Michel Martin's uncles in the military "wrote letters to each other promising to take care of their future families or their families, ... in this beautiful cursive handwriting. And it never occurred to me that my children might not be able to read that." - NPR
"Astra Magazine, Spiegelman said, was 'both unusual and exciting, a glamorous and subversive literary project, a breath of fresh air and hope.' And then it was over." - The New York Times
This year's Booker Prize was won by a Sri Lankan, and the International Booker went to an Indian novel. And there's always Salman Rushdie. But beyond a few famous authors and prizewinning books, South Asian literature is still having a hard time breaking through — especially books translated from Indian languages. - The Guardian
"The newspaper has eliminated the positions of the magazine's 10 staff members, according to the Post. There's no guarantee the staffers will be offered other positions at the paper, though the Post reports that restaurant reviews and the crossword puzzle will continue to appear in print." - DCist
I’m old enough to remember writing by hand when it was the only choice. Then I fell to the seductions of these newfangled things called laptops. I was delighted by the convenience. But I switched back to longhand several years ago, and now it’s the only way I write my drafts. - The Millions
Some linguists suggest that the word comes from Scots-Irish; others think it originated among enslaved Igbo-speakers. In any case, the OED says "y'all" was first used in print in the 1850s southern US. Yet one scholar has found a dozen appearances of the word in 17th-century London. - The Conversation
"Driven by language-immersion schools and bilingual families, many stores are now specializing in bilingual books for young readers. Others serve heritage-language customers who want to practice their Spanish, as well as language learners seeking cultural immersion." - Publishers Weekly
Long poems really had been popular, with wide and diverse readerships, at various times in literary history. Is this a kind of reading that we should try to recover? There are signs that the long poem might be making a comeback. - Psyche
"Sent by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V to his ambassador at the French royal court — a man called Jean de Saint-Mauris — the letter gives an insight into the preoccupations of Europe's rulers at a time of dangerous instability caused by wars of religion and rival strategic interests." - BBC
“In this age of misinformation — of ‘fake news,’ conspiracy theories, Twitter trolls, and deepfakes — gaslighting has emerged as a word for our time,” the dictionary company said Monday, unveiling its pick. - Washington Post
Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness was a powerful, even life-changing story for several generations of gay women. But there's a serious argument to be made that it's actually a trans novel. As for its literary merit, ... well, it has plenty of flaws. - BBC
Now, when so many of our needs are unified and algorithm-prompted by online retail, independent bookstores offer person-to-person customization. Something, it turns out, that we are craving despite the ease of online shopping. - The Globe & Mail
Poet tatiana de la tierra produced one-of-a-kind chapbooks scrounged from cardboard and recycled paper, and her "writing itself was just as singular — unassimilated and unafraid even by today’s standards." - Los Angeles Times
