Stories about Literature from May, 2010
France: Scholar Unpacks the Concept of National Identity
Reflets reposts (Fr) from newspaper Le Monde a review of “L'identité nationale, une énigme“, a book by a specialist in comparative anthology Marcel Detienne, denouncing the “mythideology” of an immanent France, whose brand of nationalism rules out interracial mixing. The author was interviewed in two videos, here and here (november...
Chez Gangoueus: A brilliant blog about African literature in French
A close runner-up for the Best of Blogs in French Award is Chez Guangoueus (fr). Réassi Ouabonzi blogs about African and diaspora literature in French from a reader's perspective since 2007. Here is an interview of him for Global Voices:
Africa: A blog to promote African literature
ImageNation is a blog by Ghanaian blogger Nana Fredua-Agyeman promoting literature in Africa.
Egypt: Crackdown on the Egyptian Da Vinci Code
Dr Youssef Zidane's 2008 Azazeel created a stir, followed by resentment, when it was first published. Today, Dr Zidane is being accused of blasphemy and defaming Christianity and as insulting any of the 'heavenly faiths' is illegal in Egypt, he could face up to five years behind bars. Bloggers react to the development.
Bhutan: Why Is It Important For A Politician To Blog?
Indian blogger Jabberwock quotes Tshering Tobgay, blogger and the leader of the opposition Party in the Bhutanese parliament answering the question ‘why is it important for a politician to blog': “because that forces you to pause and introspect and think about things, which is something politicians don’t always feel the...
Morocco: Discussing a Free Thinker's Legacy
The death of Moroccan philosopher and social theorist, Mohammed Abed al-Jabri, has gone with little notice in the media. Yet al-Jabri's contributions over the last decades to the uphill battle between rationality and religious thought has probably never been so relevant as today. Bloggers have been commemorating his legacy.
Bhutan: Literary Festival In Bhutan
Dorji Wangchuk writes about the recently concluded literary festival in Bhutan titled ‘Mountain Echoes’ which took place in Thimphu, the capital.
Philippine Literature in English
Shades of thought writes about the relevance of Philippine Literature in English.
Russia: Folk Humorous Rhymes In English
LJ-user laberintica posts English translations of “chastushka,” Russian folk humorous rhymes.
Ghana: New book by Ghanaian blogger
Kajsa writes about a new book by a Ghanaian blogger: “Well, maybe it is a stretch to say that Circles by Boakyewaa Glover (click to go to her blog) is a blog book, it is maybe rather a book by a blogger.”
St. Lucia, St. Vincent: New Imprint
St. Lucia's Caribbean Book Blog highlights “SFI Books, a new publishing imprint based in the Eastern Caribbean island of St Vincent, [which] has opened a new door of opportunity to writers from the region.”
Kenya: New book by Kenyan blogger available online
Kenyan poet and blogger, Njeri Wangari, reports that her new book is available on Amazon: “Some good news for all those with Amazon accounts, my book is now available on Amazon for only $12. For Kenyan buyers, I will update you immediately the book hits the shelves.”
Philippines: Linguistic Roots of Ancient Pot
Filipino academics retrace the linguistic roots of inscriptions etched in the rim of an ancient pot of high archeological value excavated in the Philippines.
Japan: 100 Japanese Books with Global Appeal
Tomo Akiyama links to Yurindo's book fair, which lists 100 Japanese Books with Global Appeal in English.
Jamaica: 10 Things about Calabash
Tallawah blogs about “10 random things about the Calabash [International Literary Festival] experience” that he looks forward to each year.
Barbados, Jamaica: Happy Birthday Kamau
Bloggers pay tribute to Barbados-born writer Kamau Brathwaite on his birthday.
India: The Influence Of Rabindranath Tagore
Supriyo Chaudhuri at Sunday Posts commemorates the 150th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore by remembering how the literary works and music of the Nobel laureate influenced him and many Bengalis.
Russia, Ukraine: WWII, Stalin, History, Politics
A selection of posts on WWII, May 9, history, Joseph Stalin, and today's political discourse in Russia and Ukraine – at Foreign Policy Association's Russia blog (here and here), Global Chaos (here and here), Foreign Notes, Ukrainiana, Sublime Oblivion, A Good Treaty, Robert Amsterdam.
Kenya: Kenyan poet/blogger releases a book
Kenyan poet, blogger and Global Voices Online author, Njeri Wangari, has released a book titled Mines &Fields: My Spoken Words.
Trinidad & Tobago: CRB Online
“At long last the trail-blazing online version of the Caribbean Review of Books is on stream!”: Trinidad and Tobago's Pleasure calls this “a very, very pleasing development.”
Jamaica: Red
“The term ‘red'…has had a long and dishonorable reputation in the Americas”: Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp seeks to change this through a poem in which “the speaker…turns away from the extremes of racial conflict and embraces his ‘red'ness.”
