ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

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In Nairobi, A Kenyan Nonprofit Is Making Libraries Truly Public, And Beautiful

The "public" libraries used to be segregated, for whites only, and then they fell into disrepair. Now, Kenyans "are here to reclaim history, to occupy its architecture and to subvert its intended use." - The New York Times

Penguin Random House Restructures After Its Failed Bid To Buy Simon & Schuster

"Though the restructuring is still a work in progress, its goal is to reinvigorate internal competition for new titles among PRH's many imprints. ... The question about how aggressively (the) imprints actually bid against one another came up during the trial … to block PRH's S&S purchase." - Publishers Weekly

The Long Friendship, And Many Lunches, Of Yiyun Li And A.M. Homes

Li: "The reason I’m so curious about the concept of the quintessential American writer is because I am not one, although my coming of age as a writer happened in America. So I’m curious about how you define an American writer." - The Paris Review

The Reason Behind The Bold Narration Strategy That Drives One Of 2023’s Best Novels

V.V. Ganeshananthan, whose book Brotherless Night was on the cover of the New York Times Book Review a few weeks ago: "Another writer said, 'Have you considered writing the book in order?' And I thought, that’s that’s a good idea. I should try that." - Slate

Meanwhile, In London, The British Library Plans A Huge New Extension

The plan is for another 100,000 square feet of space, including the Alan Turning Institute for data science; green walkways; a garden; and many more informal entrances into the library. - The Guardian (UK)

Can Lula Deliver More Books, More Literacy, And More Opportunities To Brazil?

The newly re-elected president "has reinstated the Ministry of Culture, created a new secretariat dedicated to books and literacy and unblocked nearly $200 million in funds allocated for cultural projects." - The New York Times

The Bawdy, Self-Aware Wife Of Bath As First Modern Character Of English Literature

"Unlike the queens and witches who preceded her in English literature, Alison is not a flat allegorical figure. Her ordinariness makes her radical." - NPR

What Literary Criticism Is (And Isn’t) For

What is literary criticism — specifically, the kind of highly specialized, theoretically sophisticated textual readings generated by academic critics — really for? - The New York Times

Why Are People Bullying Librarians?

In a comically transparent escalation of this anti-intellectual crusade, they are targeting libraries. Worse, they’ve embraced a characteristically cruel approach to doing so: bullying librarians. - The Nation

Translating Franz Kafka’s Diaries Was A Total Head Trip

"(I was) groping and straining to make sense of Kafka's groping and straining to make sense. Not only could I not always — or even often — be certain that I knew what Kafka meant, I didn't know whether at any given moment he himself knew what he meant." - The New York Times

Colleen Hoover Sold Tons Of Books. Then She Published A Coloring Book And It Unraveled

It Ends With Us is a book about domestic violence. Hoover detractors who say she romanticizes abuse had a new weapon in their arsenal: How can Hoover pretend she takes the subject matter seriously while creating cutesy, juvenile merchandise? - Slate

How Wikipedia Distorts Indigenous History

Generally, U.S. history pages follow one strict interpretation of history written in the 1960s and ’70s, and most editors treat these matters as settled. When information that contradicts these histories is added, some editors claim that new additions constitute “presentism,” or “cancel culture.” - Slate

The People Who Have Been Marking Dickens’ Birthday Every Year Since 1905

The Toronto branch of the Dickens Fellowship, a group of dedicated Charles Dickens fans who have celebrated the birthday of the Immortal Boz annually since 1905. - Toronto Star

Are The Language Wars Alienating Rather Than Including?

The flap over the French underscores the ongoing project to revise terminology in ways that are meant to be more inclusive — but which I fear are counterproductive and end up inviting mockery and empowering the right. - The New York Times

Gawker Is Closing Down.  Yes, Again.

"Gawker, the snarky pop-culture site rebooted in mid-2021, is shutting down — for a second time, with the CEO of parent company Bustle Digital Group citing the need to prioritize 'better-monetizing sites.' ... The original Gawker went dormant in 2016 ... after losing a legal battle with wrestler Hulk Hogan." - Variety

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