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In this Literary Hub video, Book Marks editors Dan Sheehan and Katie Yee offer a week in review of book news, including the Center for Fiction’s 2020 First Novel Prize longlist and plans for a new HBO Max series of bedtime stories read by celebrities such as Idris Elba, Lucy Liu, and Keanu Reeves.
The board of the National Book Critics Circle elects a new president; a Beirut bookseller describes the damage to her shop from Tuesday’s explosion; Alexis Soloski unpacks H. P. Lovecraft’s legacy; and other stories.
Camille Dungy will serve as poetry editor at Orion; Marc Rivers considers Toni Morrison’s legacy, one year after her death; layoffs at Hudson News; and other stories.
Legendary journalist, editor, and author Pete Hamill has died; Morgan Jerkins reflects on navigating African American histories; community members organize literary silent auction to raise funds for racial justice organizations; and other stories.
“If we only read the same type of authors all our lives it’s like you’re only hearing one thread, one voice.” In this video from the 2019 Louisiana Literature festival, Elif Shafak talks about reading the same books over and over again as a child, and why it’s more inspiring to read “from East and West, fiction and nonfiction.”
How are you doing? This is an essential question for all of us. In New Orleans, asking such a question could still mean how are post-Katrina? Recovery. Resilience. These are words attached to the city’s brand. However the reality for many people, in particular writers and artists, is still arduous.
The world can learn from New Orleans during the coronavirus pandemic without deeming it a “Katrina moment.” Our moment was our moment but the lessons about government failure, natural disasters, and depending on strangers for survival are applicable. We know how education systems can change overnight.
For many in New Orleans and the surrounding affected areas, the pandemic adds more weight to an already heavy living. But New Orleans has the writers, researchers, artists, stories, food, land, and music that tell stories of humanity and point a way to the light.
August 29 marks fifteen years since the levees broke in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. I am excited to be curating some virtual events with Poets & Writers, including a reading dedicated to remembering the impact the storm has had on the people and culture of this city.
Follow my Twitter feed, @NOLApworg, for more details and updates for this event and more from New Orleans. I’ll also share about upcoming events in our other United States of Writing cities: Detroit and Houston.
Photo: Flyer for the Hurricane Katrina anniversary reading. Kelly Harris is the literary outreach coordinator for Poets & Writers in New Orleans. Contact her at NOLA@pw.org or on Twitter, @NOLApworg.Book industry associations collaborate to provide healthcare coverage to members; James Silberman, editor of James Baldwin and other literary luminaries, has died; Ellen Bass reflects on the essence of poetry; and other stories.
For an alternative movie night, view these extended readings and conversations with literary luminaries Zadie Smith, Édouard Louis, Min Jin Lee, Ocean Vuong, and Joy Harjo.
Raven Leilani reflects on her path to becoming a writer; Molly Fischer profiles queer writer and activist Sarah Schulman; Boston Poetry Marathon moves online; and other stories.
Leah Hampton’s F*ckface: And Other Stories, Megha Majumdar’s A Burning, Marie-Helene Bertino’s Parakeet, Karen Tei Yamashita’s Sansei and Sensibility, and C Pam Zhang’s How Much of These Hills Is Gold.
