literature

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Jane Austen's Style? Not Actually Jane Austen's

An editor was likely the one to polish her prose, says professor

(Newser) - Jane Austen is known as a “perfect stylist,” but those perfectly crafted sentences may not actually be hers. After studying 1,100 pages of Austen’s handwritten, unpublished manuscripts, an Oxford professor concluded that “the polished punctuation and epigrammatic style … is simply not there,” she...

'Jewish Jane Austen' Wins Booker Prize

Howard Jacobson's comic novel is 'profound,' 'wise'

(Newser) - The writer who once called the Man Booker Prize an "absolute abomination" was last night awarded the prize for his 11th novel, The Finkler Question. Howard Jacobson, who calls himself "the Jewish Jane Austen," was “truly flabbergasted” by the honor, reports the Telegraph . “I was...

Literary Critic Frank Kermode Dead at 90

Shakespeare expert was Britain's most celebrated critic

(Newser) - Britain's most acclaimed literary critic has died aged 90. Sir Frank Kermode—described as "the finest English critic of his generation" by author David Lodge—analyzed everything from Shakespeare to Kurt Vonnegut to the Bible in a writing career that spanned 70 years, the New York Times reports. Kermode...

10 Smart, Entertaining Beach Reads

They're not trashy, but they're still page-turners

(Newser) - Looking for a page-turner to read on the beach, but just can’t bring yourself to buy a trashy supermarket romance novel? Allow Sadie Stein to introduce you to 10 respectable summer reads “that you can show with pride—but will devour like a tween guilty pleasure,” on...

Sci-Fi Legend Ray Bradbury Weighs In on Mel Gibson

'The Russian girl' distracts filmmaker, author says

(Newser) - Mel Gibson's travails are taking a toll on ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, their baby daughter, the actor/filmmaker's reputation—and legendary sci-fi author Ray Bradbury. You see, Gibson holds the rights to the remake of Bradbury's classic novel Fahrenheit 451, Movie City Indie explains. "There's no news," Bradbury, 89, said...

Children's Book Author Jailed for Child Porn

KP Bath gets 6 years for video clips showing abuse of 'very young'

(Newser) - Children’s book author K.P. Bath was sentenced to 6 years in federal prison yesterday after pleading guilty to two counts of possessing child pornography. Investigators discovered a huge cache of disturbing images and videos in Bath’s Portland, Ore., home, many of which “graphically depicted the sexual...

How an Affair Gave Us the Emily Dickinson We Love

Why her brother's trysts with Mabel Loomis Todd matter

(Newser) - Salacious things were afoot in Emily Dickinson's family home: During the last two years of her life, her married brother, Austin, would leave his house next-door under the pretense of calling on his sisters—but instead would have sex with the also-married Mabel Loomis Todd on the dining room couch...

Nobel-Winning Jose Saramago Dead at 87

 Novelist 
 Jose Saramago 
 Dead at 87
obituary
Jun 18, 2010 8:31 AM CDT

Novelist Jose Saramago Dead at 87

Was first Portuguese-language winner of Nobel Literature prize

(Newser) - Jose Saramago, the author of Blindness who became the first Portuguese-language winner of the Nobel Literature prize, has died at 87, his publisher said today, adding that the author's health had worsened after a recent illness. Saramago was an outspoken man who antagonized many, and saw his popularity at home...

10 Toughest Reads in Literature
 10 Toughest Reads in Literature 
Jun 13, 2010 4:20 PM CDT

10 Toughest Reads in Literature

This list might be enough to make your head hurt

(Newser) - Great books can bring great joy—and, in a few cases, great big headaches. Listverse compiles the 10 toughest reads in literature:
  • Finnegans Wake, James Joyce: If you thought Joyce would ride his way onto this list compliments of Ulysses, think again. Written partially in a made-up language of mindbendingly
...

'Lost' Shakespeare Play Published

Double Falsehood is no hoax, experts say

(Newser) - A Shakespeare play dismissed as a hoax for nearly 300 years has now been accepted as the real thing. Double Falsehood, now under the name of writer Lewis Theobal, was—as its author always claimed—based on William Shakespeare's long-lost script for Cardenio, scholars say. Shakespeare publisher Arden has now...

Anti-Novel Manifesto Reads Like 'Hokey' Fiction
Anti-Novel Manifesto Reads Like 'Hokey' Fiction
BOOK REVIEW
Mar 10, 2010 4:18 PM CST

Anti-Novel Manifesto Reads Like 'Hokey' Fiction

David Shields' hypocritical book is dependent on plot

(Newser) - The subtitle of David Shields’ Reality Hunger—an anti-novel, anti-plot screed that celebrates reality in all its forms—is A Manifesto, which automatically makes it less about “reality” and more about creating a stir, writes Laura Miller. Even as he rails against the outdated novel, Shields is creating a...

