Michael Rosen blames the Reformation – truly. That time period was “when they thought the only way you could be virtuous was to be modest and serious, so humour was pushed aside, seen as frivolous … even dangerous. And that seeps through into education today, so there’s a slight fear of subversiveness or laughter, as well as a dismissal of it. And for some of us, humour is a means of survival.” – The Guardian (UK)
Category: words
How To Keep On Writing (Or Making Other Art) When It Feels Like The Planet Is Coming Apart
Writer Jenny Offill: “The question I was thinking about in this book … was, Can you still just tend your own garden once you know about the fire outside its walls?” – The New York Times
When Dorothy Parker Got Fired From Vanity Fair
She had been the magazine’s theatre critic for less than two years, and in trouble with her editor for much of that time, when one column enraged both David Belasco and Florenz Ziegfeld so much that libel suits were threatened. Her dismissal became a minor cause célèbre in the press, made her famous enough to maintain a freelance career ever after, and launched the Algonquin Round Table on the road to renown. – The Public Domain Review
After 87 Years, A Radical Novel Of The Harlem Renaissance Finds A Publisher
Claude McKay set aside his novel Romance in Marseille in 1933 because his editor thought it too shocking to sell: its protagonist is a West African double amputee with a prostitute lover, and most of the action is “in a sexually liberated working-class milieu, where queer love is accepted as a fact of life, no more subject to judgment than its heterosexual counterpart.” Penguin Classics has just published it for the first time. – The New York Times
Slammed For Doing ‘Literary Blackface’, Barnes & Noble Cancels Poorly Thought-Out ‘Diverse Editions’ Campaign
The idea of this Black History Month initiative was to take 12 children’s and young-adult classic titles — among them Frankenstein, Treasure Island, The Three Musketeers, and Romeo and Juliet — and sell them with covers depicting their characters as nonwhite. (This as opposed to promoting titles by nonwhite writers.) – The Guardian
Barnes & Noble’s Blackface Celebration Of Black History Month
“Seriously. To honor black people, they decided to showcase a selection of white-centered literary tomes. But, instead of acknowledging that the books were written by white people who wrote about white people, these genius marketers simply slapped a diverse selection of black faces on the books’ covers.” – The Root
When Working Men Bought ‘Pride And Prejudice’ For A Penny
“Austen first emerged in penny editions in the 1890s. Penny versions were modeled on the sensational Penny Dreadfuls, those cheap stories of violence on which Britain’s lawmakers were known to blame the rise in urban crime. Operating in tandem, two newspaper giants stepped in to offer better entertainment to ‘the poorer millions.’ These alternatives were pushed as ‘Penny Delightfuls.'” And yes, poor working men and women bought and read them. – Literary Hub
Thanks To The Claw, Philadelphia Has Become A Literary Hotbed
The Claw, founded by authors Carmen Maria Machado and Liz Moore, “is comprised of 19 published and professional fiction and nonfiction writers. Not unlike a book club, it meets roughly once a month, usually at one of the members’ homes. Over glasses of wine, the women ask for advice, offer feedback, and discuss what they’re writing at the moment — or just whatever’s occupying their minds.” Says one member, “What you see in Philly’s literary community is that women have decided to take the lead here.” – Philadelphia Magazine
Turn Libraries Into Arts Spaces? Be Careful!
It’s fantastic to see libraries recognised as valuable public spaces that need protection and increased support, but I’m concerned that the attempt to rejuvenate them through the arts could backfire. Rather than reviving libraries, it could transform them into something else completely. – Arts Professional
Proposed Missouri Law Could See Librarians Jailed Or Fined For Lending ‘Age-Inappropriate Sexual Material’
“Missouri House Rep. Ben Baker introduced the bill, dubbed the ‘Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act,’ in January that calls for the creation of a panel made up of non-library workers who will determine the removal of ‘age-inappropriate sexual material,’ from their local branch. Libraries that don’t comply will lose their funding. Library employees providing material deemed inappropriate would be hit with a misdemeanor charge and liable for a $500 fine or a maximum jail sentence of a year, according to the bill’s current language.” – ABC News