You write War and Peace. And you say to your self, "Damn, I just wrote War and Peace." And then you say to yourself, "You know what? I don't think I'm done. I think I'll keep writing. 'Cause it just ain't War and Peace until it's long enough to stretch to the moon." But years later, some industrious fellow publishes that first draft, and then...lit fight!
The Unbearable Length of Time it takes to get recognized in your own homeland these days, at least for Milan Kundera, author of "The Unbearable Lightness of Being". But better late than never. Interesting footnote in the article, Kundera hasn't allowed his more recent stuff sold in Czech Republic, because of worries about "the quality of the translation." I'm having a hard enough writing in only one language, so I can imagine the difficulty of porting your stories between two or three.
The vikings are finally invading Spain, but they're being nicer about it than they were to my ancestors in Northern Ireland. It's a literary invasion this time. Books are so much nicer than bloody hands.
Following up on an earlier post about Aussie literature and its fading place for Australian youth, I see that the Australian government will be beefing up Aussie lit offerings in schools.
In a town in Texas a teacher faces possible criminal charges for assigning a Cormac McCarthy book to high schoolers. The book, "Child of God", is often assigned in AP classes. The article reports quite a bit of grassroots support for the teacher, who is well liked and has been sent on paid leave. Nice to see that stereotypes of small town Texas are being challenged by athletes wearing armbands in support of an English teacher. Perhaps the locals have discovered that nothing in any Cormac McCarthy book is any more lurid or graphic than the weekly plotlines of "CSI", "Criminal Minds", or a host of other prime time tv programs...
What? You haven't had enough fall color yet? Shame on you. Redeem yourself below.
At the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, a jewel of a spot this time of year. Meanwhile, at Carver Park Reserve, the cattails and rushes have gone brown and fall quickly slips away.
The Unbearable Length of Time it takes to get recognized in your own homeland these days, at least for Milan Kundera, author of "The Unbearable Lightness of Being". But better late than never. Interesting footnote in the article, Kundera hasn't allowed his more recent stuff sold in Czech Republic, because of worries about "the quality of the translation." I'm having a hard enough writing in only one language, so I can imagine the difficulty of porting your stories between two or three.
The vikings are finally invading Spain, but they're being nicer about it than they were to my ancestors in Northern Ireland. It's a literary invasion this time. Books are so much nicer than bloody hands.
Following up on an earlier post about Aussie literature and its fading place for Australian youth, I see that the Australian government will be beefing up Aussie lit offerings in schools.
In a town in Texas a teacher faces possible criminal charges for assigning a Cormac McCarthy book to high schoolers. The book, "Child of God", is often assigned in AP classes. The article reports quite a bit of grassroots support for the teacher, who is well liked and has been sent on paid leave. Nice to see that stereotypes of small town Texas are being challenged by athletes wearing armbands in support of an English teacher. Perhaps the locals have discovered that nothing in any Cormac McCarthy book is any more lurid or graphic than the weekly plotlines of "CSI", "Criminal Minds", or a host of other prime time tv programs...
What? You haven't had enough fall color yet? Shame on you. Redeem yourself below.
At the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, a jewel of a spot this time of year. Meanwhile, at Carver Park Reserve, the cattails and rushes have gone brown and fall quickly slips away.
