Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—publishing reports, literary dispatches, academic announcements, and more—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today’s stories.
Philadelphia poet laureate Trapeta B. Mayson has set up a toll-free number to connect readers with “affirming poems” during these uncertain times. Dubbed the “Healing Verse Philly Poetry Line,” the service also includes an option to learn about local mental health resources. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Distinguished author and journalist Ved Mehta died on January 9 at age eighty-six. In his autobiographies, he wrote about living through Indian partition and his experience with blindness, among many other subjects. Mehta also served as a staff writer at the New Yorker for more than thirty years. (Washington Post)
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has developed a new initiative, Creatives Rebuild New York, which is designed to support “small-to-midsize community arts organizations and more than one thousand individual artists over the next two years.”
“I was surprised to find myself writing about the pandemic, but just as surprised to be writing about blushing.” Graham Swift retraces the genesis of his new short story, “Blushes.” (New Yorker)
“Poems give us new ways to look at life, nudge us to feel more and deeper, remind us that there is beauty in the world.” Christina Orlando writes in praise of poetry and recommends ten collections forthcoming this year. (Electric Literature)
Meanwhile, Eric Liebetrau previews ten nonfiction books forthcoming in 2021, including Let Me Tell You What I Mean by Joan Didion and Surviving the White Gaze by Rebecca Carroll. (Kirkus)
The editors at the Millions have compiled their annual list previewing the most anticipated titles of the first half of the year.
Publishers Weekly shares short profiles of ten writers who are publishing their debut works in 2021.
