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:
Canadian independent publisher BookThug is going into the vinyl business with the launch of its new record label, Chaos & Star. A collaboration between former Broken Social Scene member Andrew Whiteman and BookThug’s Jay MillAr, the label celebrates the intersections of poetry and music with its series of “poetry records,” which pair a BookThug author’s work with a notable Canadian musician’s adaptation of the work. (Globe and Mail)
Meanwhile, another poetry publisher is also looking beyond the printed page: Minneapolis-based Button Poetry finds audiences for its books by broadcasting videos of its authors performing their work. (Publishers Weekly)
“Extreme intentionality is antithetical to the Trump administration, making the acrostic form an especially powerful critical tool for those opposed to the president and his supporters.” Writer Emily O’Neill considers the history and power of hidden political acrostics. (Electric Literature)
Although Bob Dylan has been credited as the “first songwriter” to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, Bengali poet and songwriter Rabindranath Tagore won the prize in 1913. At Overland, Angrad Roy writes about Tagore and the erasure of Indian literature.
“What I had sent [my editor] was exactly the book he had told me not to write.” Best-selling nonfiction writer Thomas E. Ricks reveals the lengthy “offstage” process of editing a book. (Atlantic)
At the New Yorker, Dan Chiasson explores the “difficult, allusive, dense” but also “funny, poignant, and self-impugning” poetry of Ange Mlinko.
“If you ever want to make an author happy, just tell her you’re reading her back-list.” Best-selling author Ann Patchett shares her back-list favorites of six writers who have new books coming out this fall, including Jesmyn Ward, Nathan Englander, and Jennifer Egan. (Literary Hub)
