Orhan Pamuk on Turkey, poetry in wedding ceremonies, and saving ancient manuscripts

So many lit links, so little time! This week’s highlights include more literary news from the protestors in Gezi Park, Turkey; some disheartening news from German-language publisher Suhrkamp; and a crowdfunding project that hopes to save ancient manuscripts from ruin.

News, Reviews, and Interviews

We have launched new social profiles for the Neustadt Prize! Stay abreast of Prize news by liking our page on Facebook and following @NeustadtPrize on Twitter.

Orhan Pamuk, the 2006 Puterbaugh Fellow and Nobel Prize Laureate, responded to the protests in his home country of Turkey last week in the New Yorker.

Claire Messud, author of The Woman Upstairs, was recently interviewed by Powell’s Books in Portland.

The latest issue of transcript, the magazine arm of Literature Across Frontiers, focuses on Armenian literature, which has a history stretching back to the fifth century.

A.M. Homes has been named this year’s winner for the Women’s Prize in Fiction! 

After Salt Publishing’s announcement (no more single-author poetry collections), is it now time for a poetry revolution?

How should authors talk about dreams in their work? Alberto Manguel plumbs the depths of literary dreams at the New York Review of Books.

Natasha Trethewey will be returning to her post as U.S. Poet Laureate for a second year this fall.

Kenn Nesbitt has been named this year’s Children’s Poet Laureate for the Poetry Foundation.

The second issue of Molossus is out! This issue features works from nine countries and ten languages.

Ann Morgan from the blog A Year of Reading the World needs your help determining the status of bookstores around the world that sell international literature.

How do authors go about translating their own works into other languages?

For Your Calendar

June is International Crime Month! Celebrate with Grove Atlantic, Akashic Books, Melville House, and Europa Editions all month long with panels, discussions, and author talks.

Join Trafika Europe in London this Sunday for music, art, and a roundtable discussion about Romani literature (tickets required).

A new crowdfunding effort is aimed at saving over 300,000 ancient manuscripts in Timbuktu from the perils of bad storage and decay.

Fun Finds and Inspiration

Translation, especially of classics, can be a frustrating experience for both translators and the readers. This chart shows some of the most “vexing” moments in translation history.

Thanks to some very dedicated librarians in Seattle, the world record for the longest book domino chain has officially been broken!

NPR recently came out with a list of five books of poetry to help you through the dog days of summer. 

When did poetry become such an essential aspect of wedding ceremonies? The Poetry Foundation takes a look.

Happiness is a cup of coffee and a really good book, says this coffee cup (but it might be biased.)

Can you guess what famous authors voted as the greatest works of literature?