Lit Crit

This month, Publishers Weekly unveiled a series of Best Books of 2009 lists, and the "Top Ten" list did not include any books by women authors.

Cate Marvin (pictured, via), a writer and co-founder Women In Letters And Literary Arts (WILLA), objected in a statement: "The absence made me nearly speechless ... It continues to surprise me that literary editors are so comfortable with their bias toward male writing, despite the great and obvious contributions that women authors make to our contemporary literary culture."

Founded in August, the group has already gained more than 5,400 Facebook members, including authors, journalists, and scholars. In response to the rankings, WILLA has created a wiki-list: "Great Books By Women That Publishers Weekly Missed In 2009." The growing site is already full of suggestions--what do you think?

In the last week, literature met politics in two national publications--with some interesting results.

After losing his own book deal, South Carolinia Governor Mark Sanford has turned to literary criticism--singing the praises of novelist Ayn Rand in a Newsweek essay. Here's a sample: "I still believe firmly that her books deserve attention, and in that regard, Anne Heller's Ayn Rand and the World She Made provides important and meaningful insight into the evolution of Rand's world view. "The Fountainhead" is a stunning evocation of the individual and what he can achieve when unhindered by government or society."

If that wasn't enough political literary criticism, The Daily Beast ran a series of video interviews with novelist, Philip Roth. The interview followed the best practices for authorial web videos: unexpected questions, simple editing, and broken into easily-watchable clips. Here's a quote from "It's a good book. "Dreams of my Father" is a good book. I read it with great interest, in part because it was written by this guy who was running for President. I found it well-done, very persuasive, and memorable too." (Via Mediaite)

As buyouts and layoffs loom at the NY Times, one article gave an inside look at the editorial shape of the newspaper's beloved book review--reportedly staffed by 14 editors.

The NY Observer obtained a 61-page outline from the buyout paperwork; a list outlining how many people work in different parts of the NY Times' offices. Among the many positions listed, the article counted 14 editors at the book review, 21 editors at the NYT Magazine, and 18 critics in the Culture Department. What do you think about these numbers?

After reading the article, The Awl asked How Many Nice People Does It Take To Edit 24 Pages A Week?. Here's a sample: "I like the Book Review. Or at least I like it abstractly, not in the "Yay it's Sunday morning, here's the Book Review" kind of way. And yes, there is a hell of a lot of reading involved in it. But I'm pretty sure me and Maud and Lizzie and Mark Greif and a couple interns could get it done by Tuesday and then sort of just chillax on Wednesdays before starting all over again."

In an open letter to readers in The Huffington Post book section, editor Amy Hertz (pictured) made a controversial statement: "Book reviews tend to be conversation enders, and when you're living in the age of engagement, a time when people are looking for conversation starters, that stance gets you nowhere."

That comment set off a flurry of debate around the Internet. While editing the HuffPo books section, Hertz has continued her job as an editor at Dutton. One GalleyCat commenter wrote: "Editors love books they think they can sell. Believe me, I know how this works--I've worked in publishing for over 20 years. Last thing I want to hear is some editor tooting her own horn yet again."

One HuffPo reader responded: "I really hope this isn't just an opportunity for pitch and spin for agents and authors. I think the public needs an objective assessment, a good filter, not necessarily a stuffy book review, but not more loud mouth marketing. You can't trust someone trying to sell you something." Finally, novelist and GalleyCat reader Richard Melo tweeted his short and sweet response: "I agree. A poor review can kill a book."

Book clubs have created many things, from friendship to book sales, but one book club actually inspired an entire dance program.

For her first full-length ballet, Promise, veteran Chicago dancer Winifred Haun wrote a piece inspired by John Steinbeck's novel, "East of Eden." According to a Flavorwire interview, the idea was born in a book club. Unfortunately, the actual text won't appear in the upcoming show.

Here's more from the interview: "I first got the idea when I read 'East of Eden' in 2003 as part of a mother's book club. The book just filled me. I can't think of another way to describe it ... I would love to use the text from the book in this but the Steinbeck literary agent, who is actually a lawyer, has been in touch with me about this and it would be very expensive for me to use some of the language in the book. We're still kind of in negotiation about it and perhaps one day I will."

Today the Federal Trade Commission revised their "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials" (click here to download), urging bloggers who review products, from a book to a video game system, to disclose if they received the product for free when giving an endorsement. According to the Washington Post, breaking these new guidelines could generate up to $11,000 in fines.

