Tag Archives: Literary

Uncovering a Hiding Man

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Thomas

This weekend I finished reading Hiding Man, Tracy Daugherty’s fantastic new biography of postmodernist Donald Barthelme. Perfect thing to read this past cold, melancholy, drizzled week. The Barthelmes — a most talented family — seem to exist under a slight … Continue reading →

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Updike Passes Away

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Thomas

Great loss for American literature. Famed author John Updike dies of cancer at 76 Author John Updike, regarded as one of the greatest and most prolific writers in modern American letters, died Tuesday, his publicist said. He was 76. Updike … Continue reading →

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Massive Gotham Book Collection to Penn Libraries

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Thomas

I had missed this news before Christmas, but wow. What a massive, unique collection. I hope the libraries takes care of it forever as a permanent archive and doesn’t just decide to .25 cent book sale it all away. I … Continue reading →

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Best Job in the World

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Thomas

$100K To Blog About Australia’s Reef No wonder they are calling this the best job in the world. Getting paid $100k to kick back in Australia and blog about the reef? Wow. FYI, they are still taking applications until Feb. … Continue reading →

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I Want What Heinlein Wants

Posted on January 24, 2009 by Thomas

What did I want? I wanted the hurtling moons of Barsoom. I wanted Storisende and Poictesme, and Holmes shaking me awake to tell me, “The game’s afoot!” I wanted to float down the Mississippi on a raft and elude a … Continue reading →

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Writing, the Greatest of Human Inventions

Posted on January 24, 2009 by Thomas

“Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time, allowing us to voyage through time.” ~ Carl Sagan, “Cosmos”

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The Bonfire of China’s Vanities in the Friendship Hotel

Posted on January 24, 2009 by Thomas

The Bonfire of China’s Vanities By PANKAJ MISHRA One cold afternoon last fall I met Yu Hua at the state-run Friendship Hotel in Beijing. Cheerfully, he described to me the incipient international fame of his most recent novel, “Brothers,” one … Continue reading →

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