'The Second Plane' by Martin Amis Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 September 11: Terror and Boredom
IT would be too easy to read Martin Amis' slim book on Sept. 11 in a day and to dismiss it with a politically correct glare. The dozen essays, columns and reviews and two short stories in "The Second Plane: September 11, Terror and Boredom" are more illuminating than that, though deeply, sometimes self-indulgently flawed.
'The House of Widows' by Askold Melnyczuk Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Family secrets lie at the end of a dark and twisted path
FROM its puzzling opening line ("The most common grammatical error is the lie"), there's an ominous vibe to Askold Melnyczuk's third novel, "The House of Widows," and the sense of unease lingers until the final sentence. It's a mysterious, masterfully taut story in which dread plays a prominent role.
'Marco Polo' by Laurence Bergreen Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700 An account of the adventures of the celebrated 13th century world traveler.
MARCO POLO was only 17 when he departed for China in 1271 with his father, Niccolò, and his uncle, Maffeo. Those two merchants of Venice were known to the boy primarily as storytellers of their fabulous exploits, writes award-winning biographer and historian Laurence Bergreen, for they had been absent more than 16 years, Marco's entire childhood. The pair had followed trade routes east, encountered exotic countries and customs and survived many perils; they had even lived for a time at the court of Kublai Khan, the leader of the Mongol Empire. Eventually they agreed to accompany his emissary west to the pope, vowing to return to Cambulac (Beijing) with several items the Great Khan had requested.
Roddy Doyle: "Sleep" Roddy Doyle Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:00:00 -0000 It was the thing he’d always loved about her. The way she could sleep. When they’d just started going with each other, before they really knew each other, he’d lie awake, hoping she’d wake up, praying for it, dying. But even then he’d loved to look at her while she . . . Gary Snyder: "Mu Ch’i’s Persimmons" Gary Snyder Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:00:00 -0000 There is no remedy for satisfying hunger other than a painted rice cake.
--Dōgen, November, 1242.
On a back wall down the hall
lit by a side glass door
is the scroll of Mu Ch’i’s great
sumi painting, “Persimmons”
The wind-weights hanging from the
axles hold it . . . Frederick Seidel: "Poem by the Bridge at Ten-shin" Frederick Seidel Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:00:00 -0000 This jungle poem is going to be my last.
This space walk is.
Racing in a cab through springtime Central Park,
I kept my nose outside the window like a dog.
The stars above my bed at night are vast.
I think it is uncool to call young women Ms . . .
London Review of Books
Don't Ask Henry · Alan Hollinghurst: Sissiness The story of Belchamber's publication is probably better known than the book itself, which, like its author, has suffered the ambiguous fate of becoming an accessory to the life of a more important writer. It is his friend Henry James who keeps Sturgis's novel distantly in view, at the same time as casting a long shadow over it. James read it in proof, and wrote a characteristic sequence of letters to Sturgis about it, beginning with neat praise and mild demurrals, but quickly building up to such fundamental criticisms of the book that the demoralised author said he would withdraw it altogether; at which James protested and pleaded, successfully though not with any retraction of the criticisms he had made. Cut, Kill, Dig, Drill · Jonathan Raban: Sarah Palin's Cunning Sarah Palin has put a new face and voice to the long-standing, powerful, but inchoate movement in US political life that one might see as a mutant strain of Poujadism, inflected with a modern American accent. There are echoes of the Poujadist agenda of 1950s France in its contempt for metropolitan elites, fuelling the resentment of the provinces towards the capital and the countryside towards the city, in its xenophobic strain of nationalism, sturdy, paysan resistance to taxation, hostility to big business, and conviction that politicians are out to exploit the common man. Why Not Eat an Eclair? · David Runciman: Why Vote? Why would anyone vote for Barack Obama? Not why would anyone want to see Obama elected president rather than John McCain (or Hillary Clinton for that matter), but why would anyone who desired that outcome think that his or her individual vote could make the slightest difference in helping to bring it about? General elections are never decided by a single vote, so no one's vote is ever going to be missed. If you want Obama to win, and plan to vote for him, but you forget, or find yourself otherwise detained, don't worry - the final result will be unaffected by your failure to show up, even if you happen to live in a swing state like Ohio or Florida. If Obama is winning the state, he will do perfectly well without you; if he is losing, there is nothing you can do to help him get over the line, because the winning line will always be further away than your paltry individual vote. Either way, you are not needed, so why bother to vote at all?
