When in 2010, Durham University got back the Folio which had been stolen in 1998, the book’s leather cover, boards and end papers were gone, as were an engraving, a eulogy by Ben Jonson, and the final page of Cymbeline. The volume has never been repaired, and there are good reasons why. - BBC (Yahoo!)
What seemed preposterous in a 1962 novel—story-writing machines—is now Silicon Valley gospel. As AI churns out narratives, we're left wondering: who's really telling the story, and does anyone care about the difference? — 3 Quarks Daily
Federal cultural funding now comes with ideological strings attached, as museums and libraries discover their grant applications must suddenly harmonize with presidential vision statements. Creative freedom, meet creative financing. — Artnet
We now live alongside AI systems that converse knowledgeably and persuasively—deploying claims about the world, explanations, advice, encouragement, apologies, and promises—while bearing no vulnerability for what they say. - The Atlantic
Winston Graham of Poldark, Virginia Woolf, Daphne du Maurier, and many other writers drew - and continue to draw - inspiration from the moors, cliffs, rugged coastline, and mines of the rural county. - BBC
At least three. “The Western Music Association describes the award as recognizing a person who writes ‘with imaginative power and beauty of thought, with the ability to enable audiences to develop a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the Western lifestyle through performance.’” - Oregon ArtsWatch
“As many as one-third of all Jewish victims of the Nazi genocide perished on Soviet territory. Yet … narratives of this experience remain largely unavailable to Western readers.” - LitHub
“In a joint interview, they said their goal was to staunchly defend writers and free expression at a moment when threats, in the United States and around the world, had become ‘existential.’” - The New York Times
“You can reduce anything down to tropes – grumpy v sunshine, pride v prejudice – but should we? What does it mean for the way we read – and for the ways we think about art?” - The Guardian (UK)
“There are two types of requests: books to help people understand what’s happening in the country and books to provide a momentary escape.” - Minnesota Public Radio
The name was given by present-day collectors and dealers; in their Victorian heyday, they were usually called mock or mocking valentines. They were very much intended to mock or offend their targets, and they did so with spirit. - The Conversation
In the medieval period, poets had used “coffee” as a symbol (or euphemism) for wine (forbidden in Islam), so praising coffee in a poem was suspect. So was all the fun being had at coffeehouses. Yet both the drink and the establishments serving it had passionate defenders making their case in poetry. - History Today
The unique power of literary tradition, unlike philosophy or science, is that literature can respond to its predecessors without invalidating them, can contradict them without competing with them. - Aeon
Storrie, who plays hockey star Ilya Rozanov in the hit miniseries, comes from West Texas and studied Russian only briefly in high school, yet his Russian accent in English and his fluent delivery of Russian-language dialogue are very impressive. Storrie’s language coach, Kate Yablunovsky, explains how she helped him do it. - Scientific American
