Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—from publishing reports to academic announcements to literary dispatches—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today’s stories:
“The ghost story shape-shifts because ghosts themselves are so protean—they emanate from specific cultural fears and fantasies.” Parul Sehgal examines the lasting power of ghost stories in American literature and the way its form reflects collective fear. (New York Times)
Read more from Sehgal, a book critic at the New York Times, in an installment of Reviewers & Critics.
“There is a serious dichotomy of how women are viewed in India. The poem came out of that dichotomy for me, but it has been co-opted by people for several other causes—#MeToo, the abortion referendum in Ireland, Eurydice Dixon in Australia, and I am glad that it has these many lives.” Poet Tishani Doshi speaks to Petter Mishler about her forthcoming poetry collection, Girls Are Coming Out of the Wood, and the inspiration behind its title poem. (Lit Hub)
The New York Times interviews sociologist and poet Eve Ewing about her newest book, Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago’s South Side, and penning the upcoming Marvel film Ironheart.
Ewing was one of the ten poets featured in our 2018 Debut Poets feature, “The Whole Self.”
Publishers Weekly has compiled a list of widely read fiction and nonfiction books in Italy, Germany, and Spain, revealing a European preference towards historical fiction.
The Icelandic publishing industry is preparing for its annual “Christmas book flood,” in which presses release the majority of their new books in the lead-up to the holiday. The tradition originated in the 1940s, after the country’s liberation from Denmark. (Quartz)
Lacy M. Johnson, the award-winning author of The Other Side, discusses her new book of essays, The Reckonings, which explores sexual assault, justice, and transforming trauma. (Guernica)