Literary blogger Edward Champion interviewed Bureau of Consumer Protection representative Richard Cleland about the guidelines to clarify for blogging reviewers. Cleland noted that newspaper book reviewers are exempt, because "the newspaper receives the book and it allows the reviewer to review it, it's still the property of the newspaper." These new guidelines will be put into effect on December 1, 2009.

Here's a choice excerpt: "In the case of books, Cleland saw no problem with a blogger receiving a book, provided there wasn't a linked advertisement to buy the book and that the blogger did not keep the book after he had finished reviewing it. Keeping the book would, from Cleland's standpoint, count as 'compensation' and require a disclosure."

Last week Penguin launched 10 Essential Penguin Classics, a website dedicated to the most classic classics at the imprint--explore the list through this handy book trailer.

In addition to the site and video, Penguin Classics have also started a contest for dedicated Classics readers. Here's more information: "Tell us which of the Ten Essential Penguin Classics is your favorite, and why, and you'll be entered into a sweepstakes to win all ten Essential Penguin Classics, along with a Penguin tote bag. Or, if your favorite classic book isn't on our list, tell us what it is and why you think it's essential."

The contest ends on November 20, 2009. As you search for inspiration, you can watch the Penguin Classic video's blooper reel after the jump--the first book video blooper reel ever to come across this GalleyCat editor's desk.

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Tomorrow two poetry stars will share a stage at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. English poet, playwright and translator Simon Armitage (left) will join recent U.S. Poet laureate Charles Simic (right) for an evening of poetry.

GalleyCat caught up with Armitage for an exclusive interview, getting his thoughts on contemporary poetry. "Poetry in the U.S. is very [college] campus-based" explained the poet. "It may become more like that in the UK as creative writing courses are beginning to flourish. But in the U.K., poetry still tends to reach out to a common reader... It still has a place in our daily lives, even if it is a small place. There's never been a golden age of poetry, it is a certain extent a marginal activity that allows you to say what you want to with out being dictate by market forces."

When asked about poetry reading tips, he had this advice: "I am a practiced reader, but I don't do much more than stand there with a book. I guess what I hope is that the poems are allowed to do their work without any theatrics. Any drama that actually takes place is already in the poem. There are accomplished readers, but that's what they are--readers."

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Looking for some weekend literary excitement? We've got you covered. Tonight the 92YTribeca in Manhattan features a night of werewolf love, co-hosted by the authors of the book,"The Werewolf's Guide to Life: a Manual for the Newly-bitten."

Here's more about the event: "The 2-hour video variety show features famous werewolves (and lesser-known lycanthropes) from monster movies, Saturday Morning cartoons, 70s biker flicks, a vintage view-master reel, a TV mystery (written by the creator of The Sopranos) and other footage you won’t find on YouTube or Netflix."

For book-lovers in Washington D.C., tomorrow is the Library of Congress National Book Festival, gathering book-lovers from around the country at the National Mall--running between 7th and 14th streets. The show lasts from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and interested readers can text "BOOK" on their mobile phones to 61399 to subscribe to festival news and information about author presentations and signing schedules. Find the festival on Twitter (hashtag #nbf) and Facebook.

Earlier this week, we outlined an unusual interpretation of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, playing with the idea that the novel is initiating readers into the world of noetics, convincing them that we're on the verge of a transformative breakthrough in human consciousness, and doing so through the use of an overwhelming symbolic structure akin to Masonic rituals such as Brown hints at throughout the story. (To reiterate: We are not saying he did or did not write The Lost Symbol the way he did according to the agenda we sketched; short of asking him directly, we have no way of knowing Dan Brown's intentions. We're only saying you could look at the situation this way.)

Anyway, we touched briefly upon the concept of the hypersigil ("an extended work of art with magical meaning and willpower") and promised, glancingly, that if we came back to this subject, we'd talk about someone who's done this sort of thing before, to prove we weren't making it up entirely out of thin air. Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you (as we have before, and not just once) Mr. Grant Morrison.

Seven Soldiers: Zatanna, 2005

Morrison has explicitly stated in various interviews over the years that his most prominent comic book series, The Invisibles, was conceived as a distillation of a mystical experience in Kathmandu (sometimes not-seriously characterized as an alien abduction) in the mid-1990s—he's referred to the series as "a unique and living transcendental object which I brought home with me from the 5th Dimension for everyone to play with"—but that's far from the only time he's used comics as a vehicle to plant mindblowing ideas about the future of human evolution in readers' minds... ideas that have a lot in common with the claims made about noetics embedded in The Lost Symbol.

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