Caldecott and Newbery medals, arbitrary grammar, and literary board games
It’s been another great week of international literature filled with a variety of news from children’s books to Nigerian poetry, and we have some particularly fun literary finds this week including board games and free giveaways. Dig in and enjoy!
News, Reviews, and Interviews
Sabotage Times came out with their list of the top five spoken word poets. Did your favorite make the cut?
The Caldecott and Newbery medals were awarded last week for best children’s books published in 2012.
Did you know that the PEN American Center has initiatives in place to help protect the freedom of speech rights for bloggers worldwide?
The new February issue of Words without Borders is all about international graphic novels.
The Mantle looks at the evolution of Nigerian poetry at its website.
Plans for a writers’ retreat are now underway at the former home of poet Charles Causley.
Booktrust is launching a new literature study about readers’ habits and engagement with world fiction.
We’re so excited and proud to announce that Miguel Barnet’s “Fatima, Queen of the Night” will be featured in the next issue of Paragraph Shorts.
NPR has a new report on Afghanistan’s Youth Orchestra, which will be playing several shows in New York City very soon.
The PEN American Center recaps the events of last week’s Jaipur Literature Festival on its blog.
When WLT worlds collide: regular contributor Rob Vollmar recently interviewed past Neustadt juror Yahia Lababidi for Cross Timbers.
Learn all all about Wakefield Press with this new mini-interview with publisher Marc Lowenthal.
Is grammar arbitrary? The Smithsonian weighs in.
For Your Calendar
Abdellatif Laâbi will be hosting a poetry reading with his translator, André Naffis-Sahely, at the Free Word Centre in London on February 18. (Tickets required!)
The Poetry Translation Center will be hosting a free poetry translation workshop next week, focusing on several of Abdulla Pashew’s works.
Fun Finds and Inspiration
Poets.org is taking requests for people who would like a free poster depicting this year’s National Poetry Month theme.
What is art? Well, here are some quotes answering that very question from famous minds the world over.
For our UK readers, have you ever been curious about how many languages are spoken where you live? A new interactive map at the Guardian lets you see for yourself.
A house in China was recently discovered to have a whole kung fu novel written on its walls. (News page is in Chinese.)
Need something to spice up your next party? Try a literary board game!
Brainpickings has collected several quotes from famous authors on the issue of censorship in literature.
If you want smarter children, the answer is clear: buy them books.
A reading marathon sounds like the perfect way to facilitate good reading for wide audiences!
In addition to teaching readers about poetry, Shakespeare also teaches us how to rap, ‘90s style.
Did you know that some very common English words come from Chinese?
Europa Editions is giving away 24 copies of The Woman with the Bouquet by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt at Goodreads. (US and CA only)
Do you know what makes a classic book classic? Italo Calvino does.