Books | guardian.co.uk
Booker club: A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz Sam Jordison Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:07:20 -0000 Sam Jordison: As with others on the list, Toltz's 700-plus-page debut is another potentially excellent book undone by its excesses German literary critic rejects lifetime-achievement gong live on air Jess Smee Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:01:41 -0000 Germany's top literary critic spurned a lifetime-achievement prize and tore into television. By Jess Smee Patrick Barkham meets survival expert Ray Mears Patrick Barkham Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:05:05 -0000 He admires David Cameron and thinks it's sometimes better to shoot wildlife than photograph it. Survival expert Ray Mears is full of surprises, Patrick Barkham discovers
NPR Topics: Books
Le Clezio, Portrait Of A Gentle Writer Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:19:00 -0400 Though born in France, Nobel laureate Jean-Marie Gustav Le Clezio is a nomadic writer, whose work has been defined by his life of travel around the world. For him, storytelling means melting into the background. Publisher Of Palin Biography Hits Jackpot Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:27:00 -0400 A small publisher in suburban Seattle has hit the big time with a biography of Sarah Palin. Epicenter Press published Sarah: How A Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down months before Palin hit the national spotlight. The Booker Prize: Our London Cabbie's Review Sat, 11 Oct 2008 08:00:00 -0400 Who needs the Booker Prize committee when we have our own Will Grozier? The London cabbie reviews the short list of books ahead of Tuesday's announcement of the Man Booker prizewinner.
Slashdot: Book Reviews
Nagios 3 Enterprise Network Monitoring samzenpus Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:15:00 -0000 jgoguen writes "Nagios, originally known as Netsaint, has been a long-time favourite for network and device monitoring due to its flexibility, ease of use, and efficiency. Nagios provided, and still provides today, a low-cost, versatile alternative to commercial network monitoring applications. Nagios 3 takes a huge step forward compared to Nagios 2, providing improved flexibility, ease of use and extensibility, all while also making significant performance enhancements. Due to its extensibility and ease of use, no device or situation has yet been found that cannot be monitored using Nagios and a pre-made or custom script, plug-in or enhancement." Read on for the rest of jgoguen's review.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
OpenGL ES 2.0 Programming Guide samzenpus Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:05:00 -0000 Martin Ecker writes "Mobile phones and other embedded devices are getting more and more powerful each year. The availability of dedicated hardware for 3D rendering is becoming increasingly ubiquitous, and the latest mobile phones come with 3D hardware acceleration that rivals the power of desktop graphics hardware. OpenGL ES 2.0 is the latest version of a cross-platform, low-level graphics API to utilize these new resources available in embedded devices. The OpenGL ES 2.0 Programming Guide published by Addison-Wesley Publishing aims to help the reader make use of the full power of OpenGL ES 2.0 to create interesting 3D applications." Keep reading for the rest of Martin's review.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Advanced Excel for Scientific Data Analysis samzenpus Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:02:00 -0000 cgjherr writes "If the recent financial meltdown has left you wondering, 'When does exponential decay function stop?' then I have the book for you. Advanced Excel for Scientific Data Analysis is the kind of book that only comes along every twenty years. A tome so densely packed with scientific and mathematical formulas that it almost dares you to try and understand it all. A "For Dummies" book starts with a gentle introduction to the technology. This is more like a "for Mentats" book. It assumes that you know Excel very well. The first chapter alone will have you in awe as you see the author turn the lowly Excel into something that rivals Mathematica using VBA, brains, and a heaping helping of fortitude." Read on for the rest of Jack's review.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Books
Instead of ‘Chihuahua,’ try a book Despite the fact that the New York Times review called it only "reasonably diverting," it seems that "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" is No. 1 at the box office this holiday weekend.
No poetic justice for the US? In the US this year, much angst has been focused on the subject of the Nobel Prize and the disinclination of the Swedish judges to offer the award for literature to an American. But, says critic David Orr, in a piece in tomorrow's New York Times, there's actually an even ...
