TODAY: In 1819, Herman Melville, uncredited Baby Belgua lyricist, is born.
- “Law enforcement officers see only the color of my skin, and in the color of my skin they see criminality.” Roxane Gay on Sandra Bland and driving while black. | The New York Times
- “He saw us clearly and tenderly, just as we are, but also was able to see past that – to what we might, at our best, become.” George Saunders on the bravery of the late E. L. Doctorow. | The New Yorker
- Margaret Atwood imagines three futures without oil, ranging from a mindful eco-paradise to a hellscape in which we eat our dogs. | Matter
- “I don’t think it’s industry pressure, I think it’s the way we’re brought up.” Nicola Griffith on the scarcity of female narratives in literary fiction. | The Seattle Review of Books
- The much beloved, void-loving Clarice Lispector is finally “getting the Bolaño treatment.” | The New Republic
- On the difficulty of understanding Arabic literature without understanding the Arabic literary tradition. | The National
- “The point of having a child is to be rent asunder, torn in two.” Sarah Manguso on writing, motherhood, and finding fulfillment. | Harper’s Magazine
- “The Custom of the Country is everything Primates of Park Avenue is not and strains to be.” On the true Queen of Manhattan’s bored, brilliant, and bourgeois, Edith Wharton. | The Oyster Review
- The Man Booker longlist was announced today: Enright, Yanagihara, Clegg, and ten others will be culled into a list of six in September. | The Man Booker Prize
- On Marie Darrieussecq, the Marquis de Sade, and writing, uneasily, about fictionalized violence against women. | Full Stop
- The implied possibility of connection: Mia Alvar discusses her debut collection, the gap between outer and inner lives, and the limits of belonging. | The Rumpus
- From the alleged illiteracy of Homer to Alcuin’s scribes, Western writing got off to a “supremely leisurely start.” | Lapham’s Quarterly
- Blind submissions don’t eliminate the literary biases of editors; we must actively work to overcome our cultural conditioning. | Apogee Journal, The James Franco Review
- Didion fever: an interview with the biographer of everyone’s favorite “perfect advertisement for herself.” | i-D
- This week marked the 88th birthday of John Ashbery, poet, translator, visual artist, and Nell Zink character. | Biographile
And on Literary Hub:
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- Tim Parks on death, family, and a text from the afterlife. | Literary Hub
- The invention of the modern monster in fin-de-siecle London. | Literary Hub
- The search for C. S. Lewis’s one true love, Joy Davidman. | Literary Hub
- “I’ve had to reinvent myself every five years to keep making a living, reinvigorate and shake things up.” Susan Shapiro on making the jump from big house to small press, and being addicted to book events. | Literary Hub
- Jennine Capó Crucet on turning her fear and frustration as a first-generation college student into fiction. | Literary Hub
ApogeeBiographileFull StopHarper's Magazinei-DLapham’s Quarterlylithub dailyMatterSalonThe James Franco ReviewThe NationalThe New RepublicThe New York TimesThe New YorkerThe Oyster ReviewThe RumpusThe Seattle Review of Books