The Unbearables (“a loose confederation of poets and writers who came of age in 1980s and 90s New York, [i]nfamous for their high-minded aesthetics and low, barroom manners”) “have produced 416 pages of violence and mayhem committed against literary works and authors both familiar and obscure.” Targets include Ulysses, the Bible, Mondo Barbie, Gertrude Stein and David Sedaris.
Category: publishing
Oxford Professor Of Poetry Race Begins Anew
After last year’s ugly contest between Ruth Padel and Derek Walcott, Oxford University “opened nominations today to find a new candidate for the 300-year-old position, seen as the most prestigious in poetry behind that of the poet laureate.”
Huck Finn, Victim Of His Own Sales Power?
Ever since he bought a trio of Huck Finn Cabbage Patch dolls in the 1980s, a UCLA English professor has been amassing a collection of “knickknacks, toys and Huck-themed gadgets” — not because he likes them but in order “to show students how commercialism sold one of American literature’s most enduring characters down the river.”
Apple E-Books Might Not Be So Costly
“[A]ccording to at least three people with knowledge of the discussions, … Apple inserted provisions requiring publishers to discount e-book prices on best sellers — so that $12.99-to-$14.99 range was merely a ceiling; prices for some titles could be lower, even as low as Amazon’s $9.99.”
Modern-Day Iran, Seen Through A Serialized Graphic Novel
“On Friday, First Second Books will begin publishing a serialized Web comic about Iran, exploring social, political and human rights issues there. The strip, called Zahra’s Paradise, described as ‘real-time historical fiction,’ will blend current events with fictional composites of actual Iranians.”
Dumas’s Neglected Collaborator Back In The Spotlight
“Despite having co-written some of the most popular tales in the French language, Auguste Maquet has been forgotten by all but the most erudite of scholars. Now, however, the quietly creative ghostwriter whose crucial role in the production of some of Alexandre Dumas’s most famous novels has gone unacknowledged for more than 150 years is finally having his moment in the limelight.”
Faber & Faber’s Writing School To Open Toronto Outpost
“The Faber Academy Toronto, slated to open in October, will offer a selection of long and short fiction and poetry courses and employ notable Canadian writers as instructors. … [A] successful offshoot of Faber’s core publishing business, [the school] was launched 18 months ago in Paris” and has since expanded to other European cities.
Boston Public Library May Close Neighborhood Branches
If closures occur, they will result from “what city officials say is a potential $3.6 million budget shortfall, which stems in large part from a proposed 73 percent cut in state funding. … Other potential cost savings include dramatically reducing hours at all 27 locations and streamlining behind-the-scenes administrative operations.”
Most Plagiarism Scandals Are Overblown, But Not This One
“What smells off” in the case of 17-year-old German novelist Helene Hegemann “is precisely Hegemann’s claim to be using her borrowings to advance a cutting-edge concept of artistry. … This would be more plausible if Hegemann had acknowledged from the beginning that she’d included work from other writers in ‘Axolotl Roadkill,’ but by all indications, she did not.”
The Triumph Of ‘Vice’ (The Magazine)
“The magazine, created by welfare scammers in 1994 in Montreal before moving to New York in 1999, started as a thinking man’s lad magazine – the co-founder Suroosh Alvi once said that Vice did ‘stupid in a smart way, and smart in a stupid way.’ Since then, it has gradually morphed into a global brand that confers status and cool on anyone associated with it.”