Stories about Literature from June, 2008
Trinidad & Tobago: Poetic Port of Spain
Trinidadian blogger Sweetlime dips into the newly published Echo of Basho. He discovers that even though haiku and Port of Spain are as distinct as “oil and water”, authors Alec de Verteuil and Dawn Glashier have melded them beautifully.
Russia: Dostoevsky Museums
Josefina of Russian Blog visits Dostoevsky Museum in Moscow – and writes briefly about the other six, in St. Petersburg, Staraya Russa, Darovoye, Novokuznetsk, Omsk, and Semipalatinsk.
China: Happy to Become Earthquake Ghost
A propaganda poem published in a Shandong newspapers has been called by netizen “the most shameless piece”. (via webbbs) The poem written by the vice president of Shandong Writers Association said that “1.3 billion people cried together, even one has become ghost, s/he should be happy”, “Wish the tomb can...
Brazil: The Black President Before Obama
The sweeping Obama phenomenon has caught Brazil, and it comes as no surprise in the country with the world's largest population of African descendants. An especially notable thread is the one reporting on the resurgence of a weirdly interesting 1928 Brazilian sci-fi novel — ‘The Black President' — that predicted a US election matching a black, a feminist, and a conservative candidate in the then remote year of 2228.
Jamaica: Red Man
Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp posts a poem on “the curse of being apart, neither black nor white, but red…”
Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago: Calabashing Walcott
Jamaican blogger Annie Paul quotes Guyana's Stabroek News on Walcott's anti-Naipaul poem, The Mongoose.
Kyrgyzstan: Chingiz Aitmatov Buried
Elena publishes some photos from the funeral ceremony for the famous Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov.
Kyrgyzstan: A Nation Is Grieving for Chingiz Aitmatov
Ben Paarmann writes in honor of Kyrgyzstan author Chingiz Aitmatov who died on Tuesday this week, at the age of 79. "Thanks to Chingiz Aitmatov, Central Asian traditions, lifestyles, myths - but most importantly - a transcendental Central Asian "feeling" became part of Soviet culture, known and celebrated beyond the borders of the former empire." writes Paarmann.
Soviet History: Chingiz Aitmatov
Moscow Through Brown Eyes writes about the passing of Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov.
Guyana: Black Friday
Signifyin’ Guyana remembers politician Walter Rodney on the 28th anniversary of his assassination.
Kyrgyzstan: Writer and Statesman Died
Almaz reports that famous Kyrgyz writer and statesman Chingiz Aitmatov dies of pneumonia at a clinic in Nuremberg at 79.
Saudi Arabia: Celebrating Life
Saudi PhD student Hala, who lives in the US, attended the Celebrate your Life conference, which attracted a line up of writers and thinkers.
Cuba: Hemingway History
The Cuban Triangle and Child of the Revolution weigh on on an article in the London Times which exposes the goings-on at Finca Vigia, the Hemingway house in Cuba: “I have…seen a docent offer to cut a page out of a book in Hemingway’s library – a page with his...
Kyrgyzstan: Famous Kyrgyz Writer Died
Elena grieves about the death of the famous Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov.
Dominican Republic: The Writer Junot Díaz
Dominican writer Junot Díaz and Pulitzer Prize winner in 2008 believes that people should get back into the habit of reading because it puts the “reader into contact with another human, another nervous system, another imagination.” Greeysis de la Cruz writes more on the background and thoughts of this writer...
Bahamas: Policing Poetry
Helen Klonaris at new Bahamian blog The Gaulin Wife is concerned that “two young poets are being investigated by the police because of the alleged sexual content of their poetry”, saying: “If the police are investigating poets and poetry, it is because they can: we as a society have agreed...
Trinidad & Tobago: Literary Sparring
Trinidad and Tobago based lit-bog Antilles continues to examine the Walcott/Naipaul feud, while Tattoo wonders where his literary role models have gone: “Who will inspire the next generation of writers in a positive way?”
Macedonia: Blogging Jovan Koteski's Poetry
Filip Stojanovski of Razvigor :-) links to a blog dedicated to the Macedonian poet Jovan Koteski, maintained by his daughter.
Iran: Nader Ebrahimi, a famous writer passed away
Several Iranian bloggers talked about Nader Ebrahimi, a famous Iranian poet and writer, who passed away recently. Razeno has also published a photo of him.
Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica: Calabash Highlights
Nicholas Laughlin at Antilles blog does a retrospective of the recently-concluded Calabash Literary Festival in Jamaica.
Russia: Reflections in Haiku
Moscow Through Brown Eyes reflects on Russia – in the comments and in haiku.