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.
A four-hundred-year-old manuscript of John Donne’s poetry [2] has been discovered in Suffolk. The manuscript, estimated to be worth at least £200,000, includes religious verse, epigrams, love lyrics, and verse epistles. (Guardian)
The New York Times offers a peek into Donald and Patricia Oresman’s collection of 550 art pieces that all depict people reading [3].
“My work is political. Part of the role of the writer, I believe, is to take dangerous positions on behalf of those whose voices are not so easily heard.” Teju Cole [4], who is joining the creative writing faculty at Harvard as the first Gore Vidal Professor of the Practice, talks about writing and language. (Harvard Gazette)
Ingram Content Group had reportedly made a bid to buy the retail wholesaling operation of Baker & Taylor [5]. (Publishers Weekly)
Indonesian writer NH Dini died yesterday [6] after a car crash. Dini wrote several novels and was considered one of Indonesia’s literary legends. (Jakarta Post)
At the New Yorker, Katy Waldman shares her favorite books of 2018 [7], all of which represent “an energizing alternative to the ripped-apart illogic of our contemporary reality.” At Vulture, Christian Lorentzen shares his ten favorite books of the year [8].
Meanwhile, Ada Limón shares her favorite books of 2018 [9]. (Millions)
Listen to Limón read from her latest collection, The Carrying, in a recent episode of Ampersand: The Poets & Writers Podcast [10].
“This is a country which has always welcomed foreigners, and a country is all the richer when a variety of people making it into a country are so diverse and can learn from the experiences of one another.” Nuruddin Farah talks with NPR [11] about the history of refugees in America, his experiences living in exile from Somalia, and his new novel, North of Dawn.
Read more about Farah in the latest installment of Ten Questions [12].