Historian Eric J. Hobsbawm died at his home in London on Monday at the age of 95. A renowned historian, Hobsbawm was the author of several volumes on what he called “the long 19th century”: The Age of Revolution: 1789-1848, The Age of Capital: 1848-1875, and The Age of Empire: 1874-1914. Hobsbawm became a dedicated Communist while in Germany during the waning days of the Weimar Republic (he was kicked out of the country for passing out party fliers after Hitler’s rise to power) and went on to do academic work in 19th-century labor movements, as well as "what he called the ‘pre-political’ resistance of bandits, millenarians, and urban rioters in early capitalist societies." He also worked briefly as a jazz critic, and was a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books.
Is serialized fiction the future of the e-book? In the past month, Amazon has unveiled Kindle Serials, Byliner has begun serializing fiction, and now a former publisher of McSweeney’s is rolling out what may be the first iPhone and iPad-specific novel. The Silent History,which debuted this week, is a “serialized, exploratory” novel that features “interactive, user-generated elements” and is meant to be downloaded every day in installments. It tells the story of “a generation of unusual children.”
Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance: A look at the five stages of grief following the publication of one’s book.
Tonight at Artist Space, there’s a book launch and reading for Chris Kraus’s new novel, Summer of Hate. Kraus will be accompanied by actor Jim Fletcher and musician Jean-Jacques Meunier.
At the Atlantic, Ben Nugent argues for the music-world equivalent of the Iowa Writers' Workshop.
The indie press Two Dollar Radio has just put out the first issue of their new biannual literary journal, Frequencies, featuring author Joshua Cohen on the origins of open source, an essay on memory by Blake Butler with photographs by Morgan Kendall, an interview with Anne Carson, and more.
