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:
“As an Asian female, I find that people rarely assume I'm an investigative journalist; even after I tell them, they often forget.” Author Suki Kim, who spent ten years in North Korea documenting the lives of the country’s future leaders during the last six months of Kim Jong Il’s reign, discusses her book, Without You, There Is No Us, and being mislabeled a memoirist. (NPR)
Acclaimed journalist and nonfiction author Gay Talese has disavowed his forthcoming book, remarking that its credibility “is down the toilet.” The book, The Voyeur’s Motel, is set to be released this month. (Washington Post)
Close encounters with bison and the Grand Canyon as human anatomy: Five writers—Cheryl Strayed, Alexander Chee, Patricia Lockwood, Adelle Waldman, and Kate Christensen—recount significant experiences at U.S. national parks. (New York Times)
“I believe, in fact, that in the coming weeks, what we face is a fight for the very soul of Britain.” At the Financial Times, best-selling British author Kazuo Ishiguro writes about Brexit, xenophobia, and the future of the United Kingdom.
“My America opens its arms to the world rather than sells the world its arms. My America has a capacious hunger and the humility to wonder if it is right. My America speaks many languages and knows when to hold its tongue. But I know that another America exists, a more fearful and dangerous one. If that America wins, then we and the world lose.” Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen writes about immigration and America. (Time)
If you’re still looking for a summer novel to kick off the holiday weekend, Literary Hub recommends twenty-one books to read this July.
Meanwhile, Quartz invites you to explore the psychology behind a perfect beach read.
“My planner: my treasure, my trap.” At BuzzFeed Books, Helen Phillips writes about recording daily life, and the things we cannot plan for.
