February 9th, 2010
From WSJ review.
There are many unsung heroes of ordinary life—nurses, trash collectors, accountants—whose job it is to take care of things that the rest of us take for granted. So too the librarian, that iconic figure who long presided over a sanctuary of books and guided readers, young and old, to the treasures of a vast print culture. But the profession has undergone a dramatic transformation of late because libraries themselves are not what they used to be. Today they have less to do with books per se than with computers, films, community events and children’s activities. They are, above all, public portals to the world of “information,” especially the online version. InThis Book Is Overdue!, Marilyn Johnson, a former staff writer for Life magazine, takes us on a tour of the modern library and introduces us to the men and women who call it their professional home.
–Thanks KJP
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February 5th, 2010
”
To dress a poem, a character, the magic of the imprecise moment that only literature allows; this is 20 dresses for Europe”, says Concha Hernández, the curator, in the exhibition catalogue. “The history of Europe in novels …/… And above all, or at the same level, the gown conceived from the direct inspiration of that literary fragment. They are all here to be enjoyed, for taking pleasure from an exhibition that is a model for intercultural dialogue, a tower of Babel for the senses”.
20 suits for Europe: a dialogue between fashion and literature
The project is part of the special cultural programme organised by the Spanish Presidency in coordination with Belgium and Hungary, the other two countries in the “EU trio”. This multidisciplinary and transnational context gives the exhibition an additional artistic element, as well as a marked European flavour, providing a metaphor for the constant exchange experienced by Europe’s citizens and its cultural diversity.
Posted in literature, outré | No Comments »
February 3rd, 2010
The Literature Police by Peter D. McDonald.
“Indispensable reading if we wish to understand the forces forming and deforming literary production in South Africa during the apartheid years.” – JM Coetzee
On the website is the Database: The most complete record to date of decisions the censors made about works that can be identified as belonging to the corpus of South African literature published during the apartheid era, though it also includes some arguably non-literary titles by leading political figures (e.g. essays by Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko). It gives details relating to just over 450 decisions, some of which were reviewed, and is searchable by, among others, author, publisher, date and outcome. It is worth noting that it covers books only. It does not include decisions relating to literary magazines.
Website.
Peter D. McDonald.
Thanks KAW.
Posted in Africa, censorship, civil rights, human rights | No Comments »
January 19th, 2010
Learning to Read.
DAVID BACON.
Learning to Read.
California’s children learn to read in public schools across the
state. These images document the innovative ways teachers in
classrooms in Berkeley, Newport Beach/Costa Mesa, Petaluma, and Los
Angeles develop the enthusiasm of children from kindergarten to the
fourth grade. Students come into many of these classes speaking
various languages, some in addition to English, and others
monolingual in the language of their families. Some parents sign
waivers allowing their children to be taught in a bilingual class,
while others are in immersion classes. In yet other classes, all the
students speak English as their first language. Regardless of
language, these students want to learn to read, and their teachers
want the same thing for them.
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January 19th, 2010
WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: New and Old, US Groups Forge Broad Alliances.
ATLANTA, Georgia, Jan 15 (IPS) – With civil society gearing up for the 2010 World Social Forum, and later this summer, the 2010 U.S. Social Forum in Detroit, Michigan, activists here say new alliances created at the first USSF in 2007 are going strong.
In 2006, the first USSF National Planning Committee was created following the 2005 World Social Forum (WSF) in Porto Allegre, Brazil. Grassroots Global Justice–a people of color, grassroots alliance–was delegated by the WSF’s International Council to help shepherd the U.S. Social Forum process. These grassroots leaders initiated a process to create the first USSF. The NPC selected Atlanta as the first USSF host city for 2007. In early 2009, the NPC selected Detroit as the second host city for 2010.
The NPC is made up of representatives from about 45 social movement organizations in the U.S. These volunteer members oversee the fiscal and political responsibilities of the USSF. Organizations that are interested in becoming NPC members can apply by contacting Adrienne Maree Brown (adrienne@ussf2010.org) for an application.
This National Planning Committee includes currently active members:
* AFL-CIO (International)
* AFSCME (National)
* AlternateROOTS (regional)
* American Friends Services Committee
* Black Radical Congress (National)
* Center for Media Justice (National)
* Center for Social Justice (Seattle, WA)
* Center for Third World Organizing (National)
* Centro Obrero (Detroit, MI)–Anchor organization
* East Michigan Environmental Action Council (Detroit, MI)–Anchor organization
* Freedom Road Socialist Organization (National)
* Grassroots Global Justice (National)
* Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health (Regional)
* Indigenous Environmental Network (International)
* Independent Progressive Politics Network (National)
* International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN)
* Jobs with Justice (National)
* Jubilee USA (National)
* Labor and Community Strategy Center (Los Angeles, CA)
* League of Revolutionaries for a New America (LRNA)
* Leftist Lounge
* May First/People Link
* Michigan Welfare Rights Organization (Detroit, MI)–Anchor organization
* National Day Laborers Organizing Network (National)
* People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (New Orleans, LA)
* People Organized to Win Employment Rights, POWER (San Francisco, CA)
* Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, PPEHRC (National)
* Project South (Regional)
* Pushback Network
* Right to the City (National)
* Ruckus Society (National)
* Sociologists Without Borders (National)
* Southeast Michigan Jobs with Justice (Detroit, MI)–Anchor Organization
* SouthWest Organizing Project (Albuquerque, NM)
* Southwest Workers Union (San Antonio, TX)
* The Praxis Project (National)
* United for Peace & Justice (UFPJ)
* U.S. Human Rights Network (USHRN) (National)
* U.S. Solidarity Economy Network (U.S. SEN)
* U.S. Palestinian Community Network (U.S. PCN) (International)
* Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (International)
* Women’s Media Equity Collaborative
Report is here on librarians at the 2007 USSFSocial Forum in Atlanta in The Progressive Librarian 30 (Winter 2007/2008) “PLG – ¡Presenté! Report from the United States Social Forum,” by Elaine Harger & Kathleen de la Peña McCook.
Librarians at USSF-Atlanta. ALA Connect.
Posted in USSF, human rights, social justice | No Comments »
January 13th, 2010
Why should I let the toad work
Squat on my life?
Can’t I use my wit as a pitchfork
And drive the brute off?
The city of Hull, where Philip Larkin spent more than three decades in splendid isolation as university librarian, will later this year honour its most celebrated modern literary son with a five-month festival marking the 25th anniversary of his death.
Fans will be encouraged to visit the Brynmor Jones Library where he worked and which inspired his meditation on paid employment in “Toads”.
Posted in poetry | No Comments »
January 10th, 2010
Fiction dominates the seven prizes this year, from Basque to Finnish
The seven prizes will be presented by the Editor of the TLS, Sir Peter Stothard, at a ceremony at King’s Place in London on January 11. This will be followed by the 2010 Sebald lecture, to be given by Will Self. [Curated by The British Centre for Literary Translation at the University of East Anglia and The Society of Authors].
The Premio Valle Inclán – translation from the Spanish
The Saif Ghobash-Banipal Prize – translation from the Arabic
The Schlegel-Tieck Prize – translation from the German
The Scott Moncrieff Prize – translation from the French
The Vondel Prize – translation from the Dutch and Flemish
The Bernard Shaw Prize – translation from the Swedish
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Prize – translation from the Portuguese
The Rossica Translation Prize – translation from the Russian
Posted in literary awards, translation | No Comments »
