Literature, Latest News on Literature, Latest Blogs on Literature | Firstpost

FIRSTPOST YOUSPEAK

Friday, May 24th 09:12 AM IST

Literature

Articles

View all articles

A brother, sister and paying guest: Cobalt Blue explores transgressions of love

May 15, 2013

In Sachin Kundalkar's new novel Cobalt Blue a young woman falls in love with the family's mysterious paying guest. But she doesn't realise her brother is in love with him too . Until one day the paying guest disappears. #Literature #BookExcerpt #Sachin Kundalkar #Google Hangout #Jerry Pinto #Cobalt Blue
Palm oil with which words are eaten: The unforgettable Chinua Achebe

Mar 25, 2013

Chinua Achebe deserved a Nobel. But many critics bristled at his fierce critique of Western imperialism and racism and he never won that prize. Yet Achebe's work is much richer than a response to the Heart of Darkness. #InMemoriam #Chinua Achebe #Things Fall Apart #African literature
Why we needn't stand in defence of Ashis Nandy

Feb 04, 2013

If anyone else made a similar statement in any other setting, he could be liable to face a case under the Prevention of Atrocities Act for making a comment against the Dalit community. #India #Jaipur Literature Festival #GoodReads #Ashis Nandy #Dalit community #Sociologist

Blog posts

View all blog posts

Kamal Haasan to Ashis Nandy: Tragedy of hypersensitive India

Jan 27, 2013

Really, why do we feel so easily hurt? Can there be benchmarks for any collective identity since all groups -- religious, ethnic, income or gender -- have all shades of people? #HowThisWorks #Jaipur Literature Festival #Ashis Nandy #Kamal Haasan
What writing can do that nothing else can: Naipaul

Nov 05, 2011

If there is a grand old man of letters at the Goa Thinkfest it's undoubtedly VS Naipaul. When he appeared on stage, chatting with Tarun Tejpal, he was in a kindly grandfather mode, happily playing a twinkling indulgent Yoda to Tejpal's Hans Solo. #Literature #V. S. Naipaul #Charles Dickens #ThinkFest #VS Naipaul
Happy 82, Ursula Le Guin

Oct 21, 2011

#Literature #LiteraryPalate #The Left Hand of Darkness #Earthsea #The Dispossessed #Ursula Le Guin #Hal Duncan

Wire

The Hindu
Portraits in literature

2013-05-22 12:40:00

Thirty-six years and still going strong would be the apt way to describe the Vayalar Award. The list of the litterateurs honoured by the award form a veritable pantheon of Malayalam literature. Taking this to a new trajectory is the setting up a cultural #
Lizzy's Literary Life
European Literature Night 2013

2013-05-22 06:07:00

Last year Edinburgh’s European Literature Night yielded rich pickings in the form of an anthology of Gaelic short stories, translated into German – a book I will be reading very soon as I need to get the German flowing again … more on that soon. In the m #Edinburgh
TVNZ
Thousands attend Auckland's literature festival

2013-05-19 08:45:00

A record number of literature lovers have turned out to celebrate the written word in Auckland. Over 13,000 people took part in the Writers and Readers Festival, organisers say, with 34,000 seats filled over the five days of events. Hundreds of sessions #Auckland, NZ

Editor's picks

Money, sleaze take the sheen off imperious Chennai Super Kings

Given the huge legal, moral and ethical stakes, Srinvasan and Meiyappan should have voluntarily clarified their position and should have offered to face an investigation.
How the Woolwich terror attack will harm Britain's Muslim community more

For Muslims in Britain, there comes one thing after another to get defensive about, and at quite short intervals. The Muslim community will be cornered into paying a price for the brutality of these two killers.
Explainer: Why Sensex has fallen over 300 points today

Chidambaram ‘s soothsaying may not work when the markets are driven largely by foreign institutional investors (FIIs)
PM carrying out responsibility with great dignity, says Sonia

Rejecting the talk about two power centres and differences between them, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi today said there is “collective leadership” between her and Manmohan Singh and “we all stand by” the Prime Minister who will complete his term.

