Posts by author
Stephanie Bento
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The Literary Charms of Charm City
Could Baltimore be the next Brooklyn? Over at Lit Hub, author Jen Michalski takes us on a virtual tour of Baltimore’s literary scene. From its cozy bookstores and cafes to its history of former and current writers, Baltimore will charm…
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Literature and Language in the Land of Serendipity
Over at Electric Literature, the eloquent Ru Freeman offers her perspective on Sri Lanka’s love of the written and spoken word, as she reflects up on her own upbringing in the island nation: They loved literature because they had been…
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A Fairy Tale, Reimagined
There’s the crown-letted frog who can’t seem to truly love any of the women willing to kiss him, and break the spell. There’s the prince who’s spent years trying to determine the location of the comatose princess he’s meant to…
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“The Necklace” and The Clasp
All at once there is nothing funny, but something all too sad and true, in this highly comic, highly affecting novel. Over at the New York Times Sunday Book Review, author Julia Pierpont reviews Sloane Crosley’s first novel The Clasp,…
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The Sound of Prose
You can’t find your own voice, unless you’re listening for it. In a thoughtful interview with radio host David Naimon, the lovely and wise Ursula K. Le Guin talks about her newly revised writing manual, Steering the Craft; the sound…
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An Experiment in Fiction
Atwood says this is not the time for realistic fiction — and it’s no coincidence that dystopia and fantasy are on the rise now. “I think they’re coming out of people’s feeling that things are going haywire, and you cannot…
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Lisbon: A City in Amber
Soares notes a longing for a past moment in Lisbon, for an unnamed soul who he has missed. “I love you as ships passing one another must love, feeling an unaccountable nostalgia in their passing.” … To call Lisbon a…
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What’s Your Type (Font)?
Serif or sans serif? Bold or italics? Over at The Walrus, Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Kay and Art Director Brian Morgan talk about Apple’s new font, San Francisco. “Typefaces are like plays… No one is going to stop performing or writing new…
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Happy Banned Books Week!
The point is not to rank inflammatory books like game highlights. It’s to remind readers that information hasn’t always been free, and that we have librarians to thank for its freedom. Huffington Post’s Maddie Crum explores why we celebrate Banned…
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Meditating on Technology with Margaret Atwood
In a whimsical animated video by The Future of StoryTelling, the legendary Margaret Atwood explores the intersection of technology and storytelling. “I’ve always been interested in new things… I walk around in a state of wonder everyday. Everything is exciting,”…
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A Q&A with Salman Rushdie
The fictions of literature declare themselves as fictions — they are lies which admit they are lies and are therefore able, at their best, to tell profound truths. The fictions of politics declare themselves as truths and are therefore, often,…
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Angry Birds, Calm Mind?
Can playing Angry Birds really make you feel more Zen? The answer, according to Jane McGonigal at Lion’s Roar, is yes: When we play games … we’re not just paying attention to the game—we’re paying a special quality of attention. That…