Lit Hub Daily: March 21, 2022

TODAY: In 1905, Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet Phyllis McGinley is born.  

• “Her books gave us hope that one day we would be able to speak our minds, to express what we truly felt, to chart our own destiny.” Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry on reading Toni Morrison in Moscow. | Lit Hub

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• OSCARS WEEK: In part one of our literary look at this year’s Best Picture nominees, we recommend what to read (and watch) if you liked Drive My Car and King Richard. | Lit Hub Film

• Read an open letter from Writers for Democratic Action, urging southern writers to register people to vote at literary events. | Lit Hub Politics

• Peter Kalu considers the superhero stories that shaped him, and why we’re right to be wary of our caped icons today. | Lit Hub

• “I wish you a sexy, dangerous, jazz-shaped immortality.” Read Diane Seuss’s commencement address to the Bennington Writing Seminars. | Lit Hub

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• Is every coming-of-age story an apocalypse story? | Lit Hub

• Jeevan Vasagar reports on the efforts of Singapore’s government to “tame the internet” and suppress dissent. | Lit Hub Politics

• “Like writers, physicians are the collected stories of others.” Xi Chen makes the case for more writers practicing medicine (and vice versa). | Lit Hub Health

• Frankenstein, The Velveteen Rabbit, Autobiography of Red, and more rapid-fire book recs from Melissa Febos. | Book Marks

• The Museo della Cucina, a new cooking museum in Rome, showcases the oldest mass-printed cookbook, recipes from Pope Pius V’s chef, and more culinary treasures. | Hyperallergic

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• John Tirman recommends books that illuminate the trauma of civilians caught in wars. | The Washington Post

• Beloved author Beatrix Potter’s drawings of animals and the English landscape are now on view at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. | Artnet

• Ostap Kin revisits Ukrainian poetry of the late 20th century with titles that “present vibrant poetic voices, showcasing a wide array of techniques, forms, and themes.” | Los Angeles Review of Books

• A librarian in Texas lost her job after not complying with an order by her boss to remove certain books called “inappropriate” by patrons. | KXAN

• Take a deep dive into Patricia Highsmith’s literary (and personal) relationship with snails. | Vulture

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• “Baobab trees are built for benedictions, and for wonder.” Jori Lewis on the wisdom and resiliency of Africa’s baobab trees. | Emergence Magazine

Also on Lit Hub: Kevin Wilson on the fever dream brilliance of Harry Crews • Monique Roffey on rewriting the mermaid myth • Read a story from Ladee Hubbard’s new collection, The Last Suspicious Holdout

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