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:
During the South Carolina governor’s inaugural ceremony, the state’s poet laureate Marjorie Wentworth traditionally reads a poem. This year, however, Wentworth was surprised to find that the poem was cut from the ceremony. State officials say the poem was cut for time, but some residents believe it was because Wentworth mentioned South Carolina’s troubled history with slavery. (NPR)
A group of prominent authors including Margaret Atwood and Robert Macfarlane have sent an open letter to Oxford University Press expressing concern over changes made to the Oxford Junior Dictionary. The writers discovered that the dictionary had removed “many words associated with nature and the countryside,” in order to make space for words relating to technology. (Melville House)
Speaking of Oxford University Press, the publisher has warned its authors not to mention bacon, or sausage, or pigs in general, so as not to offend Muslims and Jewish people. Spokespeople for both the Muslim Labor MP and the Jewish Leadership Council have called the warning against mentions of pork “ludicrous.” (International Business Times)
The Academy of American Poets has announced a new partnership with the Betsy Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida, for winners of its annual James Laughlin Award. On top of a five thousand dollar prize, recipients of the James Laughlin Award will receive a weeklong residency at the Betsy’s Writer’s Room.
“The more screen-based our lives, it seems, the greater the perceived value of real human encounters and physical artifacts: activity in each realm feeds interest in the other.” A report from the British Library has found that the rise of the digital age has actually increased interest in libraries. (Telegraph)
“Greatness is not a universally agreed-upon value.” At the New York Times, authors Cheryl Strayed and Adam Kirsch debate the idea of and obsession with the “Great American Novel.”
The language of business has seeped into literature: Bestselling authors such as J. K. Rowling and Hilary Mantel have become “brands.” (Guardian)
“Men are always telling you about the power you have, but it sometimes seems to be a power entirely of their making and control. It’s a power based on someone else’s concept of your innocence.” At the Los Angeles Review of Books, Erik Morse interviews former adult film actor and writer Lorelei Lee about Vladimir Nabokov, concepts of power, and more.
