Category: words

“A conversation that dwells only in what hasn’t been accomplished and doesn’t try to see what is fighting toward the surface for breath is an impoverished conversation indeed.”

“Could it be that modern poetry has lost its vibrancy? I ask: has poetry ceased to penetrate our national consciousness because we are no longer stirred by what’s being said? When was the last time a poet made enough noise to be threatened with censorship?”

“Every year until 2114, one writer will be invited to contribute a new text to the collection, and in 2114, the trees will be cut down to provide the paper for the texts to be printed – and, finally, read.”

“While the e-commerce giant from Seattle has argued that it only acts as an intermediary between sellers and buyers in the country, it has been accused of violating India’s foreign direct investment, or FDI, regulations by trying to make a ‘backdoor entry’ into the country’s retail business.”

Neal Pollack: “When I waded into one conversation to say, ‘Hey, Amazon’s not so bad,’ someone referred to me as being like ‘the Vichy French, taking money to cover up crimes.’ What in the name of Bezos is going on here? There are obviously a lot of issues at play … But while everyone seems to hate Amazon, my personal experience with this supposedly evil corporate behemoth has been fantastic.”

“A decision by the Sydney Morning Herald to use the much-maligned font Comic Sans on its front page has made it the focus of much attention, and ridicule, on social media.”

“Today, it’s hard to imagine Fukuyama being more wrong. History isn’t over and neither liberalism nor democracy is ascendant. The comfy Western consensus he inspired is under threat in ways he never predicted.”

“Books in translation do sell, and at bestseller levels … The Name of the Rose sold. Smilla’s Sense of Snow sold. The Elegance of the Hedgehog sold. Suite Française sold. It seems, in fact, fair to expect that every couple of years will bring a bestseller in translation, and the more worthwhile question to consider is not whether books in translation sell, but whether those bestsellers are predictable, whether there are cycles, and in that context, whether the present moment is exceptional.”

“Reading the work of Jorge Luís Borges for the first time is like discovering a new letter in the alphabet, or a new note in the musical scale.” Jane Ciabattari explains why she thinks everyone should read him (and not worry that his work might be “difficult”).