“Huckleberry Finn,” a book written by Mark Twain, is a famous American story. But, some schools in the U.S. don’t let students read it. Even though it is an important book, some people don’t like how it talks about race and uses bad language. It has now a censored version, too.
Looking for a place to discuss what you've been reading? Consider checking out the new Lemmy instance dedicated to all things books and writing over at: https://literature.cafe
The best part is you can participate from your existing fediverse account. Communities on Lemmy can be followed like users and have similar functionality to other fediverse groups!
"Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend."
Animal Farm, a beast fable in the form of a satirical allegorical novella, by George Orwell, was first published in England #OTD in 1945.
Orwell initially encountered difficulty getting the manuscript published, largely due to fears that the book might upset the alliance between Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union. via @wikipedia
American humorist, journalist, lecturer, and novelist Mark Twain was born #OTD in 1835. His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, with the latter often called the "Great American Novel". Twain also wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and Pudd'nhead Wilson, and co-wrote The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today with Charles Dudley Warner. via @wikipedia
“The fear o’ hell’s a hangman’s whip
To haud the wretch in order;
But where ye feel your honour grip,
Let that aye be your border.”
Robert Burns died #OTD in 1796. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is in a "light Scots language” of English, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. via @wikipedia
I'm still #writing independent scholarship on #theology and pop culture, and also lots of #fiction. Presently working out my own take on "dark heroic fantasy".
I don't suppose anyone here reads Chinese lit enough to discuss tropes?
Currently reading an Ergen (I Shall Seal The Heavens), and the protag is this weird blend of greedy and uh, friendly exploitative? Basically leveraging friendships for gain. "Elder Brother you are truly a work of the gods, I applaud your ascension, in this way no one will ever pick on me again because we are such good friends" kinda thing.
The characters consistently do the same, and it's sort of played off as expected and positive.
Is this a negative trope? Is it positive friendships being fed through a localization wood chipper? Or is it a cultural difference where what I see as exploitative friendships really are meant to be seen as positive?
Like am I meant to earnestly like him as an honorable guy? Or is he meant to be more of a likeable racal?
She was widely known for her record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days in emulation of Jules Verne's fictional character Phileas Fogg, and an exposé in which she worked undercover to report on a mental institution from within. She was alson an inventor: she received an U.S. patent for a novel milk can and another one for a stacking garbage can, both under her married name of Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman. via @wikipedia
Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard receives its premiere performance at the Moscow Art Theatre #OTD in 1904.
Written in 1903, it was first published by Znaniye (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition later that year in Saint Petersburg, via A.F. Marks Publishers. Chekhov described the play as a comedy, with some elements of farce, though Stanislavski treated it as a tragedy.
Dame Agatha Christie died #OTD in 1976. She is best known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. via @wikipedia
One is revered as a classic of American #literature, the other is largely forgotten.
Ursula Parrott’s biographer got interested when she discovered that F. Scott Fitzgerald had at one point been hired to write the screenplay of Parrot’s “Infidelity”. Why would the most famous author of the Jazz Age be hired to adapt a story from a mostly unknown writer?
English poet and painter William Blake was born #OTD in 1757. Author of exquisite lyrics in Songs of Innocence & Songs of Experience & profound and difficult “prophecies,” such as Visions of the Daughters of Albion, The First Book of Urizen, Milton, & Jerusalem. In the early 21st century, Blake was regarded as the earliest and most original of the Romantic poets, but in his lifetime he was generally neglected or dismissed as mad.
"Fossoyeur, il est beau de contempler les ruines des cités ; mais, il est plus beau de contempler les ruines des humains !"
Uruguayan poet Comte de Lautréamont was born #OTD in 1846.
He is best known for his work "Les Chants de Maldoror", a surrealistic and bizarre poetic prose masterpiece. Lautréamont's work was highly influential on later literary movements, particularly the Surrealists and the Symbolists.
John Steinbeck is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath.
The book was first published in April 14, 1939. The book won the National Book Award & Pulitzer Prize for fiction, & it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962. When preparing to write the novel, Steinbeck wrote: "I want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for this [the Great Depression and its effects]."
Nan Shepherd (1893–1981) was born #OTD, 11 Feb. Recently her nature writing, & her memoir THE LIVING MOUNTAIN, has gained attention—but she was also an important #modernist novelist. Charlotte Peacock weighs her contribution to Scotland’s literary renaissance
When Kathleen Dorothy Blackburn was a child growing up in an evangelical family in Lubbock, Texas, her father, a former air force pilot, was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 38. Her family sought help from preachers, holy men and faith healers but unbeknownst to them, her father had been exposed to high levels of PFAS — as of this month, limited in drinking water by the FDA — on the military sites where he had worked. @TexasObserver has published this extract from Blackburn's memoir, "Loose of Earth," in which she talks about these forever chemicals, how they may have been linked to her father's illness, and a story her grandmother once shared.
Why is Huckleberry Finn banned in schools in the US? (gearsrealm.com)
“Huckleberry Finn,” a book written by Mark Twain, is a famous American story. But, some schools in the U.S. don’t let students read it. Even though it is an important book, some people don’t like how it talks about race and uses bad language. It has now a censored version, too.
Overrated Literary Classics (and What to Read Instead) | Book Riot (bookriot.com)
These overrated literary classics have had more than enough time in the sun. It's time to spend our time with some others!