Posts by author
Lauren O’Neal
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In the US, Not Much Wisdom About Teeth
As a grad student without dental insurance, Jess Stoner received “an almost-affordable root canal from student dentists” in a room full of twenty other uninsured patients. Listening to the whimpers of pained strangers, I learned an incredibly important lesson I have…
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Alice Munro Wins Nobel Prize in Literature
Alice Munro, a “master of the contemporary short story,” has been awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in literature. The first Canadian to win, Munro told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: I think my stories have gotten around quite remarkably for short…
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The Rumpus and A Strange Object Hang Out
Getting excited for San Francisco’s LitQuake? Well, take a deep breath and calm down. And then get even more excited because we’re hosting a pre-LitCrawl party with Austin-based indie press—and publisher of recent hot-prof-on-student-word-sex subject Kelly Luce—A Strange Object. The…
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James Joyce or Kool Keith?
The premise of the game “James Joyce or Kool Keith?” is simple: “Can you distinguish between sentences written by the Irish novelist and the lyrics of surrealist rapper Kool Keith?” In practice, depending on your level of familiarity with each…
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Notable NYC/SF Columnists Wanted!
Do you love attending readings, lit fests, and other book-world goings-on? Are you always in the know about who’s going to be at which bookstore? We’re looking for two volunteers to take over our “Notable New York” and “Notable San…
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Facebook as Storytelling Medium
From the epic poems of old to postmodernist novels, humans have always told stories. For the Millions, Annie Abrams looks at how Facebook affects our storytelling, applying narrative/literary insights from folks like J. M. Coetzee and Ralph Waldo Emerson. A…
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Frank Sinatra Has an Annotated Profile
Frank Sinatra, holding a glass of bourbon in one hand and a cigarette in the other, stood in a dark corner of the bar between two attractive but fading blondes who sat waiting for him to say something. So begins…
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Beat-Era Collection Up for Auction in San Francisco
If you’re a fan of the Beats, you’ll want to check out the hundreds of books and other objects up for auction in San Francisco this Thursday. Featured items include a copy of On the Road signed by Neal Cassady (“the…
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Reading Makes You Better At Life
A degree in English may make your job search harder, but it makes empathy and social interaction easier, according to a study conducted by some people who had more practical majors. The study, published in Science, found that literary fiction like…
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Warsan Shire Named London’s First Young Poet Laureate
London’s first ever “young poet laureate” is Warsan Shire, a twenty-four-year-old “Kenyan-born Somali poet” from northwest London. What distinguishes a young poet laureate from a regular one? In addition to being a gifted writer, a young poet laureate has a…
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How to Ghostwrite a Bestseller
Here’s an interesting glimpse into the work behind paperback bestsellers: a short post by a ghostwriter for the recently deceased Tom Clancy. “Great. And one more thing. Book’s due in six weeks. Minimum length: 110,000 words. Though we can deal…
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Dear Sugar Sparks A Tiny Revolution
In the face of rampant negative body image and self-esteem issues, New York City is launching a campaign to help girls declare, “I’m beautiful the way I am.” Samantha Levine, the Bloomberg aide behind the campaign, cites one of Cheryl…