I first read about Scribner’s plans to release a modified version of Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast (aff link) in this New York Times OpEd back in July, but have only now gotten around to writing about it. This story brings up a lot of questions about what publishers owe to the authors and novels they publish, especially after the author has long been deceased and can no longer speak for himself.

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I love literature, there is no doubt about that, but I don’t think I love literature enough to get it tattooed on my skin. Yet some people have done exactly that and these literary tattoos are the subject of a printed anthology that a few brave editors have decided to put together.

People get all sorts of stuff tattooed on their bodies: Everything from animals, dragons, names/pictures of children and various symbols that hold special meaning for the wearer. I even have a tattoo on my arm that I got over a decade ago when I was in the US Navy. Back then, and even now, I never considered a ‘literary’ tattoo.

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I never really know what to think of most literary awards. Usually, the prestigious awards are voted on by a small committee of experts. And most of the time, they tend to pick obscure works with little mass market appeal. But at the other end of the spectrum, we have the science fiction Hugo award, where the finalists were decided by letting sci-fi fans vote for their favorite novels. The results were a little more mainstream, maybe too mainstream, according to one author.

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Back when I very first started writing short fiction for fun (sometime in the early to mid-90s) the short story was in a sad state. Most writers no longer made a living off writing just short stories, and the reading public was in the mood for something longer – the novel. And today the novel continues to dominate the literary scene, while short stories are relegated to small press literary magazines and maybe a few collections published as a book.

However, could we be seeing a revival of the short story, due in large part, to the internet and digital distribution? While short fiction still doesn’t come close to the popularity of the novel, in the next few years that might begin to change.

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How do you turn a boring classic novel into something new and exciting? Add a bunch of brain-hungry zombies, of course. At least, that is the approach that author Seth Grahame-Smith took with his novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
(aff link). The novel takes the popular Jane Austen story and turns it upside-down with zombies.

I’m reading the book right now and find it very funny. But I should also admit that I haven’t read the original Pride and Prejudice, so I might be missing out on some of nuances of the story. Nevertheless I’m still being thoroughly entertained. You can bet that when I’m finished, I’ll write a more detailed book review here.

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Don’t get too excited. The "verdict" in question is the opinion of U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens who, according to this Wall Street Journal article, says Shakespeare didn’t write all those plays and poems after all:

Justice Stevens, who dropped out of graduate study in English to join the Navy in 1941, is an Oxfordian — that is, he believes the works ascribed to William Shakespeare actually were written by the 17th earl of Oxford, Edward de Vere.

This old argument is nothing new, even on this blog, where I wrote this post a while back that garnered some interesting comments (worth your time to read!).

The argument that Shakespeare didn’t write any of those plays is based on the idea that he was from a lower class family, did not have the right schooling, etc. In other words, it’s typical class warfare. But Shakespearean scholars and academics alike have pretty much debunked that myth. The fact that this same argument is coming from Justice Stevens, isn’t that surprising according to this article from the NY Daily News:

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You would think that in this day and age, banned books would be a thing of the past. Sadly, there are still people among us who think certain books should be banished from libraries and bookstores.

One of the best novels I have read in the last year was Khalid Hosseni’s The Kite Runner (aff link). The book kept me captivated from page one and also gave me a lot to ponder. I love that book. And if someone is looking for a good read, I have no problems pointing them to The Kite Runner.

Not everyone agrees, though. According to this article from readingeagle.com Hosseni’s book was among those most challenged last year by parents and educators alike.

Khaled Hosseini’s million-selling novel about friendship and betrayal between two Afghan boys, a book club favorite that became a feature film, was among the releases mostly likely to inspire complaints last year from parents, educators and others, the American Library Association has reported.

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I don’t think I have ever watched the Oscars in my entire life. And last night was no exception. Seeing Hollywood pat itself on the back with these awards for the plethora of filth they churn out is less than appealing to me.

However, I did find it interesting to read that the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button did win a few minor awards. Then I was shocked to read this LitKicks post that no one even mentioned F. Scott Fitzgerald, who wrote the short story that the movie was loosely based on.

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Now that President Obama is in office, maybe we’ll see the government finally take steps to promote, cultivate and nurture the arts (including literature) in the U.S., at least according to this article from the New York Times. The article notes that the various arts groups and non-profits contribute an estimated $167 billion to the economy each year – so even during this economic crisis, the arts remain important.

Even more exciting, however, is what President Obama campaigned to do for the arts once in office:

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It has been widely proclaimed that we now have a literary president. Is it because President Obama has written books, and he reads a lot(he is considered well read)? According to this article from the Chicago Tribune website, it appears there are several reasons for President Obama being more literary than others:

It is also true that writers themselves dig Obama. Many scribes elbowed one another out of the way to praise him, even before his election; the fealty came from the likes of Toni Morrison, Jonathan Safran Foer, Rick Moody and Jane Smiley. They regard him as one of their own, as a man who knows his way around a metaphor.

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