· July, 2009

Stories about Literature from July, 2009

Russia: Shalamov's Siberia

Russian Blog does a follow up on the Russian writer and Gulag prisoner Varlam Shalamov, visiting sites of his incarceration in the Ural and posting pictures to illustrate the story

18 July 2009

Out of Africa Emerges Digital Art and Animation

‘Digital' has become the latest buzz word not just in Kenya but in Africa where most things are still analogue. However, Digital Art is a rather new term to even the most seasoned art aficionados. Digital technology has transformed traditional activities such as painting, drawing and sculpture, while new forms, such as net art, digital installation art, and virtual reality, have been recognized artistic practices.

17 July 2009

Jamaica: Emmy Nomination

Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp reports that “LIVEHOPELOVE.COM, a website about living with AIDS in Jamaica, has been nominated in the United States for a prestigious Emmy award.”

16 July 2009

Egypt: Mounir Said Hanna found guilty of “Satire”

Egyptian Mounir Said Hanna Marzuq has been found guilty of "satire" after a colleague reported him and his poem to the authorities. He has been sentenced to three years and was fined L.E. 100,000 for insulting president Hosni Mubarak. Marwa Rakha sums up reactions from Egyptian bloggers here.

16 July 2009

Egypt: The Egyptian Apostate

Egyptian progressive thinker, Dr. Sayed El Qemany was granted the State Award for Social Sciences. Egyptian liberals and seculars hailed the award while Wahabis and conservatives declared war on the “Egyptian Apostate”. Marwa Rakha reports from the Egyptian blogosphere.

15 July 2009

Arab World: Trouble for Gay Travels in the Muslim World

The first gay book to have been ever translated into Arabic after being originally printed in English has run into problems straight off the press. Katharine Ganly reports on blogger reactions to the book Gay Travels in the Muslim World, whose translation has spurred a heated debate.

15 July 2009

Ecuador: The Passing of Writer Jorge Enrique Adoum

Ecuador is mourning the passing of writer Jorge Enrique Adoum, who Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda once said is "the greatest poet in Latin America." Many seem to agree, as bloggers are paying homage to "Jorgenrique," who helped pen one of the country's cultural anthems, in collaboration with other writers and artists.

12 July 2009

Russia: Burning books

LJ user red warrior red claims [RUS] that the Russian edition of a book by murdered dissident-in-exile, Alexander Litvinenko, has been confiscated and destroyed by the Federal Security Service (FSB)...

10 July 2009

Bahrain: Reading Detective Novels

bint battuta in bahrain introduces her readers to two detective novels – Vendetta by Michael Dibdin and The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin, which she has just finished from reading.

9 July 2009