Who says the world isn't full of surprising things?

[7.28.06]—Salem-News.com
Strange Fish Found on Beach Near Seaside
The extremely rare fish's name stems from Indian lore when it was believed that the King of the Salmon led the smaller species back to the rivers to spawn.

…Also on our freak-o-meter near Greensboro, North Carolina: Slithery Creature Prompts Speculation

INDUSTRY NEWS

[07.27.06]—One Hundred Years of Solitude as a revue? Musical theater writers Allan and Peggy Epstein of Kansas City, MO gave it a shot. As collaborators for a new musical revue, “Bindings,” which premieres tonight at 9:30 p.m. as an hour-long opener to this weekend’s Fringe Festival in the city. Their musical was inspired by 17 of the books immortalized on the 10th Street section of the KC Central Library parking garage wall. When they discovered how difficult it would be to translate Gabo's magical-realist epic directly from its circuitous plot, they switched gears and focused on the essence of Garcia Marquez’s writing style with hopes of capturing his sense of the extraordinary in a musical format. [Too bad Frank Zappa wasn't around. He could've added a lot to that project.] Read more about the fringe fest here

[07.25.06]—In the blog, Tales from the Reading Room, an interesting discussion has started about slipstream writing, which we've already discussed at Margin here. Join this debate and add your comment

WRITING NEWS

[07.24.06]—Indian author Namita Gokhale chimes in about the origins of magical realism in Indian fiction in the Indian Express Newspapers this week. "I feel every language has its own distinct literary traditions—the idea of many languages, one literature, is so true in case of India. Every mother tongue has its own colloquialisms attached and its own sensitivities—take Rushdie for instance. The so-talked about magic realism in his works is actually a tradition borrowed from Urdu literature." Read and comment

[07.22.06]—While Guardians of the Key by Clio Gray is considered an historical novel, Scottish Booktrust organizer Jan Rutherford insists it's much more than that in a recent Scotsman article by David Robinson: "Clio has incredible flair for atmosphere, imagery, setting and description. There is a strangeness and originality about her work—halfway between historical fiction and magic realism—that absorbed me throughout the mentoring process." Read and comment

CELEBRITY NEWS

[07.26.06]—You can vote for Gabriel Garcia Marquez as the most influential Latino for 2006 at the Vivirlatino website.

BOOKS

[07.28.06]—Remapping Reality by John A. McCarthy (Rodopi: February 2006)—From the publisher's synopsis: This book is about intersections among science, philosophy, and literature. It bridges the gap between the traditional “cultures” of science and the humanities by constituting an area of interaction that some have called a 'third culture.' " Expensive ($90 at Amazon.com), but probably useful for graduate courses.

[07.28.06]—Spilling the Beans in Chicanolandia: Conversations with Writers and Artists by Frederick Luis Aldama (University of Texas Press: March 2006)—From the Amazon.com synopsis: "Since the 1980s, a prolific 'second wave' of Chicano/a writers and artists has tremendously expanded the range of genres and subject matter in Chicano/a literature and art. Building on the pioneering work of their predecessors, whose artistic creations were often tied to political activism and the civil rights struggle, today's Chicano/a writers and artists feel free to focus as much on the aesthetic quality of their work as on its social content." This is sure to be a useful book for breaking down the walls of misperception about today's Mexican authors; Aldama's Postethnic Narrative Criticism was previously and favorably reviewed at Margin.

[07.28.06]—On the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance bestsellers list for the week ended July 23: FOR TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION: #2, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead); #5, The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin); #7, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin); #11, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Penguin); #12, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (Harvest), #13, Saturday by Ian McEwan (Anchor), #15, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Vintage).

MIXED MEDIA

[07.25.06]—Karma—Writes Jigme Ugen for Phayul.com—"Credited with no fewer than three hats on this project (original story, producer and director), Tsering Rhitar Sherpa cleverly mixes magic realism with a certain fairytale sensibility, which has been the hallmark of his career." A recent pre-release of the Tibetan film in St. Paul, MN brought more than 300 locals out even in 102? heat.

A LITTLE LIGHT HOUSEKEEPING…

YOU MAY NOTICE: We'll be experimenting with the format and frequency of this newsblog over the next few weeks. Let us know if something works well or doesn't work at all. We're here to serve you.

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