· March, 2009

Stories about Literature from March, 2009

Brazil: Beyond cyberspace – when blogs move offline

Books are becoming e-books and blogs and websites have appeared as books and other types of media. In this state of flux, it looks like the paper book has the power to beat virtual writing rather than the other way round. In Brazil, there is more than just a fashion of launching e-books to attract readers and writers but also an opposite stream in which blogs have reached the offline shelves as well as the movie screens.

29 March 2009

Jamaica: Curtains for Calabash?

Diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp is part of a group that has written an open letter to the Jamaican Prime Minister expressing disappointment over the news “that the 2009 Calabash Festival...

27 March 2009

Global Voices Book Challenge – Read Your Way Around the World!

April 23 is UNESCO World Book Day – and just because the Global Voices team loves blogs, doesn’t mean we have forgotten other forms of the written word! In fact, because we think reading literature is such an enjoyable way to learn about another culture, we have a fun challenge for all Global Voices contributors and readers, and bloggers everywhere.

26 March 2009

Is Egypt on the verge of a cultural revolution?

Between Bahaa Taher's first Arabic Language Booker Prize, bloggers' books, Youssef Zidan's Azazeel's Booker prize, writing competitions on Facebook, the Sawiris Foundation Competitions, and new creative initiatives to nurture new blood, Egypt's literary scene has been revived over the past few years. Marwa Rakha digs up even more projects being discussed on the blogs.

23 March 2009

St. Lucia: Visiting Gros Islet

Repeating Islands’ Blog visits St. Lucia and discovers that “the fishing village of Gros Islet – the principal setting for Derek Walcott’s Omeros – seems serenely frozen in time.”

23 March 2009

Cuba: Interview with Blogger Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo

Claudia Cadelo interviews blogger Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo about his participation in the Cuban blogging community, which came to his side when his book "Boring Home" had originally been accepted by the state publishing house, but later rejected. He believes that the decision was made partly by his blogging activity. Many of the island's bloggers supported him during this difficult time and even organized an alternate book launch.

23 March 2009

Lao idioms

Bryan, A Laotian American writer, identifies some of the popular Lao idioms.

22 March 2009

Martinique, Dominica: Mount Pelee

Repeating Islands’ Blog takes us to Martinique's Mont Pelée volcano and also offers a glimpse into the work of the Dominican/Martinican poet “whose verses…commemorated the tragedy of Mont Pelée…when the...

19 March 2009

Angola: Celebrating Angolan Women's Day with poetry

March is a month of double celebration for Angolan woman: apart from International Woman's Day, Angolan Woman's Day is celebrated on March 2nd because of the bravery of four women who fought for Angola's Independence. Bloggers celebrate by publishing poems and paying homage to women who suffer, love and fight with a large smile on their lips and bold eyes.

17 March 2009