Stories about Literature from July, 2010
Philippine Cartography
Torn and Frayed in Manila blogs about a book on maps of the Philippines by Carlos Quirino.
Hungary: Poet Endre Ady
Hungarian Spectrum writes about Endre Ady (1877-1919), “one of the most famous Hungarian poets.”
Trinidad & Tobago: From the Archives
The Caribbean Review of Books posts some interesting content from its archives.
Nigeria: Literary prize money that never comes
Jeremy Nigerian writers who never receive their prize money: “There is a general pattern emerging with the award of literary prizes in Nigeria. The delighted author or poet hears the good news and attends the award ceremony…And then the prize money never comes.”
Caribbean: New Memoirs
Repeating Islands blogs about the release of two memoirs: by editor Diana Athill, who worked with V.S. Naipaul and Jean Rhys, and by Fidel Castro.
Syria: Mariya continues her story-telling
From Syria, Mariya enchants her readers with another story on history, love and relationships, which she will post in series. This is the first part.
Dominica: Literary Festival
Caribbean Book Blog is excited about Dominica's upcoming Literary Festival and Book Fair.
Venezuela: Foundation for Urban Culture Shut Down
The Foundation for Urban Culture - a fund that promoted culture through books, photography, music and ideas - was recently shut down, allegedly due to financing from the brokerage firm Econoinvest which was raided by the government in May. Bloggers who support the Foundation, accuse the closing of being illegal and unrelated to the company.
Philippines: Oplan Bantay Laya and Counterinsurgency
Kapirasong Kritika writes a book review of Oplan Bantay Laya: The US-Arroyo Campaign of Terror and Counterinsurgency in the Philippines. Oplan Bantay Laya is a counterinsurgency program alleged by critics and human rights groups as the blueprint behind more than 1,000 extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations committed between...
Iran: Bloggers remember Shamlou
Several bloggers wrote about Ahmad Shamlou‘s 10th anniversary. Shamlou was probabaly the most influential poet in modern Iran. VatanParast, Iranian blogger, quotes [fa] Shamlou: “underdeveloped countries are like people who are sleeping.”
Bahamas: Forward poet
Geoffrey Philp shares the news that Bahamian poet Christian Campbell has been shortlisted for a Forward Prize, and the Caribbean Review of Books blog links to one of Campbell’s poems.
Guyana: Honey and Lime
Signifyin’ Woman offers her thoughts on Honey and Lime, a book of poems by the Guyanese writer Peggy Carr: “A poem is its own unique, economical world.”
Russia: Memorial memento
LJ user shoorman notes [RUS] that the liberal St. Petersburg Yabloko youth organization has beaten the region's communists to placing a memorial placard to a local communist on a building he used to live in. An adjoining photo illustrates that the functionary's key accomplishment – according to Yabloko youth –...
Bangladesh: Freedom Of Speech And Book Ban
Bangladeshi singer, songwriter, poet and blogger Maqsoodul Haque at The Bangladesh Poet of Impropriety discusses the politics behind and effectiveness of the recent banning of book of a controversial religious leader.
Ghana: Journey to Africa
From Australia to Ghana is a new book by a blogger based in Ghana and Global Voices author, Gayle Pescud.
Nepal: Smallest Book
X Nepali Blog informs about the smallest published book in Nepal which measures 3 inches in length and 2.5 inches in width.
Japan: Artistic manhole covers
Jamaipanese reviews [en] Drainspotting, a book dedicated to the artistic manhole covers located all over Japan.
Caribbean: CRB Reviews
Find new literary reviews from The Caribbean Review of Books, here.
South Africa: Writers record their work for Internet
“Four South African writers recorded their prose stories for the internet during the National Arts Festival. This was the final part of the CityBooks project focussing on Grahamstown and organised by the Dutch/Flemish organisation deBuren,” cueTV blog reports from Grahamstown, South Africa.
Bhutan: An Interview With Jamie Zeppa
Bhutan Canada publishes an interview with Jamie Zeppa, who wrote a memoir of her teaching years in Bhutan and her self-discovery in a foreign land.
Egypt: Alaa Al Aswany on World Affairs
Egyptian author Alaa Al Aswany has started blogging at the World Affairs journal. Here‘s his first post entitled Islam, Election Rigging and Right vs. Wrong.