TODAY: In 1637, playwright, poet, actor, and literary critic, Ben Johnson dies.
- From Finland to Earthsea, the complexity of keeping houseis worthy of great literature. | Lit Hub
- On the birth of everybody’s favorite princess (Margaret, obvs) and how it gave rise to the horoscope as we know it. | Lit Hub
- Speaking of which, what, exactly, is the astrological significance of June 18, 1982, the day that both Djuna Barnes and John Cheever died? | Lit Hub
- “Thus,the mindfuck began.” Rachel Yoder gets a little lost in search of her Mennonite roots. | Lit Hub
- Valerie Trueblood: Writing a short story collection is a lot like starting a zoo. | Lit Hub
- “Joan Didion’s novels are not consoling, nor are they notably attuned to the reader’s expectations.” Elizabeth Hardwick on 8 iconic American writers. | Book Marks
- 10 classic crime novels that showcase the art of the heist. | CrimeReads
- If satire has lost its appeal in 2018, reading horror is still powerful: it “helps us name the original sins out of which horrible things are born.” | NPR
- “One has to be somewhat badly behaved to write above the fray in a society most comfortable with palatable mediocrity.” Ottessa Moshfegh recalls a relationship with an older writer. | The Guardian
- “It’s hard to remember now, but for decades after the publication of Webster’s Third, people still had intense opinions about dictionaries.” A brief history of dictionary drama. | The Atlantic
- Can’t get enough Crazy Rich Asians? Kevin Kwan is now developing an original “globe-hopping drama” series for Amazon. | Variety
- “T’aint your fault, guv’nor, it’s a rotten play.” On Henry James ill-advised foray into playwriting. | The New York Times
- “When Americans read, we mostly read for story, not for style.” Adam Kirsch unpacks the results of PBS’s “Great American Read.” | WSJ
- “To me, pessimism is interesting because it has something to do with the limits of thought.” An interview with Infinite Resignation author Eugene Thacker. | VICE
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