The NY Times is reporting that enigmatic author and recluse J.D. Salinger has died. He was 91. The news has already stirred disparate feelings among media and other literary hounds. On one hand, we mourn the passing of a legendary American writer. On the other, we inevitably wonder whether his death might shed light on what’s been happening in Cornish, New Hampshire since the 1960′s. Like most everything, only time will tell.

Rest in Peace, Salinger.

Howard Zinn died Wednesday. He was 87 and suffered a fatal heart attack. From the Boston Globe:

Howard Zinn, the Boston University historian and political activist who was an early opponent of US involvement in Vietnam and whose books, such as “A People’s History of the United States,” inspired young and old to rethink the way textbooks present the American experience, died today in Santa Monica, Calif, where he was traveling. He was 87.

His daughter, Myla Kabat-Zinn of Lexington, said he suffered a heart attack.

“He’s made an amazing contribution to American intellectual and moral culture,” Noam Chomsky, the left-wing activist and MIT professor, said tonight. “He’s changed the conscience of America in a highly constructive way. I really can’t think of anyone I can compare him to in this respect.”

Poems by Landis Everson

Ben Mazer is a poet and the editor of Everything Preserved, a book of poetry written by the late Landis Everson. Everson’s poetry was initially acclaimed in the 1940′s and 1950′s. He was revered by the Berkeley Renaissance writers and seemed destined to shine as an American poet, with a long and rewarding career ahead of him. But then he stopped writing. Four decades later, inspired by his relationship with Mazer and a rekindled appreciation for writing, Landis returned to poetry. In an interview with Dark Sky Magazine, Mazer shares insights on Everson’s poetry, character and enthusiasms.  It’s a rich tale of triumph and struggle, made richer still by Everson’s lifelong passion for poetry.  — Kevin Murphy

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In Triumph and in Death

Mueller and Penn

50 Years Of Service

Noir fiction uses society’s seedier side as a way to inform plots, characters, settings. It is generally a swift, brooding experience, flush with curt dames, snappy declaratives and  rain-soaked fedoras. When it is done well, Noir fiction is a cavalier vehicle that allows an author to describe a particular social injustice, give it a name and drive it down a harrowing stretch of road. Naked Lunch, which recently turned 50, has elements of Noir. Read more in Pop Matters. James Ellroy is an undisputed master, as is PD James. And they each made the news today. Dennis Lehane sets his crime-laced fables in Boston’s rough and tumble neighborhoods. Recently he edited an anthology of Boston Noir. Speaking of Boston, Ronan Noone, an Irish cum American playwright, is enjoying applause in his adopted city. If Noir’s not your thing, skip over to The New Yorker, which reflects on Sam Haskins’ provocative photo essays. Or, if you’re hungry, the News-Gazette has a tasty read on the food writing of John T. Edge. Masterpiece Comics turns literary classics into cartoons, and a new book about raconteur Mario Savio is reviewed in the San Francisco Chronicle. Finally, longtime language man William Safire died yesterday. His copy, insight and punchy attitude made the world a more rewarding place, for readers both on the left and the right side of his politics. — Kevin Murphy

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