John Jeremiah Sullivan Gets Several Massages, Brontë Chapel Robbed, and More

by
Evan Smith Rakoff
10.25.12

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:

According to a Bowker count, in the United States, over 235,000 self-published books are released yearly; and on literary agent Janet Reid's blog, she offers sage advice to writers interested in the self-publishing route. (GalleyCat)

In the United Kingdom, thieves robbed the graveyard and stole stones from Brontë Chapel, where the Brontë sisters were baptized. Church warden Steven Stanworth told the BBC, "It is a historic site and it has been desecrated. This was a despicable and awful crime."

Meanwhile, author Francine Prose looks at the difficulties of adapting Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights for film. (New York Review of Books)

Bethanne Patrick planned to follow her literary ambitions to New York City, but things took an unexpected (and painful) twist. (Beyond the Margins)

"Genre, served straight up, has its limitations, and there’s no reason to pretend otherwise. Indeed, it’s these very limitations that attract us." Arthur Krystal explores the sometimes-heated discussion concerning genre and literary fiction. (New Yorker)

Ben Yagoda has the skinny on the oft-misunderstood piece of punctuation—the dash. (New York Times)

The Guardian captures the worst typos in history.

On the Poetry Foundation's podcast hosted by Curtis Fox, Rosie Schaap and Jeff Gordinier share a meal at New York City's much-lauded restaurant, Prune, and discuss poems about food. (Poetry Off the Shelf)

"I’d been traveling and writing a lot for them, spending a lot of time in middle seats on international flights, and my body had reached new levels of vileness." John Jeremiah Sullivan recounts his firsthand experience with massage. (New York Times Magazine)