What does it mean to credit the written word with such capacious potencies, to charge it with such real-world responsibilities? And how is literature, poetry, language to operate as a force for good and still maintain its duties to itself, to its self-delighting, essentially purposeless imperative to live as lively language? - Public Books
During the '00s, Gabo went through several drafts of Until August and planned to publish it. But by 2012, afflicted with dementia and unable to finalize the book, he asked that it be destroyed. A decade later, his sons decided it could be salvaged. Were they right to try? - The New York Times
According to circulation data from the Houston Independent school district, the number of books checked out per student at NES schools dwindled to nearly zero compared to over five books to more than 12 books a student at non-NES schools in the district from August 2023 to January 2024. - The Guardian
"Wasabi vapors have been found to effectively treat fungal infections on both painted and unpainted samples of mock ancient Egyptian papyrus, and to do so without impacting the papyrus's delicate chemicals or painted pigments." - Artnet
More than one-quarter of scholarly articles are not being properly archived and preserved, a study of more than seven million digital publications suggests. The findings indicate that systems to preserve papers online have failed to keep pace with the growth of research output. - Nature
"The country’s most famous drag star … (is) one of three business partners behind Allstora, which will ... provide writers with a greater share of profits than other online booksellers do. … (Allstora) will send a rainbow school bus from the West Coast to the South to distribute books targeted by bans." - The New York Times
Shortz, who has been crossword editor at The New York Times for three decades, "shared the health update in a recorded message that aired on Sunday at the end of the puzzle quiz segment during the NPR program." - The New York Times
They were remodeling an old hotel in Waco, Texas. “Upon Joanna’s request for 'a ton of books,' Chip purchased around 300,000, the entire collection of Larry McMurtry, the Texan writer who died in 2021.” Only about 2000 are on display. Where did the books go? - The Paris Review
"There is simply no way that whiteness and Blackness will mingle as they have in music, cuisine, gesture, greeting styles, dating, and multiracial identity, and yet for some reason be halted at language. One might wish to enforce an artificial blockade here, but it’s far too late." - The New York Times
"In 40 years, it’s gone from a politically suspect niche to one of China’s most successful cultural exports, with author Liu Cixin gaining an international following that includes fans like Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg. But it’s had to overcome obstacles created by geopolitics for just as long." - AP
"Scholars had estimated that there were about 70,000 books waiting to be rescued. (Aaron) Lansky went on to gather 1.5 million Yiddish books — a trove that evolved into the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Mass., one of the nation’s leading Jewish cultural institutions." - The New York Times
"It is permissible in English for a preposition to be what you end a sentence with," the dictionary publisher said in a post shared on Instagram last week. - NPR
User numbers of an app called “Bookclubs,” designed to help organize clubs, grew 240% from 2020 to 2021. Since then, its user base has been roughly doubling annually, the company says. The app currently has just under one million users with accounts. - The Wall Street Journal
For instance, moderators at the Perth Festival Writers’ Weekend in Australia were sent a memo titled "Facilitator safety tips." Among those tips: discussing with panelists in advance what are off-limits topics and ending (or simply forgoing) audience Q&As if they risk becoming too inflammatory. - The Guardian
