A poet is a man who puts up a ladder to a star and climbs it while playing a violin.
— Edmond de Goncourt, born in 1822
Central and Eastern European literature abroad
In the Kyiv Post Beata Stasińska looks at how Europe's Literature on the Edge Breaks Into the Mainstream (or doesn't
Scientists have discovered a 50,000-year-old herpes virus – and perhaps how modern humans came to rule the world
In the Kyiv Post Beata Stasińska looks at how Europe's Literature on the Edge Breaks Into the Mainstream (or doesn't
Caja de las Letras
At Euronews Jonny Walfisz offers a look at 'Caja de las Letras': Inside an old Madrid bank vault full of literary treasures, as the Cervantes Institute in Madrid is housed in an old bank and they've converted the vault into a Caja de las Letras -- which you can visit virtually by following that official link (recommended !).
I wasn't aware of this, and it's pretty cool:
Samantha Schnee Q & A
At The Berliner Alexander Wells has a Q & A with Words Without Borders founder Samantha Schnee: “It’s like going to the gym for your brain”.
At Euronews Jonny Walfisz offers a look at 'Caja de las Letras': Inside an old Madrid bank vault full of literary treasures, as the Cervantes Institute in Madrid is housed in an old bank and they've converted the vault into a Caja de las Letras -- which you can visit virtually by following that official link (recommended !).
I wasn't aware of this, and it's pretty cool:
Among the 1,700 drawers of the old safe, there is Nicanor Parra's typewriter, José Saramago's phone book, a bowler hat belonging to musician Joaquín Sabina, the Nobel medal for Medicine won in 1906 by Ramón y Cajal, a broken brass bracelet that belonged to Elena Poniatowska's father and, above all, many books, drafts and manuscripts, some of them unpublished.
We’re All Roadkill Now Salon
Samantha Schnee Q & A
At The Berliner Alexander Wells has a Q & A with Words Without Borders founder Samantha Schnee: “It’s like going to the gym for your brain”.
Scientists have discovered a 50,000-year-old herpes virus – and perhaps how modern humans came to rule the world
🌎 SENDING YOUR CHILDREN TO PUBLIC SCHOOL IS CHILD ABUSE: NewsGuard: The Ministry of Truth in Your Child’s Public School
This home costs 345,000 euros.
Courtesy of Kevin:
I just completed a round-trip from Phoenix to Doha and back. 46 hours with my iPad. Here’s what I’ve been watching.
- El Marginal. Five series of an enthralling, violent Argentinian prison drama. Down and dirty. Gripping and highly rated. On Netflix.
- Ripley. A black-and-white neo-noir mini-series based on Patricia Highsmith‘s Tom Ripley books (The talented Mr Ripley). Deceit, fraud, murder and psychological complexity. (Netflix)
- Baptiste Series 2. A BBC drama built around the disappearance of the British ambassador to Hungary’s family. Excellent storytelling. On Amazon Prime.
- Sugar. On Apple. A modern take on the classic LAPI, missing person, mystery person genre with Colin Farrell.
- Black Sails. Four series. I missed this when it came out in 2017 but it really is brilliant. In many ways the forerunner to shows like Game of Thrones. A prequel to Treasure Island. It is set in 1715, the golden (!) age of piracy. Full of pirates, prostitutes, thieves and all kinds of delightful dastardly creatures villains. Superb storytelling with excellent action scenes. Yo ho ho, and a bottle of rum. (Netflix)
- A Man in Full. Worth watching just to see Jeff Daniel’s performance. He plays Atlanta real estate mogul, Charlie Croker, who is the epitome of non-woke masculinity and bullying entrepreneurship, all played tongue in cheek to the very hilt. (Netflix mini-series)
- And finally, two very different stand-up comedians. Neal Brennan (who was the writer for Dave Chappell) has three very unusual specials with three mics being particularly distinctive. Crazy Good and Blocks are also guaranteed to provoke some deep introspection. For a more typical belly-laugh go for Sebastian Maniscalco, who has four specials on Netflix all of which keep you massively entertained through his unique brand of visual humour.
Orwell Prize finalists
The Orwell Foundation has announced the finalists for this year's Orwell Prizes in their four categories: Political Writing, Political Fiction, Journalism, and Reporting Homelessness.
The Political Fiction finalists include books by Percival Everett, Hisham Matar, and Adam Thirlwell. I haven't seen any of these.
The winners will be announced 27 June.
The Orwell Foundation has announced the finalists for this year's Orwell Prizes in their four categories: Political Writing, Political Fiction, Journalism, and Reporting Homelessness.
The Political Fiction finalists include books by Percival Everett, Hisham Matar, and Adam Thirlwell. I haven't seen any of these.
The winners will be announced 27 June.