Visiting the Birthplace of Zora Neale Hurston, Local Poet Laureates, and More

by
Evan Smith Rakoff
5.8.13

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:

The New York Times details the growing national phenomenon of selecting a poet laureate, both on the state and local level.

In recent days, author Maureen Johnson asked her readers to redesign the covers of well-known books by male authors to highlight gender disparity in the publishing marketplace. (Huffington Post)

Author Dani Shapiro discusses the new public identity authors now are compelled to adopt—the social media avatar. (Virginia Quarterly Review)

Greg Bellow’s anger and disgust are palpable….” Novelist Justin Taylor looks at the new book, Saul Bellow’s Heart: A Son’s Memoir. (New York Observer)

In a new anthology, novelist Haruki Murakami explains why he translated The Great Gatsby for a Japanese audience. (GalleyCat)

Jeffrey Colvin visits Notasulga, Alabama, the birthplace of Zora Neale Hurston. (Millions)

Margaret Atwood asks, “Should you, as a fiction writer, permit your characters to have dreams?” (New York Review of Books)

Today is Thomas Pynchon's birthday! (Los Angeles Times)