How old is too old in the world of literature? That’s the question posed in this article on the Guardian website by Robert McCrum. He is, of course, making reference to Diana Athill, whose memoir Somewhere Towards the End had won the Costa Prize. Athill is 91. McCrum makes this very blunt, and somewhat ambiguous statement:

Old people, in general, don’t have literary careers.

Then he goes on to list a number of exceptions to that unwritten rule. Like Daniel DeFoe, who at 59 published Robinson Crusoe, his first novel. And others like William Golding and Graham Greene who went on to publish into old age.

Let’s face it, most literary stars, past and present, are fairly young when they reach the pinnacle of success. Maybe that’s because younger writers bring a new and fresh perspective to their work. Or Maybe it’s because publishers are biased against old writers. Maybe we’re just looking at anecdotal evidence to justify any type of ageism in the literary world. I don’t know.

But near the end of McCrum’s article, he makes an interesting observation:

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With all the bad news we hear just about every day (i.e. economic crisis, world unrest, etc) it’s always refreshing to read some good news. You can imagine I was very happy when I came across this article from the New York Times talking about how fiction reading is increasing among adults!

The National Endowment for the Arts released a report that says for the first time since 1982, reading is actually increasing among most age groups. This is contrasted to a report the organization released 4 short years ago that said reading of literary works had dropped sharply.

Why the shift in reading habits? There are several factors at play:

Instead he attributed the increase in literary reading to community-based programs like the "Big Read," Oprah Winfrey’s book club, the huge popularity of book series like "Harry Potter" and Stephenie Meyer’s "Twilight," as well as the individual efforts of teachers, librarians, parents and civic leaders to create "a buzz around literature that’s getting people to read more in whatever medium."

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Sometimes I’m surprised at who is also a fellow literature junkie, no matter how low a politician they might be. Case in point: Yesterday I wrote this post about Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his penchant for quoting poetry during press conferences.

Well today, the Chicago Tribune caught on to his literary musings in this piece, and even seeks to throw in some analysis of the Governor’s taste in poetry:

The governor’s identification with Tennyson’s hero might also raise eyebrows: In Greek mythology, Ulysses was less noted for honor than for craftiness, the ancient equivalent of wink-and-nod politics. Of him, Tennyson wrote: "I mete and dole/unequal laws unto a savage race."

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Even though poetry isn’t quite a dead art form, it has sure lost a lot of popularity over the years. Perhaps that is why it’s amusing…ah…sad that it has taken a corrupt politician like Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to thrust this forgotten art back into the spotlight, at least temporarily.

Today, after the Illinois House of Representatives voted to impeach the Governor, his response was in part a quote from a poem by Alfred Lloyd Tennyson, as reported here in the Chicago Tribune:

He closed his remarks by quoting from "Ulysses," a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson.

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I talk a lot about the benefits and virtues of ebooks and other digital media on this blog, almost to the point of obsession. However, too often I fail to mention that I still love good old fashion print books. It doesn’t matter if it’s a mass market paperback, or a newly released hardcover, or even a trade paperback – they all offer the promise of an entertaining story and maybe the chance to learn something.

There is something else that print books offer, that if you read the New York Times Books Section today, you probably will know what I’m talking about: The things left in books. I came across this interesting essay about various objects found in books, usually by workers at used book stores:

I speak of any of those bizarre objects — scissors, a used Q-tip, a bullet, a baby’s tooth, drugs, pornography and 40 $1,000 bills — that have been discovered by the employees of secondhand bookstores, according to The Wall Street Journal and Abebooks.com. Mystery surrounds these deposits like darkness.

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I don’t write a lot of rants on this blog, but this will be one of the few times when I express some strong sentiments. Tonight, as I was winding down from a hard day at work, I was watching television and a movie preview came on. A few seconds into the preview, I realized it was for the new movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" a classic F. Scott Fitzgerald short story.

When the movie was first announced, I wrote about it in this post. Now the movie is gaining a lot more attention, as well as the story itself. I even noticed at my local bookstore there’s a hardbound edition of the story that is fully illustrated and advertises the story being a "Motion Picture" right on the front cover. Yes, the short story The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

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Yesterday I received my new copy of Poets & Writers Magazine (aff link), something I look forward to 6 times per year. As I was flipping through the pages, I noticed something that had grabbed my attention before – a majority of the ads appear to be from various MFA programs around the country.

Yes, there are a few ads by small presses and a few writing services sprinkled in those pages, but MFA programs dominate a lot of the magazine’s ad space. And, along with the magazine, I received a solicitation to donate to Poets & Writers. As I understand it, the donations help to support the various programs that PW offers to fledgling writers.

What’s my point?

While everyone is hurting nowadays because of the crummy economy, literary magazines have always struggled. PW appears to do well compared to some of the smaller publications that rely soley on subscribers to make ends meet. Even then, very few are lucky to break even and most just stay in the red.

If MFA programs are the only ones advertising in the larger magazines, then that well probably dries up pretty fast. There’s very little fresh blood keeping the literary magazines going in terms of revenue streams.

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Today I found this interesting editorial in the New York Times by Stanley Fish (who, I might add is the dean emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at my alma mater, University of Illinois at Chicago). In his piece, he writes about a new “translation” of John Milton’s Paradise Lost, which basically turns the poem into everyday-English prose.

The book is written by Dennis Danielson (who is a distinguished Milton academic) and is called Paradise Lost: Parallel Prose Edition (aff link), where the original poem is in the left-hand column and Danielson’s translation is in the right-hand column. Fish notes that Danielson thinks this new edition of the classic poem will pursue more readers to read it:

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2008 is nearing an end with rapid speed. For those of you who love lists, then the New York Times has a good one for you! They published their annual 100 Notable Books of 2008 list recently. I browsed through the list and was happy to see that I have read a handful of book that they picked. But I also felt embarrassed because I didn’t read as many as I thought I would have. There are so many books I want to read, but there’s never enough time!

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This morning, as I was recklessly surfing the internet, a new website caught my attention. The site is called BookTrib and claims to be all about books! Hey, they got my attention. Here’s a short excerpt from their About page:

BookTrib is a full service portal dedicated to bringing all the news, blog, sites, and information about books, writers, and readers under one link. One place to stay up-to-date about the world of books and everything related to them. If it’s about books, it’s on BookTrib.

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