Plantation Diary Faulkner Used as Source Found

Ledger used for slave names in Go Down, Moses

(Newser) - A scholar has found an old plantation diary that appears to be the model for the one found in William Faulkner’s 1942 classic Go Down, Moses, a find that’s stunned the novelist’s devotees. Faulkner appears to have used the writings in the ledger as inspiration for scenes...

Literary Video Games We'd Like to Play
 Literary Video Games 
 We'd Like to Play 
OPINION
Feb 10, 2010 9:49 PM CST

Literary Video Games We'd Like to Play

Hey, if Dante's Inferno worked, why not Moby Dick?

(Newser) - Now that EA’s successfully turned Dante’s Inferno into a bloody beat-em-up action game, the guys at Wired decided to dream up some other literary classics begging to be transformed into games. There picks:
  • The Metamorphosis: In this 8-bit classic, Gregor Samsa morphs into Bug Mode and scampers around
...

'Lost' Man Booker Prize From 1970 to Be Awarded

Rule change omitted all books published in 1970

(Newser) - In 1970, the Man Booker Prize went to a book published in 1969, but the rules changed in 1971 and the coveted prize was awarded to a book published that year—meaning no 1970 novel scored a Booker. Organizers plan to right the perceived wrong by awarding the Lost Man...

On the Page, Salinger Was Anything but Withdrawn
On the Page, Salinger Was Anything but Withdrawn
APPRECIATION
Feb 1, 2010 5:34 AM CST

On the Page, Salinger Was Anything but Withdrawn

Remembering the writer, not the myth

(Newser) - The myth of JD Salinger the withdrawn man doesn't match Salinger the writer, Adam Gopnik writes. On the page, Salinger was charming, expansive, and relentlessly engaged with the world. "No American writer will ever have a more alert ear, a more attentive eye, or a more ardent heart,"...

Judge People By Fave Author
 Judge People By Fave Author 
STEREOTYPES HOW-TO
Dec 27, 2009 11:14 AM CST

Judge People By Fave Author

Misfits like JD Salinger, smart geeks like JK Rowling ...

(Newser) - If you don’t want to waste the time really getting to know someone, just ask about his or her favorite author. That tells you all you need to know, Lauren Leto suggests, before running down the stereotypes:
  • JD Salinger: Kids who don’t fit in (duh).
  • Stephenie Meyer: People
...

The Best Fiction of 2009
 The Best Fiction of 2009 
Dec 9, 2009 12:09 PM CST

The Best Fiction of 2009

Sex, ghosts, long-lost twins, baby monkeys inhabit Salon's picks

(Newser) - The frankly subjective list of the year's best fiction from Salon avoids the obvious Wolff Hall, Hillary Mantel's latest and the Man Booker Prize winner. Laura Miller names five others that, too, offered “a sojourn, however brief, into another world”:
  • The Children’s Book by AS Byatt: “This
...

Top Cultural Game-Changers
 Top Cultural Game-Changers 
decade in review
Dec 7, 2009 2:11 PM CST

Top Cultural Game-Changers

What will we still be talking about next decade? Britney, for one

(Newser) - The ‘00s were full of important contributions to culture, but which ones will we still be talking about in another decade? Here are some of New York ’s picks:
  • TV: The Sopranos for inventing quality cable, American Idol for changing the music industry, and of course all things
...

Ice Storm Author to Tweet Short Story
 Ice Storm 
 Author to Tweet Short Story 
the medium is the message
Nov 30, 2009 4:34 PM CST

Ice Storm Author to Tweet Short Story

140-character limit 'like haiku,' Moody finds

(Newser) - Starting tomorrow, Rick Moody, author of The Ice Storm, will release a short story told over 153 tweets—one an hour for 3 days. The Wall Street Journal asked Moody what's exciting about using Twitter for literature:
  • After his wife opened an account for him: "I started quickly to
...

Broke Aussie Author Inspires Bidding Frenzy

Rebecca James' debut has publishers seeing next JK Rowling

(Newser) - The publishing world is in a frenzy over a debut novel whose Australian author is drawing comparisons to JK Rowling (Harry Potter? Perhaps you've heard of it.). “Beautiful Malice was one of the most extraordinary manuscripts I’ve read in a very long while,” one editor with...

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