Gothic literature meets film noir and the paranoia of the Bush-Cheney years in Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island, now a Martin Scorcese picture playing at your local multiplex.
American poet Lucille Clifton, who died last Saturday, chronicled a compelling chapter of the Black American experience. The New York Times has her obituary and a look at her work. Along with Nina Simone, Clifton knew what it was “To Be Young, Gifted and Black.”
The Guardian profiles the little-know Russian writer who inspired Dostoevsky, while one of the paper’s book bloggers looks at the hardest Russian authors to tackle the country’s brutal and majestic history.
Organizers behind Karachi’s first literary festival are hoping the event will up the city’s presence in the book world. Meanwhile, in Mumbai, book preservers are working to preserve the city’s – and country’s – collection of aging antique books.
Boy wizard Harry Potter has landed in hot water over plagiarism charges but his mega-rich creator and her army of lawyers are pretty sure Harry will survive the assault.
And because it’s Friday, here’s a piece on Soaps, 18th-century style.
Goth style is even a nice way to live the darkness around us. Don’t turn always a light on you couldn’t miss the beauty of the stars…