Thursday Morning LitLinks
U.K. Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy offers a “a sombre yet supremely uplifting poem” on the occasion of the death of Harry Patch, the last British soldier from the First World War.
Galleycat is gearing up for next week’s release of Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice, with listings of Pynchon parties and the promise of more “Pynchon-inspired content” in the coming days.
What’s the world coming to when an author’s public readings are censored… in bookshops?
Simon Kernick defends that awful cover trumpeting Dan Brown, but I’m still not buying it.
Nicholas Baker’s New Yorker essay on the Kindle 2 (reported here) caused quite a storm, so much so that the writer returned to the scene of the crime for a live (and lively) chat. Read the transcript here.
The coroners’s report indicates it was heart disease that did E. Lynn Harris in.
The Google Book Search Settlement debate raged on at a panel discussion last night in New York.
James Campbell offers up an intriguing essay at Times Online on how Raymond Carver’s literary style was shaped by external forces—specifically, his editor and his wife.
The Times has more on the restoration of John Keats’ Hampstead home.
Adam Roberts goes to war with the sci-fi establishment over his displeasure with the lineup for this year’s Hugos. Allison Flood parses the venom.
Today in Literature: On this day in 1818, Emily Brontë was born in Thornton, Yorkshire.
AuthorScoop
July 30th, 2009 at 7:49 am
Thanks for the Baker transcript on Kindling. I loved the
question
about
the
people
of
the
book
versus
people
of the Kindle…..
July 30th, 2009 at 7:50 am
QUESTION FROM JOY VANNUYS: As a fan of erotic literature—especially your books “Vox” and “The Fermata”—I have to say that the Kindle makes it less embarrassing to read dirty books on the subway. Though I suppose there are lower-tech solutions to that issue.
NICHOLSON BAKER: Thank you, and yes, that’s a good point—privacy. The hortus conclusus of an electronic device
July 30th, 2009 at 7:50 am
THE NEW YORKER: We’ve got a few about the end of printed word:
QUESTION FROM RODRIGO: Is this the end of the paper book? Is the end of the smell of ink? I’m so sad about that.
QUESTION FROM CONSTANCE G.: Is the Kindle ultimately a serious threat to the printed book? Or, is it just another way to read a book?
NICHOLSON BAKER: I think it’s just another way to read, and that in itself a good thing. I like the smell of the cardboard box that the Kindle came in…
Amazon is pushing it too hard, and the press got all excited and thought it was a millennial development.
July 31st, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Oh, do I ever love Carol Ann Duffy’s poem. I’ve been meaning to read it for days and I’m glad I didn’t forget to. Wonderful.
July 31st, 2009 at 6:36 pm
i very much admire her level of effort. she’s taking the position seriously and doing good work.