Newsletter #6
Dear Bibliophile,
It’s the final month of a year that’s gone by rather speedily. The year when we re-learned to live without the mortal fear of Covid defining our lives. We went on trips, we got married, we lived and loved without paranoia. Even though Covid continues to remain ever-present in our societies, it has now become that annoying uncle you learn to ignore, an anxiety reduced to a slight buzz rather than a full-blown attack.
I hope you have been able to enjoy life with renewed vigour. I hope you’ve read old, familiar books and made a list of new, exciting ones. I hope 2022 has been different and yet more than you had hope for. Keep the fire burning.
Wishing you all a warm winter,
Your very own,
5 Literary News In 150 Words
Eileen Myles’ anthology of a new genre: ‘Pathetic Literature’
“In general poems are pathetic and diaries are pathetic,” Myles explains in the introduction to ‘Pathetic Literature’, the anthology Myles has edited. “Really literature is pathetic. Ask anyone who doesn’t care about literature. They would agree. If they bothered at all.” Myles is being tongue-in-cheek but also has a larger point. The anthology grows out of a conference at UC San Diego in 2006. Gathering more than 100 pieces spanning centuries (the earliest is an excerpt from “The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon,” identified as a formative pathetic text), this is a collection that makes an argument or, even more, aspires to frame a counter-tradition of literature.
Milan Kundera did something analogous in the 1980s when he imagined Laurence Sterne’s “Tristram Shandy” as “one of those great lost opportunities” in the history of the novel. What Kundera was addressing, or arguing for, was a lineage based on what he called “brilliant disorder.” Myles is after a similar disruption. (LA Times)
Bob Dylan publisher sorry for $600 book’s replica autographs
Simon & Schuster’s statement came after days of complaints from customers, who through social media had compared their copies and found the autographs suspiciously alike. Bob Dylan‘s publisher is offering refunds for a $600 special edition of his new book, The Philosophy of Modern Song, acknowledging that the allegedly “hand-signed” copies were not individually inscribed.
“To those who purchased THE PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SONG limited edition, we want to apologize,” Simon & Schuster announced in a statement posted Sunday on Instagram. “As it turns out, the limited-edition books do contain Bob’s original signature, but in a penned replica form. We are addressing this immediately by providing each purchaser with an immediate refund.” The books had arrived with a letter from Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp, vouching for the signature’s authenticity. (AP)
Bernie Sanders to publish book outlining vision for ‘political revolution’
It’s OK to Be Angry About Capitalism, out next year, will argue the world needs to ‘recognise that economic rights are human rights’. Former presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders is to publish a book outlining “a vision of what would be possible if the political revolution took place”. It’s OK to Be Angry About Capitalism will be published by Penguin Random House in February 2023.
Publishing director Thomas Penn said It’s OK to Be Angry About Capitalism was a “scorching denunciation of a system that is manifestly failing the vast majority of people along with the planet itself”. It’s OK to Be Angry About Capitalism has editorial contributions from John Nichols, an award-winning progressive author and journalist who works as a national affairs correspondent for the Nation magazine. (The Guardian)
Annie Ernaux wins the 2022 Nobel prize in literature
The Nobel prize in literature has been awarded to Annie Ernaux “for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory”.
Ernaux, who writes novels about daily life in France as well as non-fiction and is one of her country’s most acclaimed authors, had been among the favourites to win the prize. The Nobel said that they had not yet been able to reach her on the phone, but expected to be able to speak to her soon.
Anders Olsson, chair of the Nobel committee, said that in her work, “Ernaux consistently and from different angles, examines a life marked by strong disparities regarding gender, language and class”. Read her books to know more. (The Guardian)
Missing Pages: the podcast revisiting jaw-dropping literary scandals
From the case of Dan Mallory to the story of Kaavya Viswanathan, literary critic Bethanne Patrick looks back on some of the strangest book scandals ever. Missing Pages, a new podcast series sets about “reopening literary cold cases” and looking back at “some of the most iconic, jaw-dropping and just truly bizarre book scandals to shape the publishing world”.
The podcast host Bethanne Patrick, who has reviewed books for the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Boston Globe newspapers as well as National Public Radio (NPR). But she does not claim to be either a publishing insider or an investigative journalist.
“Everyone gossips and we all have different ways of gossiping,” Patrick says. “I’m not against gossip or for gossip but, if I’m going to tell these stories, and if I’m going to get into these stories that people think ‘ooh! ah! what?’, then I want to go as deep as possible. (The Guardian)
5 Places To Submit Prose & Poetry
Recently, during a job interview, I was asked how I can manage a full-time career with my creative pursuits. My answer: I am not creative every day of the year. It ebbs and flows, it can’t be scheduled nor left adrift. Sometimes I read, other times I write, and then I edit. And then keep editing until my bones sigh. If you have any such pieces ready, make sure you send them out. Here are places with open submissions window:
- Parhelion Literary Magazine l till Jan 3 I All genre I Details here.
- Chestnut Review I till Dec 31 l All genre, Art & more l Details here.
- Lighthouse I till Jan 1 I Poetry & Prose I Details here.
- ROPES Literary Journal I till Dec 31 l All genre, Art & more I Details here.
- The Moth Poetry Prize I till Dec 31 I Poetry I Details here.
Writing Prompt:
Recently, I’ve been having a hard time. I can’t seem to focus long enough to read, write, edit or even open a word document. It got me thinking, of all the distractions in the world, which one has the most debilitating effect. Is it the internet, and the easy access to it, or the damp weather that seeps into your bones, weighing you down? Is it the prospect of festivities or the anxiety of social interactions? Today’s writing prompt is to choose one such distractions and write about its effect on you, maybe as a personal essay, an autofiction or even a poem.
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