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.
“The poems, in their specificity and dilating scale, startle readers into new sense. They discomfort as often as they bless, and they bless as often as they wonder—bearing witness to joy and to struggle.” Aracelis Girmay reflects on the work and influence of poet Lucille Clifton. (Paris Review Daily)
Alexandra Alter considers how Indigenous writers are changing science fiction, horror, and fantasy writing, and takes a look at the work of writers such as Cherie Dimaline, Waubgeshig Rice, Rebecca Roanhorse, Darcie Little Badger, and Stephen Graham Jones. (New York Times)
Julia Alvarez, Maya Angelou, Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Amy Tan are among the writers included on USA Today’s list of one hundred “Women of the Century.”
Adam Sternbergh describes the process of publishing an excerpt from The Lying Life of Adults, the forthcoming novel by the pseudonymous Italian author Elena Ferrante. (New York Times)
The Guardian profiles Zimbabwean writer and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga, who was recently arrested in Harare for protesting government corruption, just four days after her novel This Mournable Body was longlisted for the Booker Prize.
Yaa Gyasi on writing her new novel, Transcendent Kingdom, and its depiction of caretaking and a mother-daughter relationship. (Atlantic)
“The essay as a form is inherently personal—a record of how I’m processing time and material through my particular perspective, this singular, subjective consciousness. When I’m working on an essay I experience a heightened consciousness: I notice what I’m noticing, I think about how I’m thinking.” Elisa Gabbert on writing her latest essay collection, The Unreality of Memory. (Millions)