‘Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World’ The day a stray cat unexpectedly arrived in our dog-centric home, my ardently cat-loving cousin Jeanne had a word of advice. “He’s not a dog,” she reminded me. “A dog leaps immediately into your heart. A cat arrives with a slow crawl.”
500 Literary Journal - Ajournal of provocative thought and transcendent stories. Publishes original essays, interviews, fiction, non-fiction, poetry and reviews of film, music, and books.
the Arts - Published by the English Department of the U.S. Air Force Academy, this journal includes war-related writing, art, and scholarly essays. Sample issues, subscriptions, and submissions.
Meta Description: [ War, LIterature & the Arts Home Page ]
580 Split - The Mills College annual graduate literary magazine is issued each spring and publishes experimental fiction, poetry and art work.
Aesthetica - Literary journal publishing poetry, prose, drama, articles, and artwork. Submission information, excerpts, and news.
Meta Description: [ Aesthetica is a culture magazine for the emerging arts. ]
American Studies International - The journal of international Americanists. Current issue, selected archives, submissions and subscriptions.
Antithesis - Australian postgraduate journal of contemporary theory, criticism and culture.
Appalachian Heritage - Literary quarterly presenting poetry, short fiction, essays, articles and reviews of recent literature by and about the people of the Appalachian South. Subscription information, instructions for contributors, and sample contents.
Arethusa - Print journal of literary and cultural studies, published for 32 years. Archives available on the web and in PDF format.
Bridge Magazine - Literature, visual arts, culture and critique publication.
Chicago Review - The website of the University of Chicago magazine includes a table of contents for each issue, subscription and submission information.
Cimarron Review - A quarterly journal that publishes fiction, poetry, essays, reviews and art.
Combo - Online excerpts and submission guidelines for a journal of poetry attempting to publish writers under 40 alongside the older poets who influenced them.
Contemporary Poetry Review - A British-based academic literary journal featuring articles, essays, literary criticism and book reviews of established international poets.
Meta Description: [ Contemporary Poetry Review features poetry criticism, reviews and interviews with distinguished poets, critics, and translators. ]
Cranky Literary Journal - Publishes prose, poetry, creative nonfiction, book reviews, and interviews with writers. Submission guidelines, news, brief biographies of the editors, and sample works.
Creative Nonfiction - This online site of the print magazine includes a small selection of the articles found in the print version.
Meta Description: [ Creative Nonfiction: The journal devoted exclusively to the creative nonfiction genre. ]
Delmar Magazine - A literary annual dedicated to innovation, craft, and the integrity of the individual voice. The journal features poetry, fiction, essays, and criticism.
Denver Quarterly - Back issues, news, submission guidelines, and subscription information.
Early American Literature - Triquarterly journal featuring scholarship that explores the history, aesthetics, cultural significance, and meaning of writings in and about America from European contact to 1820.
ESQ: A Journal of the American Renaissance - Washington State University journal publication on transcendentalists, nineteenth-century American literature, antebellum literature, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and romanticism. Subscriptions, submissions, and online articles.
Etude - Literary journal of nonfiction featuring narrative nonfiction, literary journalism, essays, book reviews and columns. Guidelines, current issue, and links.
Meta Description: [ Etude, a literary journal of nonfiction featuring narrative nonfiction, literary journalism, essays, book reviews and columns, is published quarterly by the literary nonfiction program at the University of Oregon ]
Euphony - Issue list, staff, and submission guidelines for a journal of literature and art at the University of Chicago.
Meta Description: [ The site of the University of Chicago's literary journal, 'Euphony.' ]
First Intensity: A Magazine of New Writing - An annual literary journal of poetry, prose, fiction, reviews, commentary, and art. Site lists current and back issues, as well as books available from First Intensity.
Highbeams - The online literary journal of Beloit College with poetry, writings, and reviews.
Jane Austen's Regency World - Bi-monthly magazine about Jane Austen's life, literature, and the Regency period.
Meta Description: [ Jane Austen's Regency world, a full colour literary historic magazine with, Georgian, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and sensibility, Northanger abbey, Mansfield park, Emma, costume, novel, Persuasion, Beau Brummell, Darcy, royalty, Prince Regent, antique, articles. ]
Janus Head - A literary journal that places the emphasis on critical theory.
