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Recognizing Literary References

April 23, 2024 News Editor 0

The New York Times does it best, of course. What lines from poems and plays have fueled the imaginations of more contemporary writers? Take this 12 question, multiple choice quiz to see how you rank. And prepared to be amazed. The thing that astonished me the most comes early on, in question 2: Chinua Achebe’s 1958 novel “Things Fall Apart,” Joan Didion’s 1968 essay collection “Slouching Towards Bethlehem” and Robert B. Parker’s 1983 thriller “The […]

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Beloved Journalist and Novelist Robert MacNeil Dead at 93

April 13, 2024 News Editor 0

Robert MacNeil, the journalist who brought news to PBS, died Friday “after a long illness” according to the PBS news representative who confirmed MacNeil’s death. It was the Canadian-born journalist’s coverage of the Watergate scandal that led to the first newscasts on PBS. He was the founding anchor of “PBS NewsHour,” first launched in 1975 as “The Robert MacNeil Report” and later renamed “The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour” when journalist Jim Lehrer was added to the lineup. […]

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2024 International Booker Prize Shortlist Announced

April 13, 2024 News Editor 0

The 2024 shortlist for the International Booker Prize was announced last week, introducing us to six books from around the globe that have been translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland. The prize recognizes the vital work of translators with the £50,000 prize money divided equally: £25,000 (about $31,000 US) for the author and £25,000 for the translator (or divided equally between multiple translators). In addition, there is a prize of £5,000 […]