Friday, September 11, 2015

17 New YA Novels You'll Want To Cozy Up With This Fall

SORRY, BANK ACCOUNT. There’s new books I need to buy.

Farrah Penn for BuzzFeed

Disney Hyperion


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Which "Harry Potter" Ghost Are You?

This is a grave matter. I’m deadly sirius.

We Know Which Quidditch Position You Would Play

Let’s take to the sky!

32 Books That'll Get You Ready For Your Next Adventure

The perfect travel companions.

HarperCollins

Facebook: paulocoelho


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How Well Do You Remember Cursive?

Handwriting: The lost art.

Asian Pseudonym Poet Used To Get Published Belongs To An Actual Person

Michael Derrick Hudson

poetryfoundation.org


The pseudonym Michael Derrick Hudson chose to pen his poems with belongs to a Fort Wayne woman he possibly crossed paths with in high school, according to the woman's sister.

Hudson shocked the poetry world last week when it was revealed that he was published under the name Yi-Fen Chou. Hudson said he used the pseudonym as a “strategy” to increase his chances of getting his poetry published.

Ellen Y. Chou confirmed with BuzzFeed News that the poet was using her sister's name without her consent, as first reported by The News Sentinel.

“I think what he did was highly fraudulent and unethical,” Ellen Y. Chou, Yi-Fen Chou’s sister, told the newspaper.

Chou told BuzzFeed News that Hudson and her sister both attended Wayne High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, although Yi-Fen has no recollection of being in any classes with the poet.

"She simply asks Mr. Hudson to stop using her name immediately and permanently," Chou said, adding that her sister does not want to speak publicly as she does not want to "tarnish her professional reputation through any association with him."

Hudson’s poem “The Bees, the Flowers, Jesus, Ancient Tigers, Poseidon, Adam and Eve” was selected for The Best American Poetry 2015. In his bio for the anthology, Hudson said the poem was rejected 40 times when he first wrote it. When using the pseudonym, however, the poem was rejected just nine times before Prairie Schooner took it.

The anthology’s guest editor, Sherman Alexie, defended his decision to publish the poem, even after learning the true identity of Yi-Fen Chou.

“I’m a brown-skinned poet who gave a better chance to another supposed brown-skinned poet because of our brownness,” he said in a blog post, adding that nepotism is “as common as oxygen” in the poetry world.

Chou doubted Hudson’s assumption that being Asian would get him noticed.

“He seems to think we have it easy, but we don’t,” she told the New York Times. “We all worked very hard to achieve our own success. I’m just appalled by his actions.”

LINK: White Writer Makes “Best Poetry” — With An Asian Pen Name

LINK: “Best American Poetry” Guest Editor Sherman Alexie Apologizes For “Pseudonym Bullshit”


13 Books For Your Inner Ghost Hunter

Don’t read these true-life ghost stories in the dark. You’ve been warned.

Ghosts: A Natural History: 500 Years of Searching for Proof, by Roger Clarke

Ghosts: A Natural History: 500 Years of Searching for Proof, by Roger Clarke

In this book, Roger Clarke explores many of the world's most famous hauntings, believers, and skeptics, including everything from Harry Houdini to ghost hunting technology to haunted WWI submarines. Clarke's comprehensive account of the modern history of ghosts is as informative as it is fascinating.

Amazon

The Amityville Horror, by Jay Anson

The Amityville Horror, by Jay Anson

In December 1975, the Lutz family moved into a doomed household — the place where just a year earlier, a man had murdered his entire family. The Lutzes lasted 28 days in the house before fleeing in terror. Anson's book relays the gripping true story of one of America's most infamous haunted houses.

Pocket Star

Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, by Mary Roach

Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, by Mary Roach

Mary Roach, now famous for her irreverent and smart explorations of human bodies and behavior, examines the afterlife (and the possible paranormal) with humor and hope. A satisfying read for skeptics and believers alike.

W. W. Norton & Company

Deliver Us from Evil: A New York City Cop Investigates the Supernatural, by Ralph Sarchie with Lisa Collier Cool

Deliver Us from Evil: A New York City Cop Investigates the Supernatural, by Ralph Sarchie with Lisa Collier Cool

Now a movie starring Eric Bana, this book is the strange and fascinating story of an NYPD vet who claims to have spent considerable time on the force assisting in cases of demonic possession (among other supernatural incidents).

St. Martin's Griffin


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