KulturPoetik - Publishes essays in English, German and French on all cultural aspects of literature and on all literary aspects of culture.
Meta Description: [ KulturPoetik deals with all cultural aspects of literature and all literary aspects of culture ]
kunapipi - Bi-annual arts magazine of critical and creative writing with emphasis on the new literatures written in English.
Meta Description: [ Kunapipi - Journal of Postcolonial and Commonwealth Literature ]
Land-Grant College Review - A literary journal based in New York City.
Meta Description: [ The Land-Grant College Review is a new literary journal based in New York
city. ]
Natural Bridge Literary Journal - A journal of contemporary literature that publishes poetry, fiction, essays, and works in translation by new and established writers.
Meta Description: [ Natural Bridge Literary Magazine University Missouri Saint Louis Fiction Poetry Personal Essay Narratives ]
500NeoLit OnLine Internet Quarterly Project - Journal of the NeoLit Research Circle at the Institute of British and American Culture and Literature (University of Silesia, Poland). Dedicated to cultural and literary studies, the journal is free. Submissions are refereed.
New Antigone - International journal of postgraduate research with a focus on women's literature and arts. Call for papers, submission guidelines, subscriptions, and program descriptions.
Meta Description: [ New Antigone Journal focuses on Writing, Arts, Gender and Womens Studies, Culture, Language, Psychology, Literature, Film, Philosophy, Medicine, Politics and encouraging Postgraduate Womens Research in Humanities ]
New Orleans Review - An international journal of contemporary poetry, fiction, nonfiction, art, photography, film, and book reviews, founded in 1968 at Loyola University in New Orleans.
Nimrod International Journal of Prose and Poetry - Longstanding literary journal from the University of Tulsa. Subscription and submission information, awards, and featured issues.
Meta Description: [ Nimrod International Journal is published twice a year, spring and fall. Nimrod's mission is discovery:
the journal seeks new, unheralded writers; writers from other lands who become accessible to the English speaking world
through translation; established authors who have vigorous new work t... ]
Orchid: A Literary Review - Champions new and emerging fiction writers with interviews on the craft of fiction and articles examining the role of short stories as literature.
Meta Description: [ Enter a brief description of your site here ]
Paradoxa: Studies in World Literary Genres - Abbreviated online version of the print publication which explores genre literature.
Meta Description: [ Paradoxa: Studies in World Literary Genres publishes essays covering all aspects of genre literature (written, oral, drawn or designed). ]
Ploughshares - Abbreviated web edition of the literary journal.
Meta Description: [ Ploughshares: View samples from issues, order subscriptions and copies, and obtain information about one of the best literary journals in the country. ]
500PMS poemmemoirstory - A literary journal of women writers, includes poems, memoirs, and stories. Alabama's first literary journal exclusively written and edited by women, published by the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Poetry New Zealand - An international print journal of poetry and poetics. Website offers submission and subscription information, as well as links to writers' resources.
Points of Entry: Cross-Currents in Storytelling - Offers writers and teachers in professional journalism models for storytelling by presenting literary journalism (creative non-fiction), short fiction and oral and Native American stories and scholarship.
Prague Literary Review - Monthly journal of literature, essays, and criticism published in the Czech Republic with an international focus.
Prairie Schooner - Abbreviated online edition of the print magazine; includes magazine history and subscription information, as well as samples from the latest issue.
Project Muse - Online database of more than 200 journals from nonprofit publishers.
Prospects - Multidisciplinary journal of nonfiction and criticism. Information for contributors and subscribers.
Quarterly West - Website for the print journal presents some selections online.
Quick Fiction - Quick Fiction is a JP Press publication featuring stories under 500 words.
Rattapallax - A journal of international writing with CD featuring the poets reading their work.
RHINO: The Poetry Forum - Sample material and submission information about Rhino Magazine, a non-profit poetry journal based in Evanston, Illinois, with links to other poetry and arts-related sites.
Sea Breeze Journal - Journal of contemporary Liberian writing, publishing creative nonfiction and original short fiction narratives, poetry, interviews, book reviews, and social and political commentary. Includes writer profiles, gallery, editorial board and submission details.
