Friday's Literary Grab Bag

The Day The Great Faulkner Arrived

When we celebrate a person’s birthday, it’s more the person than the day that we’re celebrating. September 25th, after all, is an arbitrary date. But when you attach to it William Faulkner’s name, the day becomes significant. And so it is that today we tip our hats to Mr. Faulkner, certainly one of history’s most formidable authors. In other news, banned books have about them the air of scandal, even if they’re not terribly scandalous. What is scandalous these days, anyway? The Daily Titan takes a closer look. What happens when a bunch of writers get together? They judge their peers, that’s what. See who makes the cut as writers determine the rank of their fellow scribes. Mr. Poet goes to Hollywood in the New York Review of Ideas, Anselm Berrigan has a new book of verse published by City Lights, and Nabokov’s cribbed edits are found on the pages of The Metamorphoses. Finally, on this day of honor, The Millions, perhaps getting a little ahead of themselves, makes a list of this millennium’s finest pieces of literature — thus far. It’s a splendid day for literature, this September 25th. Just remember why. — Kevin Murphy

(more…)