TODAY: In 1949, Martin Amis is born.
- Marcel Proust would like you to stop being so noisy: two never before published letters translated by Lydia Davis. | Literary Hub
- Why we can’t stop comparing the Kim Wall murder to Scandinavian crime fiction (but maybe should). | Literary Hub
- 17 famous living writers who have their own postage stamps. | Literary Hub
- When love is almost too much bear: Heather Harpham on the moments that define a life. | Literary Hub
- Elizabeth Day: Why a party may just be the perfect literary device. | Literary Hub
- “There is in this work the quality of doll-like glee.” Read a 1958 review of Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. | Book Marks
- “The ugly heart of the South still beats with this idea that one group of people is worth less.” A profile of Jesmyn Ward. | Vulture
- “To me, the great poignancy of Acker’s life was that she’d outlived her dream.” Chris Kraus in conversation with Jarrett Kobek. | The Millions
- Stanford University faculty and students have launched the Global Medieval Sourcebook, a digital resource that “offers English versions of previously untranslated Middle Ages literature.” | Hyperallergic
- “Her gift is to find the venality that afflicts the holy and the profane alike, and to present it without malice or spite.” A paean to Barbara Pym. | The New York Times
- A new statue at the University of Southern California has reignited an old debate about the “correct” spelling of Shakespeare’s name. | The Guardian
- “Can one person . . . turn literature into a healing salve—one that we can all believe in?” How French novelist Mathias Énard has sought to reconcile the Mediterranean zone. | The Nation
- “It’s impossible to write about Israel without writing about violence. It is also impossible to write about love and intimacy without writing about violence.” An interview with Nicole Krauss. | Granta
Also on Lit Hub: From Attica Locke to Jussi Adler-Olsen, 6 crime must-reads for September · On atmosphere: Kate Hamer’s favorite written locations in literature · From Jeff VanderMeer’s new novella, The Strange Bird.
