Loving you
Is not a choice,
It's who I am.
Loving you
Is not a choice
And not much reason
To rejoice,
But it gives me purpose,
Gives me voice,
To say to the world:
This is why I live.
You are why I live.
-Stephen Sondheim, Loving You (from Passion)
Inspired by a couple of chance conversations at BookExpo in Chicago last year, Reading the World will soon become a reality, and the more pre-game anticipation and excitement we can build over the next month for it, the more successful it will be. The project will focus upon increasing public awareness of the pleasures and possibilities inherent in reading literature in translation. Reading Cold Rivers in Chinese, Japanese, Goodness Grecious ...
Art of Living & Literature Across Frontiers: Maria Full of Risks
Risky casting that paid off ... Catalina Sandino Moreno as Maria. There was a time when understatment just was not cool.
Maria doesn't say much, but her quick eyes reveal she understands the risks: if a sachet explodes in her belly, she'll die; if caught, it's life in jail... Maria Full Of Grace is a rare achievement: not only does it have a gripping story, it tells it simply: without padding, preaching or sentimentality. At times the result is so raw it feels like documentary.
Invariably, whether the scene involves drugs being swallowed in a dusty room above a chemist's shop or roses being wrestled into bouquets, you get the sense this is how life is. It's a film that doesn't make the trite, dubious claim that it's based on a true story; even so, rarely has a film felt more true.
Credit must go to writer/director Joshua Marston, a young New Yorker. Born in California, he studied political science and film, but also worked as a photojournalist during the first Gulf War and as an English teacher in Prague. His background obviously gave him an affection for understatement and accuracy.
And if at times it descends into darkness, there is always hope, thanks to the charismatic character of Maria. In all, it's beautiful, but it can sting, too. Much like a rose without the thorns removed... Ouch!
• Marston: the Reel Stone of Grace [Girl Trouble Girl Trouble ; JK Rowling and Jacqueline Wilson top the bestseller lists. Businessmen and teenagers alike devour Harry Potter and His Dark Materials. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, says Dina Rabinovitch - there is so much talent out there that this is a truly extraordinary era in children's literature The greatest stories ever told ]
• · What do I have to do to get a book published around here? Author Rejected By Publishers, Goes Publish-On-Demand Route, Gets Nominated For Orange Prize ; Deep in debt and unable to pay its suppliers, the Collins chain, founded by Melbourne entrepreneur Frederick "Harry" Slamen in 1922, is about to be sold Sale of book chain weighs on widow ; Bookseller's woes are no fiction
• · · In the last 100 days of World War II, amid the escalating advances of the Allies, the history of the second half of the 20th century was being rapidly sketched out Shootout: Hollywood East meets realpolitik ; Mind you, Antony Loewenstein is a bit of a looker ... The feminist that got into trouble for telling a man to "get your hand off Grope girl's story
• · · · A lazy beach swim suddenly turned deadly. Drowning between the flags is a very, very rare thing Oh my god, I'm going to drown: The wave that took Bondi's breath away ; Petrol, according to experts who have been contemplating its future in an oil-poor Australia Get your foot off the gas - it's black gold
• · · · · Without the National Trust, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Woolloomooloo's finger wharf and even Parliament House on Macquarie Street would probably all be gone In history it trusts: 60 years of saving heritage ; The Apprentice" is a guide to corporate backstabbing, blah, blah, blah). Allow me to chime in and add my voice to the chorus: Reality television, in part, intensifies our voyeuristic appetite for the tawdry details of the lives of others Confessions of a writer who didn't pen a memoir
• · · · · · When celebrities take the stand, can a trial ever be impartial On the other hand, with the money to buy the best defence team, prepared to inflict the inevitable character assassinations on the accusers, and with Jackson's legion of supporters willing to swear his innocence, what chance do the boy and his family have of being believed? The blame game: Michael Jackson; Nearly all writers have stories about the publishers and agents who rejected them, but there is a particular bitterness to those told by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Ethnic enough