In case it’s not already on your calendar, Dec. 9 is Milton’s 400th birthday. A couple of weeks ago I flew out to St. Olaf College, Minn. to take part in a marathon reading of “Paradise Lost” that some folks there staged in honor of the quatercentenary. I write about it in next week’s Chronicle…. Continue reading »
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If You Have a Lit Prize to Announce…
Tell the winner before you send out the media alert. An editor friend of mine got this note on Monday: New York-based writer Nam Le was tonight (10.11.08) named the winner of this year’s £60,000 Dylan Thomas Prize for his debut collection of short stories, The Boat…. Nam Le will NOT be aware that he… Continue reading »
Operation Paperback
Founded in 1999, Operation Paperback collects gently used books and sends them to American troops deployed overseas. Many of our troops are serving far from home and living in facilities that provide few of the comforts of home. At the end of the duty day, the opportunity to escape into a good book is welcomed…. Continue reading »
What He Said
RIP John Leonard. Lots of appreciations elsewhere to which I have nothing useful to add, except to direct you to this Nation essay from 2000, which ought to be read by all working critics and reporters and the people who edit them: I like to think of myself as having published in the New York… Continue reading »
Scholars Behaving Digitally
One of the more intriguing things about the scholarly-communication beat–my official bailiwick at the Chronicle–is the ethnographic component. In other words, schol comm covers not just what scholars communicate (i.e., research) but how they communicate, and to whom. Why does one researcher go for an online-only journal while another is bound to print? How do… Continue reading »
