Notable Online: 2/21–2/27
Literary events taking place virtually this week!
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Posts Tagged: Rebecca Mead
Notable NYC: 11/4–11/10
Literary events and readings in and around New York City this week!
...moreThe Work That Remains to Be Done
“I keep trying to imagine a universe in which too many public figures declaring themselves feminists would be a bad thing,” Roxane Gay, the novelist and the author of an essay collection entitled “Bad Feminist,” wrote, before concluding, “Of all the words that should be spoken more, ‘feminist’ should be at the top of the […]
...moreThe World of Mommy Bloggers
Mommy blogging has not, of course, been a panacea, remedying women’s undervaluation. In keeping with certain political ideals of the time, the Wages for Housework campaign sought to redistribute wealth more fairly. Mommy blogging, by contrast, offers rewards that only a few can reap—a divergence that mirrors the economic inequality that is the shameful signature […]
...moreNotable NYC: 5/2–5/8
Saturday 5/2: Independent Bookstore Day: Events are being held throughout the day at your neighborhood bookstore. The following stores are hosting special events: WORD; Housing Works; McNally Jackson; Greenlight Bookstore; BookCourt; Community Bookstore; The Strand; BookCulture; Astoria Bookshop. Emma Straub, Jami Attenberg, and Angela Flournoy host Independent Bookstore Day Afterparty. Powerhouse Arena, 9 p.m., free. Andy […]
...moreSkewed Standards
The YA battle rages on at Flavorwire, where Sarah Seltzer responds to Rebecca Mead’s New Yorker essay pondering the effects of supposedly lowbrow children’s lit: We have to interrogate our basic assumption that writing skills possessed by educated white people are the best skills around…Humor, action, relatable language, and plotting are not lesser tools in […]
...moreWhy You Should Read the Comments
A profile of classicist Mary Beard at The New Yorker describes how Beard’s career in Britain brought her into the public eye. Beard gave a well-known lecture titled “Oh Do Shut Up Dear!” about how women (in literature and in life) have been silenced throughout history. More recently, she has received attention for confronting Internet […]
...moreMy Life In Books Besides Middlemarch
Looking back on her reading life in her late teens, the New Yorker’s Rebecca Mead discusses the “flawed and pernicious division” between books read for pleasure and books read “because we have to,” because they’re part of the established literary canon.
...moreWhat’s So Great about Relatability?
In the wake of a tweet by Ira Glass that called Shakespeare’s plays unrelatable, Rebecca Mead explores why we care so much about whether we can relate to a play, story or work of art. She admits there’s nothing new about people wanting to see themselves reflected in art, but is still bothered by this recent insistence on relatability: To […]
...moreNotable NYC: 5/3–5/9
Saturday 5/3: Joanna Fuhrman, Dan Magers, and Debora Kuan launch the Hyperallergic Poetry reading series. Berl’s Poetry Shop, 7:30 p.m., free. Melanie Neilson and Kate Zambreno join the Segue Series. Zinc Bar, 4:30 p.m., $5. Sunday 5/4: Kodi Scheer and Rene Steinke read prose. Scheer’s Incendiary Girls (April 2014) is a collection of stories exploring […]
...moreMy Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead
I was walking around Washington, D.C., my hometown and the city where I lived for 34 years, while reading Rebecca Mead’s My Life in Middlemarch. I imagined all the selves I had been while walking on a few blocks full of my own, my family’s and my country’s history. There were the National Archives, where […]
...moreThe How and Why of Reading
Writing “in defense of reading” essays is an outmoded literary form. Leo Robson points out in an examination of a slew of new books that reading, unlike other pastimes such as smoking, is generally considered a healthy pursuit. Since nobody debates the merits of reading, defenders of the faith like Howard Bloom have focused instead […]
...moreNotable NYC: 2/22–2/28
Saturday 2/22: Diane Josefowicz, Justin Boening, Marina Kaganova, and Bianca Stone celebrate the release of the Spring issue of The Saint Ann’s Review. KGB, 7 p.m., free. Chris Chosea will write custom poems. Third Factory, Old American Can Factory, noon, free. Sunday 2/23: Clifford Chase and Rick Whitaker join the Sunday Night fiction series, although […]
...moreNotable NYC: 2/1–2/7
Saturday 2/1: Chris Hosea writes customized poetry for visitors of Ugly Duckling Presse’s gallery event. Third Factory at Old American Can Factory, noon, free. Chris Nealon and Catherine Wagner read poetry as part of the Segue Reading Series. Zinc Bar, 4:30 p.m., $5. Sunday 2/2: Robert Seidman celebrates James Joyce’s 132nd birthday. Seidman is co-author […]
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The Big Idea: Rebecca Mead
Suzanne Koven sits down with the New Yorker‘s Rebecca Mead to discuss My Life in Middlemarch, the way a single great book can illuminate our lives over decades, and how our reading of that book changes as we grow older.
...moreWhat’s Sexist and What’s Not
Novelist Jennifer Weiner has long been an outspoken critic of literary sexism, vocally demanding respect for herself and other female authors and pushing back against stodgy heavyweights like Jonathan Franzen. But how much dismissal of Weiner can be attributed to contempt for women’s issues, and how much can be attributed to the fact that her […]
...moreGoing Rogue
I know I should be grateful to the NYTBR for trashing my new book. I’m not.
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