TODAY: In 1891, Henrik Ibsen’s play “Ghosts” is performed in a single private London performance at the Royalty Theatre. Censorship by Lord Chamberlain’s Office was avoided by the formation of a subscription-only Independent Theatre Society to produce the play; Its members included playwright George Bernard Shaw and authors Thomas Hardy and Henry James.
- “To be a woman is to be forever vigilant against violence.” Rebecca Solnit on Harvey Weinstein, storykiller. | Lit Hub
- Liesl Schillinger on what we can still learn (and should probably unlearn) from Albert Camus’s The Plague. | Lit Hub
- Refuge, gossip, and revelation on the private book club circuit: Marjan Kamali on stepping into her readers’ homes. | Lit Hub
- “Are there angels assigned to bombs?” Reading the Qur’an as the bombs fell on Tehran. | Lit Hub History
- Finding Octavia Butler’s Pasadena: Katie Orphan traces the late author through her papers. | Lit Hub
- Dionne Searcey learns the story of a survivor of Boko Haram captivity. | Lit Hub Politics
- “It might be better if so many people didn’t feel like they’d hit a full stop.” Camilla Cavendish on retirement and the Japanese approach to senior work. | Lit Hub
- My Dark Vanessa, a memoir from Rebecca Solnit, and Deb Olin Unferth’s chicken heist novel all feature among the Best Reviewed Books of the Week. | Book Marks
- Victor Methos has a confession to make. He loves CSI: Miami. As a prosecutor, he also sees the damage it’s doing to our justice system. | CrimeReads
- “As I’ve learned again and again, if you speak out against racism, there are risks you must take on.” Myriam Gurba on the fallout from her critiques of American Dirt and of abuse at the school where she teaches. | Vox
- Barbara Neely, the activist and award-winning writer who created Blanche White, has died at the age of 78. | The New York Times
- “I’ve had a pit in my stomach for the last week and a half since it became real.” Hear from an indie bookstore owner in Washington state on how coronavirus is impacting business. | Slate
- “What shall I tell these girls? We will live how we can.” Lydia Kiesling on talking about climate change with her children. | The Cut
- The publishing industry is feeling the effects of coronavirus in ever-increasing ways. | Publishers Weekly
- Lady Gaga and her organization, the Born This Way Foundation, will publish an anthology about kindness later this year. | The Hub
- İlhan Çomak is a Kurdish poet who has written eight collections to much acclaim. But all have been published throughout his 26 years in a Turkish prison. | The Guardian
Also on Lit Hub: Sophisticates, snobs, and scathing reviews in wartime London: D.J. Taylor on literary power broker Cyril Connolly Shepherd • All the culture the Lit Hub staff is stockpiling this month • Read an excerpt from Nana Oforiatta Ayim’s debut novel The God Child.
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