· May, 2007

Stories about Literature from May, 2007

Jamaica: Thank You, Miss Lou

  30 May 2007

“Miss Lou in her life and poetry had many things to teach us. And she taught in a way that only the best teachers can—without us knowing.” Geoffrey Philp pays tribute to a Jamaican cultural icon.

Brazilian Express Loves (and jealousy) around the world

  30 May 2007

The Brazilian blogosphere entered in alert a few weeks ago when the major publish house Companhia das Letras (PT) announced a huge literary project. Idealized by Rodrigo Teixeira, the project called Express Loves (Amores Expressos) wants to take 16 writers to 16 cities around the world for a one month trip. Shanghai, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Lisbon, Berlin, Cairo, Saint Petersburg and São Paulo are some among those chosen cities. At the end, each one of them must write a love history tied with those cities. All in 90 days.

Bahrain: Burning Books is Depressing

Bint Battuta from Bahrain is distressed that books are being burned in the US because readers are on the decline. “I can think of so many schools, libraries, and community groups that would appreciate the 20 000 books that this store owner plans to burn… And yes, the places I'm...

Bahrain: The ‘two seas’ are now a concrete jungle

From 'blog wars' to work ethics, the Bahraini blogosphere is bubbling with new ideas and excitement. Ayesha Saldanha sheds more light on discussions taking place this week about Bahrain's jungle of concrete, compensation for the victims of the capsized Al Dana dhow, the historic Bab Al Bahrain (Bahrain Gateway) and much more.

Sri Lanka: S. Bose(1975 – 2007), Poet, Editor & Writer

  25 May 2007

The following poem was written by S. Bose, a writer-poet (Tamil) from Vavuniya, Sri Lanka and was translated by a friend of mine for Global Voices Online readers. Chandrabose Sudhakar or S.Bose was shot dead by armed men in his own home on April 16th, 2007. The killers who spoke...

Bangla Blogs: Breaking Taboos and a Debate

  24 May 2007

The Bangla blogging platform Bandh Bhanger Awaaj is buzzing with discussions, debates, memes and literatures. Hundreds of bloggers and thousands of readers are keeping this space lively. It is generating a lot of interest among the bloggers and readers with its variety of posts. Recently there was a wave of...

Barbados: Conversations about Culture

  23 May 2007

“…In countries that have no culture or are afraid they may have no culture, there is a Minister of Culture.” Jamaica Kincaid's essay on Antigua hits home for Barbadian blogger Gallimaufry.

Africa: Blog This Poem!

  18 May 2007

The African blogosphere is rapidly expanding, bringing more voices online in the form of commentaries, opinions, analyses, rants...and poetry. Blogs have created a new space for African poets to share their creative and imaginative works with a wider audience. Today, I will introduce you to a few poems written by African bloggers.

Brazil: The Once and Future(?) King

  18 May 2007

There are two kings in Brazil. Pelé, the world famous football star, and Roberto Carlos, a great icon of Brazilian popular music (MPB). The singer and songwriter acquired fame as the main figure of the 60’s musical movement known as Jovem Guarda — Young Guard — in opposition to the ‘old guard’ of Brazilian music. But late last year, the launch of an unauthorized biography has made this King go to war. Confirming the Brazilian saying that “once King, you’ll never loose the majesty”, Roberto Carlos has recently succeeded in a legal settlement with the writer — historian Paulo César de Araújo — and his publisher where all the unsold books will be called back to him, and the book will never again be published. But then… there is the Internet.

Jamaica: Power of Poetry

  17 May 2007

“…I rejoice because Clifton reminds me always of why writing poetry is important and why it is good to believe this.” Geoffrey Philp quotes Kwame Dawes’ meditation on James Dickey, Lucille Clifton, and the power and grace of poetry.

Nigeria: Naija Bloggers – The Book

  17 May 2007

A call to Nigerian bloggers to be part of a book called, Naija Bloggers Vol. 1: “This is a call to all Nigerian bloggers worldwide to become a part of An anthology of the greatest works of Nigerian Bloggers-A book called Naija bloggers Vol 1. Nigerian Bloggers around the globe...

More on Representation in Morocco

“Sometimes, a scarf is just a scarf, it's not a symbol for a country,” says Laila Lalami, recounting a reading she recently did of her book, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, at one of Morocco's more conservative universities in Kenitra. While discussing the characters with the audience, the author found...

Talking to Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp

  14 May 2007

The Jamaican writer Geoffrey Philp has published five books of poems, a collection of short stories called Uncle Obadiah and the Alien, and a novel, Benjamin, My Son. He lives in Miami, a member of the great Caribbean diaspora in North America, and he currently teaches at Miami-Dade College. Since...

Morocco: How to Best Represent One's Country

With the increasing popularity of blogging comes a debate about how to represent one's country, or in many cases, the country in which one is currently living. This week, Jillian York takes a look at the current discussion in the Moroccan blogosphere about how to best portray Morocco.