Stories about Literature from September, 2011
Turkmenistan: Spoken and unspoken lyrics of Turkmen literature
Tomyris reports on the fifth annual book fair hosted in Ashgabat this month, and notes that while literature in Turkmenistan is being celebrated, it continues to be suppressed and dominated by propaganda.
Caribbean: Commonwealth Competition Winners
Caribbean Book Blog has all the details on this year's Commonwealth Short Story Competition winners, with writers from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago being recognized.
Book Review: ‘Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives In North Korea’
Change in Longitude blog posted a thorough review of the book ‘Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives In North Korea’ by Barbara Demick. The book’s title comes from a song that North Korean school children recite, “We have nothing to envy in the world” in spite of chronic malnutrition and famine...
USA: The Real and Digital Unite for Latin American Literature
La Casa Azul - an online bookstore - has recently announced it is going to collaborate with a new bookstore located in Washington Heights, New York. Word Up (@wordupbooks) has two goals: to spread Latin American literature and independent bookstores.
Guyana, Jamaica: Possessed by Strong Narrative
“My favorite short stories work like cinematic vignettes…connecting in some major way with narrative voice…is for me the key component to enjoying short fiction”: Litblogger Charmaine Valere says that Jamaican author Lorna Goodison's new collection of short stories “continues in the tradition of presenting narrative voice as a key element…”
Pakistan: A New Literary Voice
Pak Tea House highlights Ayesha Salman, a new literary voice from Pakistan, who shares her works in a blog.
India: The Coffee House Of Kolkata
Bong Mom passionately writes about the Coffee House at College Street in Kolkata, a legendary meeting place for the Bengali literati.
Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago: Bocas 2012 Literature Prize
Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp is excited about “the second OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, which will reward the best Caribbean book published this year with a US$10,000 prize.”
India: The Booming Publishing Industry
Vaibhav Kathuria at ‘Youth Ki Awaaz’ says that “India has just witnessed a publishing boom”.
UK: Vasily Grossman's “Life and Fate” on BBC Radio 4
Sarah J. Young writes about BBC Radio 4's “adaptation of Vasily Grossman’s vast and still under-appreciated novel Life and Fate” (the first episode is scheduled to be aired on Sept. 18).
India: A Magazine For Chakma Community
Paritosh Chakma uploads the August 2011 issue of Sojaak, a free magazine for the indigenous Chakma community.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: “Dumb ‘Ha-Ha’ References” to War in Books and Movies
Amila Bosnae writes about being disturbed by the casual mentions of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina “in random books or movies”: “But the book simply goes on, like I didn’t just get shocked right back into the ugly world where that exact war shaped my life.”
Guyana: Literary Award Winners
Caribbean Book Blog and Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp have details on the winners of the recently held Guyana Literary Awards.
Ethiopia: Tsegay’s Historical Plays Published
Four historical plays of the acclaimed playwright and poet Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin are now available in a book form: “Poet, dramatist, translator, anthropologist, activist and social critic, Tsegaye is regarded by many as a major figure in Ethiopian letters.”
