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Sunday, June 07, 2020

The Cockroach, by Ian McEwan

Writing is the passageway, the entrance, the exit, the dwelling place of the other in me.

— Hélène Cixous, born in 1937


From Knausgaard to Imrich to Lerner to Heti, we’re plagued by goodness — as if readers were scandalized by immoral characters in fiction Scandal 



Are kitchen fans a problem?

Dogs detecting Covid-19.

Knowledge sets us free… A great library is freedom,” Ursula K. Le Guin wrote in contemplating the sacredness of public libraries. “Freedom is not something that anybody can be given; freedom is something people take and people are as free as they want to be,” her contemporary James Baldwin — who had read his wayfrom the Harlem public library to the literary pantheon — insisted in his courageous and countercultural perspective on freedom.
~

Ronald McNair’s Civil Disobedience: The Illustrated Story of How a Little Boy Who Grew Up to Be a Trailblazing Astronaut Fought Segregation at the Public Library

A miniature revolutionary with his eyes on the stars, his heart on the ground, and his courage lightyears beyond of his era’s horizons stands up for the future with his only ally.





What Happens To Literary Life In Isolation



The absence of a tactile literary culture—one that happens in real time rather than on a screen—meant an uncomfortable cultural silence. And yet, during early morning walks through an empty city in April, paying attention in a wholly new way, I became acutely aware of being surrounded by literature, of how it manifests on many of Washington’s streets in the places where writers once wrote and lived, their words etched in stone. – VQR



Translators have given up on my work 
Is it simply because they can't find the originals
Footsteps cast in doubt leave no prints behind
Eyes cast down in shame can't see the road again
Arms extended in vain are soon cast aside
Threats in the dark are now cast in the light of day
Flames on the horizon wait for a strong wind 
A soul casts a shadow that is mistaken for a man
Take me in your arms at the risk of being seen
Keep the distance we agreed upon and now give me your tongue
What could he possibly mean says one
Speaking of Translation ...


Venetians Are Loving This Not-Utterly-Overrun-By-Tourists Thing. Is There Any Hope Of Preserving It?


Here’s One Area Of Publishing That’s Making Progress On Diversity: Audiobooks


“Audiobook publishers are increasingly offering opportunities to narrators of color, … a response to a broader range of stories and desire for the voice talent to reflect that diversity. … But the particular demands of the job, compared with film and stage acting, make this tricky. What does representation mean when actors can only be heard and not seen? What constitutes a black, Latino or Asian voice? And to complicate matters, in most audiobooks a single narrator voices multiple characters, who may have a variety of ethnicities and accents.” – The New York Times



Thousands march in Sydney Black Lives Matter protest after dramatic last minute appeal succeeds


Enormous crowds march in Sydney Black Lives Matter protest after last-ditch win in Court of Appeal


The ‘Yesterday’ Writing Credit Kerfuffle Is Exactly How The Film Industry Works


In other words, it doesn’t work very well for writers. The Writers Guild of Great Britain: “‘Things are stacked up, not necessarily in favour of the writer.’ It added that funding, which is much easier to get for a film with an established name onboard, makes it even harder for new writers to break through.” –The Guardian (UK)


Poor Old Machiavelli Had ‘A Talent For Ending Up On The Losing Side’


His tenure as a senior administrator in the Florentine Republic saw many more failures than successes; he was bounced into prison and then exile after the Medici returned to power; when he finally got back into their favor, he was commissioned to write a great history of the city, only to see the family booted once again and die himself a couple of months later. “That hallmark of his work, Fortune, shined upon him only posthumously.” – History Today





Honey) and no one knew whether they were going to be anything more than a one-hit wonder. At the time, the group was in the midst of recording The Bends and the setlist contains several songs from that album, including Fake Plastic Trees, The Bends, My Iron Lungs, and Just.

Water is vital to our health, communities, environment, and economy. But there are tremendous challenges to the quality and quantity of our water. Public awareness, concern, and action on water must increase. waterloop aims to be part of the solution by presenting conversations and commentary in a podcast about water in our lives and on our planet. waterloop highlights the importance of water, explores various pressures, and shares positive success stories…”