Meta Description: [ Sea Breeze Journal of Contemporary Liberian Writings ]
Sewanee Review - Online version of the print journal, publishing poetry, fiction and criticism.
Shenandoah: The Washington and Lee Review - Website for the print journal includes subscription information, writers' guidelines, and sample excerpts of published material.
Sirena - Poetry, art and criticism in English and Spanish. Recent issues, submission and subscription information, and links.
Southwest Review - The fourth oldest, continuously published literary quarterly in the United States, is located on the campus of Southern Methodist University.
Studies in American Jewish Literature - Scholarly journal focusing on historic and contemporary Jewish literary movements in the United States and Canada.
Sycamore Review - Abbreviated web edition of the print magazine published twice annually by the Department of English at Purdue University, with subscription/purchasing information and an online archive of back-issues.
Symbiosis: A Journal of Anglo-American Literary Relations - Articles on British and American literature and culture from the beginnings of Anglophone America to the present. Online archives, subscriptions, and submission guidelines.
Meta Description: [ Symbiosis: a Journal of Anglo-American Literary Relations publishes articles on British and American Literature and Culture from the beginnings of Anglophone America to the Present ]
The Anthologist - Literary and Fine Arts Journal of Rutgers College.
The Cambridge Quarterly - Journal of literary criticism with a particular interest in challenging accepted views. It also publishes the best Cambridge University Finals dissertation each year.
The Common Review - Journal featuring original essays and articles about literature and culture. Includes excerpts, subscription information, submission guidelines and contacts.
Meta Description: [ Great Books Foundation for instruction and materials to discuss literature. ]
The Edinburgh Review - Scottish journal featuring essays, short fiction, poetry and reviews aimed at an educated reading public with an interest in critical thought.
Meta Description: [ Scotland's leading journal of ideas since 1802 ]
The Georgia Review - Online site of the Georgia Review, a quarterly publication of essays, short fiction, poetry, reviews, and art. This site also provides limited access to recent back issues.
The Iowa Review - Online publication of a literary journal carrying fiction, poetry, essays, and reviews.
Meta Description: [ We take our mission to be nudging along American literature, to be local but not provincial, to be experimental but not without elegance. ]
The Literary Review - Published quarterly by Fairleigh Dickinson University since 1957, it has introduced new fiction, poetry, and essays from many nations to English readers.
The Little Magazine - A journal of ideas and literature, largely in translation from the South Asian languages.
Meta Description: [ The Little Magazine is South Asia's only professionally produced print magazine devoted to essays, fiction, poetry, art and criticism ]
The London Magazine - Longstanding academic review of literature and the arts. Contains magazine and subscription information.
Meta Description: [ The London Magazine UK - 'A Review of Literature and the Arts' ]
The Massachusetts Review - The website for the respected print journal includes submission guidelines and subscription information, as well as samples and excerpts online.
The Minnesota Review - Literary and cultural studies journal that places a special emphasis on politically engaged criticism, fiction and poetry. Selections, submission, subscriptions, and call for papers.
The Missouri Review - The extensive online version of the respected literary journal features highlights of the print version.
The South Carolina Modern Language Review - An online journal for literary scholarship in modern foreign languages.
Meta Description: [ An on-line literary journal for modern languages published at Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina. ]
The Vocabula Review - A monthly journal about the state of the English language. Articles, essay archive, and back issues.
Meta Description: [ The Vocabula Review (TVR) is a monthly journal about the state of the English language. TVR battles nonstandard, careless English and embraces clear, expressive English. We hope we can encourage our readers to do as much. Vocabula Communications Company, founded in 1986, offers editing and writin... ]
Triquarterly - Features fiction, poetry, literary essays, and graphic art. Highlights from the current issue, submission guidelines, and how to subscribe.
Wisconsin Review - Small page introducing the literary journal for University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Yale Anglers' Journal - Informative site with submission and subscription guidelines for this publication devoted to the literary and artistic aspects of angling.
YIP: Yale Italian Poetry - University journal of contemporary Italian poetry, featuring unpublished poems, poetry in translation, poetology, and reviews.
Meta Description: [ YIP. Yale Italian Poetry. ]
