The New Oxford English Dictionary, the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, and More

by Staff
8.19.10

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:

Barnes & Noble founder and chairman Leonard Riggio bought a million shares of the company in preparation for a "likely proxy battle against financier Ron Burkle." (Publishers Weekly)

The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library is scheduled to open in downtown Indianapolis this fall. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

David James Duncan's 1983 novel, The River Why, has been adapted into a film.

Eighty-eight-year-old actress Betty White has signed a two-book deal with G. P. Putnam's Sons. (Star)

The new edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was published today. Here are a few of the approximately two thousand words and phrases making debuts: vuvuzela, geo-engineering, toxic debt, staycation, and cheeseball. (Guardian)

Speaking of linguistics, here's a peek at the new Insider Guide's Australian slang dictionary, featuring gems such as franger, hoon, and squizz. (Sydney Morning Herald)

In a roundup of poetry-themed apps for smartphones, the New York Times proclaims that the devices "are arguably the best thing to hit poetry since the printing press."

This autumn, Durham University in the United Kingdom will be offering a course on all things Harry Potter. (Guardian)  

The Poetry Foundation's Harriet Blog and C-Ville News (here and here) have the latest information on the events surrounding the recent suicide of Kevin Morrissey, managing editor of Virginia Quarterly Review.