Stories about Literature from May, 2012
Sri Lanka: Cast As A Mother
One year ago – 13 Sri Lankan women of the Stage were invited to look at their experiences of motherhood, through the lens of theatre and write about them. At the Passing Stage blog you can follow their progress.
Africa: Kwani? Manuscript Project Announces Literary Prize
“To celebrate the African novel and its adaptability and resilience, Kwani Trust announces a one-off new literary prize for African writing. The Kwani? Manuscript Project calls for the submission of unpublished fiction manuscripts from African writers across the continent and in the Diaspora,” Nana reports.
Jamaica: Re-introducing Calabash Litfest
Two Jamaican litbloggers are thrilled that the Calabash Literary Festival is back!
“The Most Misterious of Brazilian Writers” Receives Camões Award
Blog Semióticas [pt] celebrates this year's Camões Award – “the highest honor” for a Portuguese language writer – given to Dalton Trevisan from Curitiba, Brazil, for his “extraordinary contribute in the art of short stories”. Trevisan, “the most misterious of Brazilian writers”, is well known for his mystical reclusiveness, and refuses...
Turkey: Poetic Commemoration of Uludere Airstrike Victims
In December 2011 in southeastern Turkey several Turkish Airforce F-16s bombed a convoy of Turkish Kurds on mules who were engaged in border trade, apparently mistaking them for Kurdish rebels. Thirty-four were killed. Poet Bejan Matur has paid tribute to the victims in words and photos.
Iran: Buying book can become dangerous
Several bloggers published a photo where a woman pushed to the ground by the security forces in a book fair. Gargagarga writes it happens in book fair and everybody is watching. It seems people get used to seeing such scenes.
Afghanistan: Women's Voices Raised to Poetry
Through twitter, Al Jazeera shares the video story of a group of Afghan women who are using poetry as a way to empower themselves and reclaim their voice.
Barbados: Literary “Giants”
For BC Pires, the highlight of the launch of the inaugural Bim Literary Festival wasn't the speeches or cultural presentations but the greeting of two “literary giants.”
Cape Verde: Encouraging Storytelling and Creative Writing
Set over the course of seven weeks, a creative writing competition promoted by the young Cape Verdean journalist Odair Varela on his blog, has led a dozen word lovers to get behind their keyboards and let their imaginations flow. The winners have already been announced and this article provides an overview of the stories told.
Palestine: PalFest Literature Festival in Gaza for First Time
This year for the first time the Palestinian Festival of Literature was held in Gaza. A group of about forty Egyptian, Tunisian, Sudanese and Palestinian authors, artists and activists were granted permission to visit Gaza and participate in PalFest 2012 from May 5 to 10.
Africa: The Golden Baobab Award
Submit your story for The Golden Baobab Award: “The Golden Boabab Award was established in 2008 to encouraged writers in Africa who specialize in books for children and young adults.”
Cameroon: An Overview of Cameroon Prison Literature
This is an overview of 10 of the most popular prison literature books from Cameroon: “In the last six months, three former high-ranking government officials currently in jail for a variety of financial crimes have published books about their prison experience.”
Mexico: Netizens Say Goodbye to Writer Carlos Fuentes
On May 15, 2012, Latin America lost one of its most important contemporary writers. Mexican author Carlos Fuentes died in Mexico City, at the age of 83. Netizens all over the world were shocked by his sudden death.
Pakistan: Partition Era Writer Saadat Hasan Manto Lives On
Saadat Hasan Manto (1912-1955) was a short-story writer, a dramatist and also a translator from Punjab. Today his centenary birth anniversary is being celebrated across Pakistan and also in India.
Africa: Review: The Chicken Thief
Nana reviews The Chicken Thief by Fiona Leonard: “The Chicken Thief (2011; 340) by Fiona Leonard has been described as a political thriller of sorts. Set in an unnamed African country, it provides a different take on the struggle for independence in a southern Africa country.”
Russia: Tolstoy's ‘War and Peace’ Legacy Today
RuNet Echo continues its series examining the 200th anniversary of Tsarist Russia's Victory over Napoleon by examining Leo Tolstoy's novel 'War and Peace' and the role it plays today online. On the RuNet, discussions about 'War and Peace' and Tolstoy's literary style are common, addressing a variety of issues both linguistic and social.
