Newsletter 10
Dear Bibliophile,
I went to a university lecture recently, on the ambiguous supernaturality in poetry by Irish poets. The topic, in all its gloriousness was utterly exhilarating until a member of the audience latched on to the word ambiguous. The elderly white man exclaimed, ‘Can it not be that the poets were simply lazy?’
The thunderous silence made me reflect on the usage of the word ‘lazy’ as an insult. It’s a colonial term used to describe the natives. It’s a casteist, classist, sexist word. It’s a word which will make you feel like a lesser being, of little importance. A slave who’s not entitled to rest in the shade.
The poet slave, the non-man-gendered poet slave, the neurodivergent poet slave. Who are we if not Lilliputians to Gulliver?
While you ponder over that, here’s a rather short newsletter, like the almost-spring we had in Dublin.
Your very own,
5 Literary News In 50 Words
Harry Potter books to be transformed into decade-long TV series
As you may have heard, the Harry Potter series, featuring a new cast, promises to be “authentic to the original books” with the films “at the core” of the franchise, which will see author JK Rowling serve as an executive producer. The series will be available on HBO Max, a streaming service from Warner Bros. (Sky News) Read more.
Japan’s first AI-generated manga comic
In his latest comic “Cyberpunk: Peach John,” manga author Rootport created the storyline and dialogue but the sci-fi-inspired imagery was produced entirely by artificial intelligence. The publishing house behind the work, Shinchosha, believes that “Cyberpunk: Peach John” is the world’s first complete AI manga work. (CNN) Read more.
PG Wodehouse books revised under sensitivity issues
Publishers Penguin Random House rewrite Jeeves and Wooster books to remove ‘unacceptable’ prose by PG Wodehouse with trigger warnings added to revised editions telling readers characters may be ‘outdated’. The novels have had passages cut or reworked for new editions. It comes after changes to books of Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming’s James Bonds. (The Daily Mail) Read more.
Man pleads guilty to stealing more than 1,000 manuscripts
Italian Filippo Bernardini has admitted to stealing more than 1,000 unpublished manuscripts, including from distinguished authors, solving a mystery that had puzzled the literary world for years. Working in London for publisher Simon & Schuster, he impersonated agents and publishers to obtain novels and other works from writers and their representatives. (Guardian) Read more.
Brittney Griner to publish memoir on wrongful detention in Russia
Brittney Griner will publish a memoir next spring, publisher Alfred A. Knopf announced. She traces her journey from Olympic champion to hostage, her wrongful detention in Russia, navigating a complex legal system in a language she doesn’t speak, the global #WeAreBG movement and the issue of pay equity for women athletes in the US. (Advocate) Read more.
Write month
This episode of the newsletter, there will be no information on submissions nor any writing prompts. A few entries are going to open up in the next few months so take this month to revise and revisit your pieces of prose and poetry. Share it within your writing group or with a literary friend. Engage with the feedback and refine your writing until you feel that it’s ready in your bones.
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