Posts by author
Mary Allen
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Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?
When my father died my mother was still alive. And I think when your second parent dies, there is that shock: “Oh man, I’m an orphan.” There’s also this relief: It’s done; it’s finished; it’s over. Because I had felt…
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Anderson’s Zweig
Still obsessed with Wes Anderson’s latest film, The Grand Budapest Hotel? Check out this interview with Anderson concerning the influence of author Stefan Zweig on his newest film. Anderson and George Prochnik discuss the form and the themes of Zweig’s…
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We Need Diverse Books
#WeNeedDiverseBooks because I never had a protagonist I could fully relate to. This tweet is just one of the many examples of those that can be found from the viral web campaign #WeNeedDiverseBooks. Salon explores this trend, and just what…
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Traveling with Zweig
Wes Anderson’s latest film The Grand Budapest Hotel acquainted us with the works of Austrian writer Stefan Zweig, to whom Anderson dedicates the film. The New Yorker has an essay examining the zigs and zags of a traveling writer using Zweig’s words…
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Celebrating Stein
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Gertrude Stein’s collection of poems, “Tender Buttons.” To celebrate the occasion, City Lights Book Publishers is putting out a new edition of the poet’s beautiful and complex work. Chicago Public Radio reports on…
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The Many Faces of Librarians
This past week was National Library Week! Still imagine all librarians as the curmudgeonly figures you encountered in elementary school? Think again. Slate has a photo project representing the diversity of librarians—showcasing their personalities, appearances, and many vast fields of study. It…
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The Priestly Writer
I write for many of the same reasons that I wanted to become a priest. I want to bear witness to a sacramental vision. I want to admit my life as a sinner. Rather than judge others, I want to…
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The Whiteness of BookCon
This year’s BookCon is facing a lot of heat for the lack of diversity in their speakers. BookRiot feels that popular YA author (and one of BookCon’s speakers this year) John Green needs to speak up about the controversy flying…
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Twitter: The Next Great American Novel
Fans of the hit television show “The Office” will surely know that former “Office” star BJ Novak has come out with a collection of stories entitled One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories. Find out on Mashable why Novak thinks social media may…
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The Artful Sentence of Denis Johnson
Sentence construction. That’s all a writer does anyhow, right? Not all sentences are made with great care and hold sentiments like this one: There is something artful and sad in juxtaposing the certainty that something is wrong with the uncertainty…
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Shakespeare’s Women
In honor of the Bard’s 450th birthday, The Millions presents us with an analysis of Women Making Shakespeare, a new anthology from The Arden Shakespeare series edited by Gordon McMullan, Lena Cowen Orlin, and Virginia Mason Vaughan. They have a few questions about the…
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From True Love to Ambivalence
Think your love of certain passages will never fade? The New York Times Sunday Book Review argues that perhaps not all passages will withstand the test of time. How much does age change what we love? If you’re the sort of…