Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—from publishing reports to academic announcements to literary dispatches—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today's stories:
Ahead of its publication next Tuesday, the first chapter of Harper Lee’s forthcoming novel Go Set a Watchman is now available online at the Wall Street Journal and the Guardian, along with audio narration from actress Reese Witherspoon. Readers and critics have already provided a range of reactions to the first chapter’s events. (Bookseller)
At the Los Angeles Review of Books, poet Kwame Dawes reflects on the murders that took place in Charleston last month, and discusses how the southern city has influenced his writing and life. “It has…been easy for me to engage with Charleston as part of a long and complex haunting that is the colonial and slave experience of anyone who pays attention to Africa and its diaspora.”
In related news, South Carolina–born poet Nikky Finney’s poem “A New Day Dawns,” which she wrote in response to the Confederate flag’s removal from the South Carolina Statehouse grounds, is published in the State. Finney told the South Carolina newspaper, “I have been writing these 230 words all my life.”
“Among male poets…the preservation of a stubborn streak of boyishness can feel like an advantage, at least when it comes to coaxing readers into the backyard soap-bubble of a poem.” Jeff Gordinier reviews new poetry collections by Ron Padgett—“American poetry’s Peter Pan”—and Nick Flynn, who “channels the interior growling of a Lost Boy.” (New York Times)
Lima, Peru’s first independent book fair took place earlier this month. Megan Youngblood reports for Hyperallergic on the variety of subversive titles and publishers represented at the inaugural event.
“As human beings we’re all short story enthusiasts.” Author Graham Swift talks about returning to writing short stories after thirty years of writing only novels. (Guardian)
In an effort to dispel stereotypes in comic books and graphic novels, a growing number of mainstream comic book publishers, including DC Comics and Marvel Comics, are releasing a greater selection of titles featuring gay and lesbian superheroes. (New York Times)
