From Triple Canopy, an introduction to and dispatch from the PRB, a literary service in the public domain; an article on Harry Stephen Keeler’s “web-work” mystery novels and the language and terrors of the Internet; and the first complete English translation of Roberto Bolano's 1999 speech accepting the Romulo Gallegos Prize (and a review of The Savage Detectives at Bookforum). From The Guardian, here's a special report on writer's rooms. Inspired by a Bunny Wabbit: The freedom in cartoons to transcend the laws of basic physics, to hop around in time and space, and to skip from one dimension to another has long been a crucial aspect of imaginative poetry. From Vanity Fair, lots of men go gaga over other guys, but in the realm of politics—where Tony Blair and Karl Rove were enslaved by George Bush’s ersatz cowboy cool, Bush fell for Vladimir Putin’s soulful eyes, and half the media is in love with John McCain—such passion is perilous. A review of Stop Me If You've Heard This by Jim Holt and Looking at Laughter: Humor, Power, and Transgression in Roman Visual Culture, 100 BC–AD 250 by John R. Clarke (and more). Where there’s a will: Youssef Rakha examines the wisdom and absurdity of a certain Arabic phrase, Insha’allah. An attack that came out of the ether: Scholar Danielle Allen looks for first link in e-mail chain about Obama.
