TODAY: In 1327, Petrarch catches his first glimpse of Laura in the church of Saint Clare in Avignon.
- The Tournament of Literary Sex Writing: Judges John Ashbery and Walter Mosley decide the final four. | Literary Hub
- Fundamentalist Christian Kelly Kerney discovers the greater world, follows it all the way to Guatemala. | Literary Hub
- Scott Cheshire reads Dambudzo Marechera’s Scrapiron Blues, is reacquainted with the violent ghosts of his past. | Literary Hub
- Elif Batuman talks to Paul Holdengraber about her aversion to telephones and the alienation of the hyphenated American. | Literary Hub
- “I thought it was such a misfit, but it’s turning out to be a lot more popular than the kid I thought it was.” James Hannaham on winning the 2016 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. | The Washington Post, PEN/Faulkner Foundation
- “She explained surgery, and cancer, and remission, and we asked questions. Then we all went out for pizza.” Kate Bolick on her mother’s, and her own, breast cancer. | The New Yorker
- On Nabokov’s adult coloring book (a collection of, and essays about, his butterfly drawings). | The New Republic
- The Pentagon Papers, Cablegate, and beyond: A Panama Papers-inspired reading list. | Signature Reads
- “The structural battle for cultural equity also leads to some specific artistic battles.” Seven authors discuss the state of Latino literature. | Numéro Cinq
- One of the many Shakespeare exhibitions surrounding the 400th anniversary of his death will offer examples of useful skills (poisoning, seducing, potion-making). | Hyperallergic
- Charles Bock, Manuel Gonzales, Charlotte Rogan, Rebecca Schiff, and Rob Spillman on their books, influences, and worst critiques. | Salon
- The first four authors in Ig Publishing’s new Bookmarked series discuss the project and the books that changed their lives. | Necessary Fiction
Also on Literary Hub: In conversation with Rob Spillman, craving danger and writing the past · 10 contemporary baseball books for the new season · New poems by francine j. harris The warning: from Ron Tanner’s Missile Paradise
