Flashbacks in Literature, Emily Skaja Wins Walt Whitman Award, and More
Anita Shreve has died; Meg Wolitzer’s new novel; championship rounds of literary March Madness; and other news.
Genre: Creative Nonfiction
Neruda and Resistance, Garth Greenwell on the Growth of the Writer, and More
A takedown of Sean Penn’s debut novel; the similarities between Frank O’Hara and Notorious B.I.G.; Publishers Weekly’s bookstore of the year; and other news.
Missed Connection
The “missed connections” section of the classified advertisements website Craigslist has long been a virtual bulletin board to share a memory (i.e. I smiled at you on the train and you smiled back) in hopes that someone would answer back. Write a personal essay recalling a situation in which you may have missed an opportunity to connect with someone, whether a romantic or professional prospect, or a potentially significant person who may have slipped through your fingers. Explore ideas of fate and chance, persistence, lost opportunities, and assertiveness. How have your approaches to meeting new people evolved over time? Are there any missed connections from your past that might be picked up again now, years later?
Lost Charlotte Brontë Manuscripts, Literary March Madness, and More
Publishing veteran Judith Curr to join HarperCollins; Folio Prize finalists announced; teaching poetry during March Madness; and other news.
Xiaolu Guo
Caption:
“I found this liberation from the limitation…” In this Asia Society video, Xiaolu Guo explains why writing in English, her second language, is so freeing. Guo is the winner of the 2017 National Book Critics Circle Award in autobiography for her memoir, Nine Continents: A Memoir In and Out of China (Grove Press, 2017).
Genre:
The Elusive Gerald Murnane, Jacqueline Woodson Wins World’s Largest Children’s Lit Prize, and More
Lorrie Moore talks humor and her new essay collection; Penguin Random House reports a stable year in sales; independent booksellers criticize Chronicle Books over John Oliver book rollout; and other news.
Philadelphia’s Poet Laureate, Dispatches From March for Our Lives, and More
Lawyers weigh in on the Broadway To Kill a Mockingbird lawsuit; 24 percent of adult Americans didn’t read a book last year; America’s most widely misread poem; and other news.
Smith to Serve Second Term as Poet Laureate, Plath Items Auctioned, and More
Congress proposes increased funding for NEA and NEH; Whiting Award winners announced; a case against prescribing books as therapy; and other news.
Smell Ya Later
Have you ever smelled something so sweet it made you smile? The sense of smell, in contrast to vision, sound, and touch, is connected to areas of the brain associated with memory and emotion making it a powerful agent at triggering memories and feelings. Think of a scent, such as an ingredient for a meal, a perfume, or perhaps something from the outdoors or nature, that you associate with a person who has played an integral role in your life. Write a personal essay that explores the intertwining of smell and the resonant memories and emotions you associate with this person.
Whiting Foundation Announces 2018 Award Winners
The Whiting Foundation announced the ten recipients of its $50,000 awards at a ceremony tonight in New York City. The annual awards are given to emerging writers of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and drama.
The winners are Rickey Laurentiis and Tommy Pico in poetry; Anne Boyer in poetry and nonfiction; Patty Yumi Cottrell, Brontez Purnell, and Weike Wang in fiction; Esmé Weijun Wang in nonfiction; and Nathan Alan Davis, Hansol Jung, and Antoinette Nwandu in drama.
“Year on year, we’re astounded by the fresh ways Whiting winners challenge form and stretch the capabilities of language, while scrutinizing what’s most urgent in the culture,” says Courtney Hodell, the Whiting Foundation’s director of writers’ programs. “The award is intended to give them the freedom to keep experimenting and growing.”
Established in 1985, the Whiting Awards have given more than $7.5 million to 330 writers since its inception. Previous winners include poets Tracy K. Smith and Jorie Graham, fiction writers Deborah Eisenberg and Denis Johnson, nonfiction writers Mary Karr and John Jeremiah Sullivan, and playwright Tony Kushner.
Photos clockwise from top left: Rickey Laurentiis, Tommy Pico, Anne Boyer, Patty Yumi Cottrell, Brontez Purnell, Antoinette Nwandu, Hansol Jung, Nathan Alan Davis, Esmé Weijun Wang, and Weike Wang.
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