Bosnian author Aleksandar Hemon had a plan. “He spent his nights studying English and gave himself five years to learn to write in his new language. After only three years, he had finished a short story. This is where the fairy-tale part comes in: One of Hemon’s first short stories in English was accepted by a small literary magazine, where it was spotted by a high-powered agent. Publishers were soon offering Hemon wheelbarrows full of money for the chance to publish his first book, a collection of stories entitled ‘The Question of Bruno’.” – Feed
Tag: 05.18.00
COLOSSAL MISJUDGMENT
“Flags of Our Fathers,” a book about six of the men who hoisted the flag at Iwo Jima is a runaway success on the Bestseller lists. Yet it was rejected 27 times by publishers. Why is it that a book that can be so successful was turned down so emphatically by so many people whose business it is to predict what will sell? – New York Times
FACT IS TRUER THAN FICTION?
Martin Amis, now 50, wants to be remembered primarily for his fiction. The possibility that a factual book, albeit a sublime essay giving shape and meaning to his chaotic life, could eclipse his reputation as a novelist is too dangerous to contemplate. – National Post (Canada)
BOOMER BEATS
Jazz great Herbie Hancock plans to launch a web site and record label – both called Transparent Music – to develop jazz, R&B, and blues for the baby boomer crowd, instead of the dominant 18-34 hit-singles market. “Only targeting this market would be like if all the food manufacturers started making Häagen-Dazs,” he said. “We’d all get sick.” – Wired
A MATTER OF ECONOMICS
“Where once the classical recording giants could allow themselves to fill a cultural need while making money, now they are only interested in making money – lots of money, and quickly. A new recording by ‘N Sync sells 1.1 million copies in a single day, and the accountants wonder why a Kissin or Pierre Boulez cannot do the same. A successful classical recording will sell not much more than 10,000 to 20,000 copies, unimpressive by the inflated standards of the pop music market.” – Chicago Tribune
FALSE HOPES
Yes there was a lot of speculation last week that CD prices might start falling after the FTC did away with minimum-pricing rules. But don’t hold your breath, say music industry observers. The big chains are no longer as competitive as they once were, and all retailers are scared of the internet. – Dallas Morning News
ON MAKING A NAME
“When the bounding, affable Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel made his local debut in 1996, he seemed almost certain bait for the sharks–a great singer and a great entertainer just a little too eager to soak up audience adulation, too ready to overdramatize. Certainly it has worked–his popularity continues to soar. He is one of the biggest tickets in big-ticket opera.” – Los Angeles Times
FACT IS TRUER THAN FICTION?
Martin Amis, now 50, wants to be remembered primarily for his fiction. The possibility that a factual book, albeit a sublime essay giving shape and meaning to his chaotic life, could eclipse his reputation as a novelist is too dangerous to contemplate. – National Post (Canada)
ON MAKING A NAME
“When the bounding, affable Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel made his local debut in 1996, he seemed almost certain bait for the sharks–a great singer and a great entertainer just a little too eager to soak up audience adulation, too ready to overdramatize. Certainly it has worked–his popularity continues to soar. He is one of the biggest tickets in big-ticket opera.” – Los Angeles Times
THE MAN WHO BOUGHT HISTORY
Andrew Carnegie wanted to preserve his legacy, so he bought it – in the form of setting up some 1,600 public libraries all over America. Scholars meet to talk about how to preserve the Carnegie legacy. – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette