TODAY: In 1883, Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese-American writer and third best-selling poet (behind Shakespeare and Lao-Tzu), is born.
- The life and times of the great Rafael Chirbes. | Literary Hub
- “Remember how I said there’s a certain kind of conservatism which I respect more than bourgeois liberalism— [T.S.] Eliot is of this type.” Barack Obama, literary critic. | NYRB
- Ben Lerner on the conversation programs instituted by the Whitney, the “Noah’s Ark of American Art.” | The New Yorker
- Sunil Yapa describes his writing process (hide laptop in oven, have it stolen from hotel room, begin again) and debut novel, Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of a Fist. | BookPage
- Esquire has remedied its 99 percent male “80 Books Every Man Should Read” by enlisting “female literary powerhouses” to create a more encompassing list. | Esquire
- I’ve always felt your stories ring with true life: Merrill Joan Gerber reflects on her correspondence with the Italian writer Arturo Vivante. | The American Scholar
- Poetry recommendations for people who hate poetry, which contains much else besides the work of William Shakespeare and James Franco. | The Millions
- Eileen Myles, Margo Jefferson, Colum McCann and 25 other authors share the books that changed their lives. | Vulture
- I (maybe) own my story: On memoir, fictionalization, and alienation. | Brevity
Also on Literary Hub: Christopher Buckley on faith, relics, and the Republican party · The origins of the Center for Fiction, a 200 year old writing center · From Tessa Hadley’s The Past
