Today in Labor History May 19, 1989: Trinidadian Marxist historian and journalist C.L.R. James died. James was the author of The Black Jacobins (1938), Breaking a Boundary (1963), numerous articles and essays on class and race antagonism, West Indian self-determination, cricket, Marxism, & aesthetics. In 1933, he published the pamphlet The Case for West-Indian Self Government. He was a champion of Pan-Africanism and a member of the Friends of Ethiopia, an organization opposed to fascism and the Italian conquest of Ethiopia. He also wrote a play about the Haitian Revolution, Toussaint L’Ouverture, the Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History. Paul Robeson starred in the 1936 British production.
An interesting piece about #writing, #reading, and a bit on collecting #firstEditions. There’s some irony in owning a first edition of #greatGatsby owned earlier by Dorothy Scarritt, Oppenheimer’s secretary at Los Alamos. And I had only a little twinge reading that one who just turned 40 might expect to read only 480 more books carefully if one manages to read one book a month.
Here's a little repost of my Meet the Author with the updated graphics for my rebrand!
Below the Heavens is a high fantasy webnovel series featuring a quick witted protagonist and a world and magic system crafted from scratch, incorporating east Asian culture and influences.
It is available for free via web browser or the app on Royal Road, as well as on Scribblehub! You can find those links along with my Discord, Patreon, and other social media in my bio.
I submitted two haiku to the Sakura Haiku Challenge of the Consulate-General in Toronto, Canada and they are both included in the beautiful anthology. Free to read and download: 👇🏽
Alice Munro's death was announced yesterday. Her self-described "second oldest remaining friend and colleague," fellow Canadian author Margaret Atwood, has written this tribute to her on her Substack, In the Writing Burrow. It's meant for paying subscribers, but a substantial portion is free to read.
"Alice could be quite mischievous, and not only in her writing. Both of us had dark curly hair at one time. We were about the same height.
"Alice: I was standing on a train platform and a man came up to me and said, ‘You’re Margaret Atwood!' 'Yes,' I said, 'I am.' Then we had quite an interesting conversation about your working methods and where you get your inspiration.
"Turn and turn about: After we both had white hair, and after Alice had won the Nobel, people would come up to me and murmur, 'Congratulations.' 'For what?' I would say. 'You know. Winning that prize.' After a while I stopped trying to explain, and just murmured back, modestly, 'Thank you.' Though the Thank Yous were really for Alice."