TODAY: In 1947, a group of writers, producers, and directors—the “Hollywood 10″—is cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions about Communist influence in the movie industry.
- “When Did You Start to Think of Yourself As African?” Ivan Vladislavić answers some tough questions from Nuruddin Farah. | Literary Hub
- “Let us burn this motherfucking system to the ground and build something better.” Claire Vaye Watkins on defying categories and no longer pandering to the little white man deep inside of all of us. | Tin House
- “It had been a short stint inside, three months, and now he was out and starting again from zero.” A short story by Rachel Kushner. | The New Yorker
- On the “reality-concealing rhetoric of Westernism” in the aftermath of terrorist attacks. | n+1
- “My method is the magpie’s: I look for shiny things.” Luc Sante on his writing process, the year 1910, and the hypocrisy championships. | Guernica
- Joan Naviyuk Kane on crafting poems from a single Inupiaq word and the importance of Native poets. | PBS
- “This is the plight of the average deaf character: to be plagued by the hearing author’s own discomfort with the idea of silence.” Sara Nović on the (mostly) successful, deaf protagonist of The Stand. | The Believer
- Beyond Southern Gothic: Margaret Eby selects fives humorous books of the American South. | Bookforum
- Migrating identities and migrating forms: 50 of the best books from independent presses this year. | Flavorwire
Also on Literary Hub: Ryan Rivas reports from deep within the vortex of the Miami Book Fair · Lauren Cerand parties with The Paris Review at the Jane Hotel · From our resident Life Coach: Rick Moody on crying · Five books making news this week: histories biblical, ancient, Russian and otherwise · “Gateway to the Ozarks” by John McManus
