Good Bones is The Poem of The Year.
Maggie Smith’s poem Good Bones has been declared by many publications to be the official poem of 2016. The poem was originally published in June following the Orlando Pulse shooting in the online literary journal Waxwing.
J.K. Rowling Writing Two Novels
The Harry Potter author has confirmed on Twitter that she is in the process of writing two new novels. She hasn’t said what they’re about beyond saying that they will not focus on the Fantastic Beasts movie protagonist Newt Scamander.
Speaking of Twitter, two authors have taken to the social media platform to share news about their own writing. However, their news has not been as positive as Rowling’s.
Writer Laments Simon & Schuster’s Choice – Picking Milo’s Book Over Her Biography of a Lesbian Artist
Summer Brennan, a New York University scholar and journalist, vented on Twitter about Simon & Schuster rejecting her biography of a 19th-century French lesbian artist but accepted Milo Yiannopouous’ upcoming book. The tweet has since been deleted.
Writer Jon Ronson Goes on Drunken Twitter Rant After Being Snubbed in New Year’s Honors List
Ronson took to Twitter to express his displeasure over being passed over for the MBE award, going so far as to attack some of those who would be receiving the award.
Spanish Poet Awarded The Fernando Rielo Mystic Poetry Award
Izara Batres Cueva, a Spanish poet, was awarded the Roman prize for her poem Triptych this past week.
On the role of mystic poetry, she says:
“We are forgetting the most human part of ourselves, and I think that the role of mystic poetry is reminding us that we are human, that we are much more than just a mechanism, a program. In the end, the dream of human beings is to transcend time and space, to get to that no-space and no-time where one can live fully. We want to be, not just live in shape or on the surface, but to get to the bottom of things.” – Izara Batres Cueva
Two wonderful writers, Arthur H. Cash and Carrie Fisher, passed away this past week unfortunately. Take a moment to read some of their works in the upcoming year.
Have you been keeping up with our lit news roundups? Test yourself on the literary happenings of 2016 with The Guardian’s 2016 literary quiz. Need some more news in your life? Check out these links below.
The Best Books of Poetry in 2016
And the Best Novel of the Year Is…
The 11 Best Books in 2016 from The Week
Emily Ramser is an Editorial Assistant at Change Seven, as well as a poet, author, and avid enthusiast of the Oxford Comma. She has published four poetry books with Weasel Press, all of which are available on Amazon. She lives just outside of Dallas, TX with her fianceé, dog, and cat. She’s currently working on a series of short CNF essays focusing on sexuality.