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:
Author Stephen Marche, who has read Shakespeare’s Hamlet and P. G. Wodehouse’s novel The Inimitable Jeeves one hundred times each, describes the experience and virtues of what he calls “centrireading” at the Guardian.
Vive la France! In an effort to promote French writers and literary culture across the United States, the French embassy in New York City has asked independent bookstores to create special French literature sections called French Corners. (New York Times)
The New York Public Library will display selections from the archive of author and journalist Tom Wolfe beginning February 13. The “Becoming the Man in the White Suit: The Tom Wolfe Papers at the New York Public Library” exhibit will feature correspondence between Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson, interview notes, and more. (GalleyCat)
Why are we fascinated by the lore of authors’ private lives? John Yargo investigates the cult of the author at the Millions.
“Without letters, we lose an integral way of seeing and understanding history.” For Black History Month, K. Tempest Bradford lists several personal letter collections of African Americans from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. (NPR)
“There’s no systematic way to learn to read or write modern English.” At the Atlantic, Luba Vangelova suggests that the evolution of the English language and its convoluted spelling conventions make it more difficult for English-speaking children to learn.
Is this the year of the male romance writer? The 2015 Romantic Novel Awards shortlist, which is traditionally female-dominated, includes three male authors in the Historical Romantic Novel category and the Romantic Comedy Novel category. (Bookseller)
“Older writers have another trump card up their sleeve: experience.” Max Davidson reminds the older set that it’s never too late to write a novel. (Telegraph)
