“When people met Capote, Bennett admitted, they often were inclined ‘to laugh,’ but ‘don’t let that first impression fool you.’ Nonetheless, even armed with McCain’s goodwill, Capote was well aware that a tense rural hamlet reeling from multiple murders might not take kindly to a high-pitched elfin outsider … nosing around.” - Literary Hub
“The letters cover more than two decades and in them (she) discusses growing old, her aversion to public attention, … her opinions of fellow writers like Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams and Eudora Welty, … (and) her take on the Deep South’s transition from Depression-era segregation to the Civil Rights movement.” - The New York Times
“Novelist Arturo Pérez-Reverte (accused) the Spanish Royal Academy (RAE) – of which he is a member – of failing (its mission) of ‘cleaning, fixing and giving shine’ to the Spanish language. These days ‘an illiterate pundit, YouTuber or influencer can have more linguistic influence than a Cervantes prize winner’, he said.” - The Guardian
The truth is—and this may come as a surprise to some of you—the English language does not exist. English is an entirely borrowed language. There was Anglo-Saxon, and overlays of Norse from the Vikings, then the French invasion brought some upper-class words. - Harper's
In contemporary European literature, a book these days is often the beginning of a familial feud. With thinly disguised autobiographical accounts of family strife undergoing a sustained boom across the continent, it can increasingly lead to family reunions in courtrooms. - The Guardian
In response to the festival board’s earlier intervention to disinvite Palestinian-Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah, more than 180 writers and speakers cancelled their appearances at the February-March event and half the board resigned. Now the remaining board members have quit and the festival has been called off. - The Guardian
As Gen Z ditch books at record levels, students are arriving to classrooms unable to complete assigned reading on par with previous expectations. It’s leaving colleges no choice but to lower their expectations. - Fortune (MSN)
“The young Thomas was an enthusiastic contributor to Swansea Grammar School's magazine after joining as an 11-year-old in 1925, but Gallenzi found at least a dozen examples where Thomas had copied wholesale from work published in other magazines.” - BBC
Her publisher sure didn’t help, at least not at first. But then the community “was nurtured and deepened by the connections that Louise made through her own efforts, touring, doing events in the U.S. and Canada, meeting readers face to face, and then also building a social media presence.” - CBC
“Nearly 50 authors, commentators, and academics have dropped out of this year’s Adelaide Festival in Australia after the Festival announced that they were canceling an appearance by Dr. Randa Abdel-Fattah over ‘cultural sensitivity’ concerns.” - LitHub
The professor is Justin McDaniel, chair of the religious studies department at Penn. The class meets once a week for seven-to-eight hours, reading one book cover-to-cover in complete silence, then discuss it. No phones, of course. - New York Magazine
My entire collection of something like 4,000 volumes, acquired one by one over all those decades, had turned to smoke and ash in the Palisades Fire. The question before me was not just about this particular book, but about whether it made sense, in my late 70s, to begin collecting all over again. - The Atlantic
