· May, 2010

Stories about Literature from May, 2010

France: Scholar Unpacks the Concept of National Identity

  31 May 2010

Reflets reposts (Fr) from newspaper Le Monde a review of “L'identité nationale, une énigme“, a book by a specialist in comparative anthology Marcel Detienne, denouncing the “mythideology” of an immanent France, whose brand of nationalism rules out interracial mixing. The author was interviewed in two videos, here and here (november...

Egypt: Crackdown on the Egyptian Da Vinci Code

Dr Youssef Zidane's 2008 Azazeel created a stir, followed by resentment, when it was first published. Today, Dr Zidane is being accused of blasphemy and defaming Christianity and as insulting any of the 'heavenly faiths' is illegal in Egypt, he could face up to five years behind bars. Bloggers react to the development.

Bhutan: Why Is It Important For A Politician To Blog?

  24 May 2010

Indian blogger Jabberwock quotes Tshering Tobgay, blogger and the leader of the opposition Party in the Bhutanese parliament answering the question ‘why is it important for a politician to blog': “because that forces you to pause and introspect and think about things, which is something politicians don’t always feel the...

Morocco: Discussing a Free Thinker's Legacy

The death of Moroccan philosopher and social theorist, Mohammed Abed al-Jabri, has gone with little notice in the media. Yet al-Jabri's contributions over the last decades to the uphill battle between rationality and religious thought has probably never been so relevant as today. Bloggers have been commemorating his legacy.

Ghana: New book by Ghanaian blogger

  21 May 2010

Kajsa writes about a new book by a Ghanaian blogger: “Well, maybe it is a stretch to say that Circles by Boakyewaa Glover (click to go to her blog) is a blog book, it is maybe rather a book by a blogger.”

St. Lucia, St. Vincent: New Imprint

  19 May 2010

St. Lucia's Caribbean Book Blog highlights “SFI Books, a new publishing imprint based in the Eastern Caribbean island of St Vincent, [which] has opened a new door of opportunity to writers from the region.”

Kenya: New book by Kenyan blogger available online

  18 May 2010

Kenyan poet and blogger, Njeri Wangari, reports that her new book is available on Amazon: “Some good news for all those with Amazon accounts, my book is now available on Amazon for only $12. For Kenyan buyers, I will update you immediately the book hits the shelves.”

India: The Influence Of Rabindranath Tagore

  11 May 2010

Supriyo Chaudhuri at Sunday Posts commemorates the 150th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore by remembering how the literary works and music of the Nobel laureate influenced him and many Bengalis.

Russia, Ukraine: WWII, Stalin, History, Politics

A selection of posts on WWII, May 9, history, Joseph Stalin, and today's political discourse in Russia and Ukraine – at Foreign Policy Association's Russia blog (here and here), Global Chaos (here and here), Foreign Notes, Ukrainiana, Sublime Oblivion, A Good Treaty, Robert Amsterdam.

Trinidad & Tobago: CRB Online

  4 May 2010

“At long last the trail-blazing online version of the Caribbean Review of Books is on stream!”: Trinidad and Tobago's Pleasure calls this “a very, very pleasing development.”

Jamaica: Red

  3 May 2010

“The term ‘red'…has had a long and dishonorable reputation in the Americas”: Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp seeks to change this through a poem in which “the speaker…turns away from the extremes of racial conflict and embraces his ‘red'ness.”