TODAY: In 1906, Samuel Beckett was born, the first of his many complaints.
- Günter Grass is dead. Here he is on life, writing, and Nazis.
- Teju Cole’s photos from Switzerland. | Literary Hub
- “Whether the women are disguised as men or whether they’re in their women’s dresses, or whether they’re women creating love in the world or whether they’re women creating pain and suffering in the world”—the evolution of Shakespeare’s portrayal of women. | NPR
- Need more of the Bard? Explore this interactive map for an elevated understanding of early modern London. | CityLab
- “You could call Zac’s Haunted House many things: net art, a glorified Tumblr, a visual novel, a mood board, or a dark night of the Internet’s soul.” A review of Dennis Cooper’s HTML novel. | Bookforum
- The Great Gatsby—which turned 90 last Friday—is now one of the most sought-after first editions, despite originally being a critical and commercial flop. | Lapham’s Quarterly
- “We were two Southern men laughing together in an easy way, linked by class and food.” On “trash food” and linguistic implications. | Oxford American
- On Kazuo Ishiguro, translating, and the right to review. | Electric Literature
- Daisy Bentley’s collection of lost notes offers a sense of intimacy paired with voyeuristic thrill. | Hyperallergic
- “Given that my book is about my coming out as a lesbian, my father’s closeted homosexuality, and his likely suicide… [my parents] would be a lot of things, but I’m not sure ‘proud’ would be one of them.” Alison Bechdel reflects on the dramatization of her memoir. | Vulture
- “Librarians have a long history of overcoming geographic, economic, and political challenges to bring the written word to an eager audience.” Improbable libraries from across the world. | The Guardian
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