Why India is concerned about supplying arms to Afghanistan

From across the Hindu Kush, a plea for Indian help. Hamid Karzai wants New Delhi to provide artillery and military transport aircraft. It won’t cost India much—but New Delhi is worried about upsetting Pakistan, and wary of making commitments before it becomes clear which way the political wind is blowing in Kabul.
Sreesanth and IPL spot fixing: Why history makes it so hard to believe the police

With the glut of information regarding the IPL spot fixing scandal and the three cricketers how much of it can we really trust?
Phaneesh Murthy admits to relationship with employee

This is the second time the IT industry veteran has been involved in a sex scandal.
Despite BJP edge over Cong, both NDA and UPA are conjectures

Opinion polls show the BJP and the NDA ahead of the Congress and UPA. But it is the regional parties that are likely to make the biggest gains. NDA and UPA are post-poll creatures

Not just niceties, China and India need to focus on thorny issues

India’s discourse with China has traditionally been trapped in the Mao-ist maze that defines how “friends” ought to conduct themselves. But Chinese statecraft has evolved, and India too must up its diplomatic game.
Why the Indian media gives a damn about poverty

In that sense the poverty line of India is cruel. It is merciless and doesn’t allow the majority of Indians any money for shelter or access to education or healthcare or sanitation or anything else that civilised nations would consider as essential as food.
Goa meet: Will the BJP finally find a way out of its troubles?

Can the party resolve internal discord and take a call on Modi’s PM candidature?
Why Dhoni, Tendulkar can't distance themselves from spot fixing

Try following a game on twitter or with friends or at the ground. At every step of the way, the spot-fixing question raises itself.

Movie Review: 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' leaves you dissatisfied

If you forget the politics and just look at the film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist doesn’t fare much better. It’s a thriller that lacks tension and suspense.
Here's how the Delhi Police stumbled upon spot-fixing in IPL

After monitoring a phone call, the investigation had virtually turned pan-India with some of the bookies based in Gujarat and Mumbai.
Ex-Citi CEO Vikram Pandit, JM Financial join hands for banking foray in India

JM Financial will nominate Pandit as the non-executive chairman of the proposed bank. Pandit and Aiyar will have the right to purchase shares up to the amount prescribed by the RBI in this entity.
Movie Review: The Great Gatsby is the most Bollywood of Baz Luhrmann's films

The great American dream is an integral part of America. It’s ‘great’ in that it symbolises not truth, but hope when the truth is disillusioning; it symbolises not facts, but ideals when facts are unnerving; it symbolises not likelihood, but promise when likelihood is all but bleak.

Google I/O 2013 keynote: New Maps, Search, Plus, and S4 with 'pure' Android

We’re tracking the Google I/O conference 2013 live – what will be unveiled?
Hero worshipped in Kerala, Sreesanth still innocent in his state

The summary of the response in his Sreesanth’s home turf is that of incredulity. They are unwilling to believe that the pacer is guilty.
Why return of Dreamliners won't change Air India's fortunes

The original promise of the Dreamliner has failed to materiallise due to limitations in its flying range. Will Air India continue to pay a price for this?
Did Indira abolish bonded labour or Sonia? NREGA's tall claims

The UPA ads eulogising MGNREGA as a a huge success needs to be taken with bags of salt. The scheme did make a difference, but not as is claimed.

Angelina’s breast surgery possible in India, but there's a catch

So can we test in India and gain from the same treatment privilege that Jolie had? Yes, but there is a catch.
IPL 2013 KKR vs PWI Live: Yusuf kicks KKR out of the IPL

Live detailed updates as KKR take on Pune in a must-win game at Ranchi.
Wrong on Ghaziabad: The Kiran Bedi argument for moral policing

Bedi’s argument that we should focus on the legal wrong committed by the girl slapped by cops is technical, disingenuous and enabling.
Cloak but no dagger: The awfully mundane world of spies

There’s an endearing quality to reports that a CIA spy was arrested in Moscow: he comes across as a bumbling amateur who represents the lost Age of Innocence in the world of espionage.