From Virginia Quarterly Review, shoot the messenger: Dana Goodyear, David Orr, and the Stewards of Poetry; a final antidote: The journals of Louise Bogan; the music of failure: A review of Halflife by Meghan O’Rourke; and a review of Against the Day, by Thomas Pynchon.
From Eurozine, first published in Czech in 1985 by the Toronto-based '68 Publishers, illicitly imported copies of Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being first circulated on a strictly hand-to-hand basis. Now, when it is freely available on the shelves of bookshops, what does it mean to the Czech reader? Twenty-two years later, literary critic Jiri Travnicek discovers a newfound appreciation for Kundera's narration, characterization, and above all wisdom. Labyrinthine plot: In Travels with Herodotus, the late, great Polish writer Ryszard Kapuscinski weaves epic stories into his own reportage to stunning effect, says Stephen Smith (and more). His little slice of evil: A review of Peeling the Onion by Gunter Grass.
It’s dangerous to make predictions: Nicholas Clee on why you can't predict a bestseller. So bad it's good: The bestseller charts are groaning with real-life accounts of neglect, violence and sexual abuse. The worse your childhood, it seems, the more people want to read about it. Have we turned into a nation of ghouls? Esther Addley investigates the remarkable rise of "misery lit". The Inner Lives of Men: Few stories as sad as John Williams’s “Stoner” could be so secretly triumphant, or so exhilarating. Most editors can't or won't write. Few writers can or care to edit. Except for the great David Remnick of The New Yorker. The man's an editing, writing fool. And then there's Cullen Murphy. A look at what authors Annie Dillard and Peter Elbow can teach you about writing.
From PopMatters, a review of Edmund and Rosemary Go to Hell: A Tale of Our Times With (Hopefully) Some Hope for Us All by Bruce Eric Kaplan; and how America's most renowned improv club stays second to none. Surrender Yourself to the Attack of the Comedians: The truth hurts, but in the wake of our welts and bruises, if we've been properly assaulted, we're still laughing. The best comic films of all time: From Buster Keaton to Borat, comedies are the films we love most - and also the hardest to get right. But what is the funniest movie ever? A panel of very funny people name their favourite.
From Forbes, here's the latest Celebrity 100, the annual list of the world's most powerful—and best-paid—celebrities. An article on George Clooney, actor-as-activist. Ron Rosenbaum on The Worst Celebrity Profile Ever Written: Angelina Jolie, "the best woman in the world". Chicks With Flicks: In this—the season of Knocked Up and Entourage—Hollywood has a little woman problem. One producer’s lament for a lost Camelot. The filmmaker who's plunged headfirst into the brutal world of ultimate fighting is David Mamet.
