If you’ve read Watchmen and haven’t seen this yet, behold. But if you haven’t read the original yet, abstain from clicking; you’ll meet a host of spoilers dressed as stick figures. Instead, pick up a copy and get ready to argue about the adaptation in March.
It’s not a work of fiction, but some are calling Michelangelo: La Dotta Mano (“the learned hand,” “the wise hand”) the most beautiful book in the world. The 62-pound hand-made volume–which features images of Michelangelo’s work and samples of his poetry, as well as commentary on the artist’s life and work–will be on display at the New York Public Library from Tuesday, December 2 through Monday, December 8. You can also see the book’s marble cover and take a tour of its interior here on FMR’s (its publisher’s) website. It takes six months and Renaissance artisan skills to hand-make a […]
A heartfelt thank you to the fabulous FWR reviewers and essayists who have contributed (and/or are currently working on) pieces for the site. Happy T(of)urkey Day!
The Guardian offers some excerpts from this year’s worst sex scenes. Try reading them aloud at your Thanksgiving feast! From Simon Montefiore’s Sashenka: He’s a madman, she thought as he made love to her again. Oh my God, after twenty years of being the most rational Bolshevik woman in Moscow, this goblin has driven me crazy! He eased out of her again, showing himself. ‘Look!’ he whispered as she did. […] He made her forget she was a Communist.
Writing the His Dark Materials series was awesome in and of itself; now Pullman is fighting, along with a host of other writers, to save school libraries across the UK. He recently wrote to the Meadows Community School, which plans to replace their books–and librarian–with a “virtual learning environment,” whatever that means. From Pullman’s letter (via the Guardian): The idea that fiction is not worth looking after properly and does not need a qualified librarian runs contrary to every experience I have ever had. Are you going to relegate the whole activity of reading fiction to the status of a […]
Don’t miss clmp‘s last Periodically Speaking event at the New York Public Library; editors from lit magazines Salt Hill, H.O.W., and Raritan will each introduce new writers. Details: Tuesday, December 9th, 6 – 7:30 pm DeWitt Wallace Periodical Room, The New York Public Library, Humanities and Social Sciences Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd (Fifth Ave. entrance; admittance is free)
Alan Cheuse, for NPR: Giving a book is not something we ought to do blindly. We give books to people we love because we think they will convey something about ourselves, something about the world as we see it or something about the world as we would like it to be. We only have one life to live, but we have so many lives in literature — giving a book remains an extraordinary gift. Well put. I also think that with the book-as-gift, we try to convey our understanding of the person we’re giving it to; the gift shows we […]
Writers: if you didn’t have time for NaNoWriMo but are looking for a motivating way to structure and inspire writing time this December, consider signing up for the Southeast Review‘s 30-Day Writing Regimen, which begins on December 1. For only $15, participants receive the following: a free copy of the most recent issue (vol 26.2), daily writing prompts and reading-writing exercises, a Riff Word of the Day, a Podcast of the Day, craft talks, and access to the journal’s online literary companion.
FWR contributor Jeremiah Chamberlin has an interview in Granta with my dear friend and former MI classmate Uwem Akpan. Uwem, who is also a Jesuit priest and a teacher, saw his first story collection, the remarkable Say You’re One of Them, published by Little, Brown in May. In this conversation with Jeremy, he discusses why fiction is his genre of choice, what challenges he faced (and faces) in creating stories true to the children and regions they depict, what fascinates and “puzzles” him as a writer, and how writing can be a calling: My goal is to get the reader […]
Congratulations to Peter Matthiessen, whose novel Shadow Country just captured the 2008 NBA in Fiction. In this interview (conducted after his book was named a finalist), Mattheissen describes his writing process and shares why he thinks fiction matters. Interviewer Bret Anthony Johnston asked the author what the “engine” behind his novel was: BAJ: For some writers, the engine that powers their fiction is character. For others, it’s language. For others still, the engine might loosely be called “theme.” Do you identify with any of those? What sparked the initial idea for you? PM: Very important as those are, the seed […]
