Stories about Literature from January, 2009
Best Blogs Brazil: Winners by jury, public and hacker votes
Who won the Best Blogs Brazil 2008? Specialists and the public went to the polls and the winners were announced at Campus Party last week. The competition, which did not offer a money prize just prestige, was taken very seriously by contenders, some even willing to cheat to win.
Japan: Saint Young Men, Jesus and Buddha on Earth
What if one day Jesus and Buddha descended to Earth to spend their holidays? And what if they lived together in a cheap apartment in Tachikawa, in western Tokyo? This is what Hikaru Nakamura, a young Japanese manga author, was thinking of when he came up with Saint Oniisan, a manga published in the monthly magazine Morning 2 in 2007 that become a hit in the last few months after the publication of the first two episodes as single volumes last year.
India: Jaipur Literary Festival
Jabberwock attended the Jaipur literary festival 2009 and wrote about it in a series of posts.
Kenya: Writing Queer Kenya
Writing Queer Kenya is accepting submissions from Kenyan queers, “We lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex individuals, in a word, queers, have had the distinct un-pleasure of being told we don’t exist—in official government statements, historical documents, and contemporary statements. Well, we do. We want Kenyan stories by Kenya-based and...
Egypt: “Kleenex” Literature at the Cairo International Bookfair
With more than 15 new titles, Egyptian bloggers took the 2009 Cairo International Book Fair by storm. Conventional writers label bloggers' literature as “Kleenex” Literature. Marwa Rakha reviews reactions from the Egyptian blogosphere in this article.
India: What Is Info-activism?
Aparna Ray at Newsmericks explains ‘info-activism’ with a limerick. Read it here.
Czech Republic: News and Culture Roundup
A few updates from CzechFolks.com: Josef Lada‘s drawings; Karel Capek‘s life and writings; Vaclav Havel‘s health problems; the launch of a new Czech TV station; the 20th anniversary of Czech and Slovak ATMs; the gas dispute and the former Eastern Bloc countries’ dependency on Russia.
Taiwan: Books, Writers & Videos
China Times in Taiwan announces "Books of the Year" and makes short videos for awarded writers to share their writing experiences and perspectives. Hopefully their ideas will be portrayed through the power of images.
Brazil: A true competition between e-books and paper books?
The Brazilian blogsphere is full of literature available online at collective blogs and websites, individual authors' blogs and governmental initiatives. The nations' best selling author, Paulo Coelho, is right when he says that the free distribution of e-books actually encourages the sales of paper books - at least in times when the reader still prefers reading on paper.
Barbados, U.S.A.: True Identity
Living in Barbados is hoping that “President Obama will help us in the Caribbean and those in Africa rediscover who and what we really are.”
The Egyptian Bloggers Bookfair
With more than 15 new titles, Egyptian bloggers take the 2009 Cairo International Book Fair by storm. Marwa Rakha reports how bloggers are planning to organise group visits to make the most out of the annual show.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Nihad Hasanović
An interview with Bosnian writer Nihad Hasanović – “one of the most interesting and intriguing young writers in the space of Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian language” – at Jasmin's Heart (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5).
Ukraine: Lily Hyde's “Dream Land” – the Crimean Tatar “Anne Frank”
Window on Eurasia writes about Lily Hyde’s “Dream Land” – a book by a Ukraine-based British freelance journalist, who “tells the story of the return of the Crimean Tatars to their homeland in the early 1990s from the perspective of Safi, a 12-year-old girl who comes back with her parents,...
The Balkans: Harold Pinter and Milosevic
Marko Attila Hoare of Greater Surbiton writes about Harold Pinter's association with the International Committee to Defend Slobodan Milosevic and explains why he feels “roughly as sad about Pinter’s death as Pinter was sad about the deaths of the tens of thousands killed by Milosevic or for the hundreds of...
Hungary: Lifestyle, Literature, Law and More
A selection of posts from The Hungarian Spectrum: the lack of continuing education programs; health and lifestyle issues; domestic violence; writer György Dragomán; the Hungarian Secret Service and the Catholic Church.
Ghana: Meet Ghanaian Poet, Nana Fredua-Agyema
Nana Fredua-Agyema is a Ghanian poet. One Ghana, One Voice interviews him about his work.
Trinidad & Tobago: The Inferno?
“Somedays I feel that the effort to constantly be watching over my shoulder and worrying about the safety of friends and loved ones in this small country of just over 1Million people will wear me out”: Trin compares T&T to Dante's Inferno.
Jamaica, U.S.A.: Pre-Inauguration Poem
Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp pens “a simple lyric, for Barack Obama”.
Guyana: Speaking Up
“Last August during a Carifesta event, I witnessed what was akin to a public scolding of a young woman who dared to ask a panel of older Caribbean writers and educators why young people were not invited to be panelists for a discussion on the condition of the Caribbean. She...
Barbados: Literary Winners
From Barbados, Gallimaufry blogs about the winners of the 2009 Frank Collymore Literary Award.
Jamaica: Let the Music Play
Annie Paul is convinced that “2009 is going to be an exciting new year for Jamaican music!”
