The Hub

News, Notes, Talk

Read Ezra Pound’s extensive revisions to T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land.

Today, T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land first appeared in print in The Criterion, a quarterly British literary magazine founded and edited by Eliot. The poem’s final form was heavily influenced by Ezra Pound, who made extensive cuts and revisions to Eliot’s Read more >

By Vanessa Willoughby

Solange has launched a community library of rare books and art by Black creators.

Cool resource alert: Variety has reported that Solange, through her Saint Heron studio, is launching a community library of “esteemed and valuable” books by Black creators. Readers can borrow any book from the collection of rare, author-inscribed and out-of-print literary Read more >

By Walker Caplan

“Dialogue reeketh, play stinketh.” The worst insults from reviews of The Iceman Cometh.

When critics panned the Broadway production of Eugene O’Neill’s Days Without End, he left Broadway for twelve years. Finally, in 1946, one Nobel Prize richer, O’Neill returned with The Iceman Cometh—in his opinion, the best show he’d ever written. In Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Richard Gere reading Italo Calvino is peak ASMR.

Oh, Richard Gere! You undoubtedly know him well from American Gigolo. You loved him in Pretty Woman and swooned over him in Runaway Bride (he knew how Julia Roberts liked her eggs!). You tried really hard to forget him in Autumn in Read more >

By Katie Yee

Here’s the shortlist for the 2021 Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction.

Today, the Baillie Gifford Prize, the UK’s most prestigious annual prize for nonfiction, announced their 2021 shortlist. “I’m not sure I’ve ever been on a judging panel on which I’ve felt so invigorated and excited by the shortlist as I Read more >

By Emily Temple

Here's the shortlist for the 2021 T.S. Eliot Prize.

The T.S. Eliot Prize has just announced this year’s shortlist. Each year, the award seeks to celebrate the author with the best new collection of poetry published in the UK and Ireland. Described by Andrew Motion, the former English Poet Read more >

By Snigdha Koirala

Here are some red flags for women of color who work in publishing.

So, by now I’m sure you’ve noticed the red flags flooding your social media feeds. And if you haven’t, then you probably are better off than the rest of us, who are perpetually Very Online and need to, I don’t Read more >

By Vanessa Willoughby

This lady is trying to ban Toni Morrison’s books from schools for being “pornographic.”

It’s always impressive when someone devotes their life to a cause. Virginia Beach school board member Victoria Manning has: alas, the cause in question is trying to get books banned from classrooms due to their “pornographic nature.” The Daily Beast Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Rita Dove, Joy Harjo, Olga Tokarczuk, and more are going to space! (On a plaque.)

Here’s some nice space news that has nothing to do with billionaires! NASA is sending an unmanned spacecraft named Lucy on a 12-year journey to the Jupiter Trojan asteroids (which are not actually near Jupiter, but “are thought to be Read more >

By Jessie Gaynor

MacDowell will no longer require reference letters for applicants. That’s a good decision.

MacDowell, the storied artist residency, has announced that it has temporarily removed reference letters as part of the application process. The trial phase for removing reference letters will begin with the next application cycle, which begins this November 1st. For Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Phoebe Robinson will host the 2021 National Book Awards.

Today, the National Book Foundation announced the host of its 72nd National Book Awards: Phoebe Robinson, standup comedian, actress, author, and founder of Tiny Reparations Books. Among other accomplishments, Robinson is the New York Times-bestselling author of You Can’t Touch Read more >

By Walker Caplan

Ten topical literary Halloween costumes for 2021.

1. Supply Chain Issues Drape yourself in paper chains and take a really, really long time to respond to questions. 2. Woke Franzen Dark rimmed glasses, button-down, binoculars for bird-watching, good opinions. 3. Group Chat Subpoena Absolutely destroy the party Read more >

By Jessie Gaynor

Marvel x Penguin Classics is the collab we've been waiting for.

What if… Marvel comics were being anthologized by Penguin Classics? Wonder no further, for that day is here! This morning, the publisher announced their new series, the Penguin Classics Marvel Collection, which means that Jane Eyre and Dorian Gray can Read more >

By Katie Yee

Better listen to that Bennington podcast now—before Donna Tartt squashes it.

If you haven’t listened to Lili Anolik’s podcast about the literary history of Bennington—Once Upon A Time…at Bennington College, which began last month and is based on her excellent 2019 Esquire piece about the school and the Gen X literary Read more >

By Emily Temple

Gary Paulsen, author of Hatchet, has died at 82.

Gary Paulsen, the author of over 200 books, including beloved YA classic Hatchet and its sequels, died on October 13 at the age of 82, Publishers Weekly reported. Paulsen, who was himself an avid outdoorsman and adventurer—he ran the Iditarod Read more >

By Emily Temple

9 very niche bookstores for your very specific interests.

They say there’s someone for everyone, and I think that’s also true of bookstores. This week, I found out about a new East Village indie, Pillow-Cat Books, which only houses books that feature animals. It delighted a very specific part Read more >

By Katie Yee