Publishers Lunch
The world of letters lost a number of
prominent voices in recent days:
Winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize for
literature Doris
Lessing 94, died at home in London on Sunday. Her 1962
book The
Golden Notebook remains her best-known work, and her editor Nicholas
Pearson at Harper UK tells the NYT it
was a handbook for an entire generation. The NYT adds: "The 1962 book was
daring in its day for its frank exploration of the inner lives of women who,
unencumbered by marriage, were free to raise children, or not, and pursue work
and their sex lives as they chose."
Author of the Junie
B. Jones series and creator of over 50 books for young readers in
all Barbara Park, 66, died on Friday following a lengthy
battle with ovarian cancer. Random House says the Junie B. Jones series has
sold 55 million copies in North America alone. With her husband she
founded Sisters in Survival, a
charity that supports women with ovarian cancer, and donations are invited to
the organization in her honor. She once said: "There are those who
believe that the value of a children's book can be measured only in terms of
the moral lessons it tries to impose or the perfect role models it offers.
Personally, I happen to think that a book is of extraordinary value if it gives
the reader nothing more than a smile or two. In fact, I happen to think that's
huge."
Co-founder of Algonquin Books and longtime
creative writing professor at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Louis Rubin died
Saturday, three days before his 90th birthday. The Raleigh News Observer calls
him a "monumental voice in Southern literature." They note:
"As an educator and mentor, he humbly and generously kindled the muse in
many — including such noted Southern writers as Lee Smith, Jill McCorkle, Kaye
Gibbons, Clyde Edgerton, Annie Dillard and John Barth." Edgerton says,
"He was a brilliant editor which grew out of his childlike enthusiasm for
literature and his wisdom for narrative."
William Weaver,
the prolific translator of dozens of
works by authors include Italo Calvino, Umberto Eco and Primo Levi died in
Rhinbeck, NY last Tuesday at age 90. The winner of a National Book Award in
1969 for translation for his work on Italo Calvino's Cosmicomics,
the NYT notes that
Weaver "helped lift Italian literature to prominence among readers of
English."
and from Shelf Awareness:
The New York Times obituary summed up much of why "the cavalier and curmudgeonly" author simultaneously attracted and irritated many readers, noting that she won the Nobel "for a lifetime of writing that shattered convention, both social and artistic" (her first comment on hearing that she won the prize was "Oh, Christ. I couldn't care less."), writing that was usually "long, dense and complex. Her prose, one critic said, can be 'indigestible.' "
Still, her autobiographical Golden Notebook was one of the most important novels of the 20th century and considered a feminist icon, although typically she was critical of feminism. (One comment: "Things have changed for white, middle-class women, but nothing has changed outside this group.") Her Children of Violence series, particularly the first few books, were also very powerful autobiographical works of fiction marked by a strong female protagonist who, like Lessing herself, sought to find and make her place in the world regardless of what was expected of her socially, sexually, artistically or politically.
---
Louis Rubin, writer, editor, literary critic, professor and co-founder of Algonquin Books, died on Saturday. He was 89.
"As an educator and mentor, he humbly and generously kindled the muse in many--including such noted Southern writers as Lee Smith, Jill McCorkle, Kaye Gibbons, Clyde Edgerton, Annie Dillard and John Barth," the News-Observer wrote.
With Shannon Ravenel, he founded Algonquin in 1983 "after talented young writers he knew were having difficulty making any headway among the New York and other big-city publishing houses," the paper wrote. In 1989, Workman Publishing bought Algonquin.
---
Barbara Park, author of the Junie B. Jones children's series, died on Friday. She was 66 and had ovarian cancer, Entertainment Weekly reported. The series has sold more than 55 million copies in North America.
and from Shelf Awareness:
Obituary Notes: Doris Lessing, Louis Rubin, Barbara Park
Doris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2007 and author of The Golden Notebook, among many other works, died yesterday. She was 94.The New York Times obituary summed up much of why "the cavalier and curmudgeonly" author simultaneously attracted and irritated many readers, noting that she won the Nobel "for a lifetime of writing that shattered convention, both social and artistic" (her first comment on hearing that she won the prize was "Oh, Christ. I couldn't care less."), writing that was usually "long, dense and complex. Her prose, one critic said, can be 'indigestible.' "
Still, her autobiographical Golden Notebook was one of the most important novels of the 20th century and considered a feminist icon, although typically she was critical of feminism. (One comment: "Things have changed for white, middle-class women, but nothing has changed outside this group.") Her Children of Violence series, particularly the first few books, were also very powerful autobiographical works of fiction marked by a strong female protagonist who, like Lessing herself, sought to find and make her place in the world regardless of what was expected of her socially, sexually, artistically or politically.
---
Louis Rubin, writer, editor, literary critic, professor and co-founder of Algonquin Books, died on Saturday. He was 89."As an educator and mentor, he humbly and generously kindled the muse in many--including such noted Southern writers as Lee Smith, Jill McCorkle, Kaye Gibbons, Clyde Edgerton, Annie Dillard and John Barth," the News-Observer wrote.
With Shannon Ravenel, he founded Algonquin in 1983 "after talented young writers he knew were having difficulty making any headway among the New York and other big-city publishing houses," the paper wrote. In 1989, Workman Publishing bought Algonquin.
---
Barbara Park, author of the Junie B. Jones children's series, died on Friday. She was 66 and had ovarian cancer, Entertainment Weekly reported. The series has sold more than 55 million copies in North America.
No comments:
Post a Comment