32,000 volumes, the couple envision a live-in research institution with a focus on western land, history, industry, and writers.…
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That Sounds About Right
The Internet loves correcting other people’s grammar. But you’re your grammar mistakes are often the result of how the brain functions rather than ignorance, cognitive scientists have learned. The Washington Post reports that the reason we often end up with…
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Notable NYC: 4/18–4/24
Saturday 4/18: Paul Beatty discusses The Sellout, Brooklyn Public Library, 4 p.m., free (RSVP recommended). Sara Fetherolf, John Reid Currie, Zakia Henderson-Brown, and Carrie Meyers join the Oh, Bernice! reading series. Astoria Bookshop, 7 p.m., free. Leslie Allison, Filip Marinovich,…
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Buying Online Is Like Shoplifting
British novelist David Nicholls believes that book buyers who browse their local shops and then buy books online are basically shoplifters, he tells the Guardian. The author of Us and other novels, Nicholls is a former bookseller himself. He delivered…