Curating some of the best recent links across literature, philosophy, and the arts
This is the fifth in a new weekly series that brings together the articles, reviews, interviews and miscellany that has caught my eye over the past seven days. Including: Thelonious Monk’s tips for playing a gig; a free course on creative writing from William Burroughs; and a review of the first authorised biography of Angela Carter. Take a look, and feel free to share!
Literature, Poetry, Theatre
- John Keats, ‘To Autumn’
- Lauren Elkin on her new book, Flâneuse
- Katie Gramich on the life and poetry of Edward Thomas
- Samuel Beckett declined an invitation from Esquire to cover the 1968 Democratic Party Convention in Chicago
- ‘Life does not tell stories. Life is chaotic, fluid, random’ — B. S. Johnson
- Alain Robbe-Grillet‘s provocative essays on creating new literature outside the ‘dead rules’ of the past resonate now
- On adapting Thomas Bernhard‘s The Loser for opera
- Anthony Burgess lists his favourite dystopian novels
- Dostoevsky vs. Tolstoy: A Competitive Family Vacation
- A full page of The New York Times dedicated to one poem
- William S. Burroughs teaches a free course in Creative Writing and Reading
- The Marquis de Sade and the office novel
- Lisa Stead on women writers and cinema
- 18 books Ernest Hemingway wished he could read again for the first time
- 15 best poetry books of all time
- Carla Hayden takes charge of the world’s largest library
- Ted Gioia reviews Angela Carter’s The Magic Toyshop
- The first authorised biography of Angela Carter
- 55 free online literature courses
- Jorge Luis Borges‘ Norton lectures on poetry
- 10 giant translated novels that make a mockery of subway reading
- Who will win the Nobel Prize for Literature? Place your bets
Art, Design, Photography
- Georgia O’Keefe at the Tate runs until 30 October
- Comics circulation hits a 20-year high
- Tokyo Nights photography by Liam Wong
- The mysterious muse of Gustav Klimt
- Francis Bacon at the Guggenheim (September 2016-January 2017)
Philosophy & Theory
- How The Storyteller sheds new light on Walter Benjamin’s philosophy
- Review of The Dream of Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Philosophy
- The Camus Investigation
- The Jazz Loft
- Walter Benjamin, ‘Detective Novels, On Tour’
- Wittgenstein biographer Ray Monk is interviewed by Philosophy Bites
Music
- The making of David Bowie’s lost soul album
- Thelonious Monk‘s tips for playing a gig
- What is jazz giant John Coltrane had lived?
- Why liner notes matter
- Brian Eno on The Velvet Underground
- The origin of Sonny Rollins’ nickname, ‘Newk’
- On Jackie McLean’s Destination… Out!
Film & TV
- Polaroids from the set of the Coen Brothers’ Blood Simple
- Richard Brody on Terrence Malick’s Voyage of Time
News & Politics
- Henry Louis Gates Jr on Restoring Black History
- MacArthur Foundation announces this year’s Genius Grants
- Marking the 20th anniversary of Ken Burns’ The West
Miscellaneous