Kafka, a vanished Beirut, painter Paul P., creepy Edgar Allan Poe stories read aloud, Riad Sattouf's new one: Cultural Digest for August 12

• "Kafka belonged to his contemporary world and stood estranged from it."
• Young Lebanese graphic novelist discusses a vanished, haunting Beirut in two of her recently translated works.
• Paul P. is one of my favorite Canadian painters. That's all. Unfortunately, his works are in the $10,000 - $15,000 range at least. Out of my reach. 
• Edgar Allan Poe stories read by Vincent Price and Basil Rathbone. Should have saved this one for Halloween.
• Drawn & Quarterly shows off newest Riad Sattouf book now available in the shop on Bernard Street: L'Arab du futur. Sattouf is one of the rising stars of graphic fiction in France and in the Arab world. We almost had Sattouf at our Festival in 2015 but he had a last-minute conflict which meant a reschedule. 2016? Possibly (note that the links for Sattouf are in French).

Ages of Innocence by Paul P.

National Forum on the Literary Arts

So this weekend I've been holed up in a basement conference room near McGill University, attending the National Forum on the Literary Arts which Canada Council for the Arts is putting on.

What an incredibly rich gathering of literary professionals from all over the country: poets, writers, festival organizers, publishers, booksellers, storytellers, librarians, publicity agents, probably over 200 people. We've all come together to discuss the future of the literary arts in Canada and what a conversation it's been.

One thing I have to say that I have really appreciated about the forum is the intentional variety that's been a core part of how it's been organized. I've been in rooms with only writers or only festival organizers and so often individual groups involved in the literary arts have specific sets of problems. But talking to different kinds of stakeholders in the literary world makes us all aware of the entire eco-system.

Yesterday we heard from Richard Nash of Byliner.com who was snowed-in so stuck at Laguardia but still beamed in to give us his funny, thoughtful and provocative take on the last 1000 years of literary history (in 50 minutes). I didn't agree with everything he said but he certainly got the audience talking.

The best moments, though, of these conferences, are the moments in between sessions: sharing a coffee in a corner with one of the country's best literary magazine promoters, being irritated at an off-hand comment by a major Canadian publisher, seeing old friends I've known for years and shaking hands with people I've never met but sent 500 emails to, traipsing through a blizzard with three major west-coast Festival directors, a writer, and a poet, and discussing writers to avoid (yes, we share notes, writers so behave yourselves!), writers who are a gem to work with, companies, themes, problems, personalities, venues, etc., etc.

We're very lucky in Canada that we have the Canada Council who does so much to promote the arts but then also takes the time to listen to its artists. Working in the arts isn't easy and though it has its perks, is not something someone does unless they love it. And the fact that the government of Canada is willing to invest in supporting and promoting its arts is one of the most amazing things about living here.

This said, mind you, from someone who only became a Canadian citizen less than a month ago...

Notebook on Cities and Culture: an excellent podcast

I have become such a devoted fan of Colin Marshall's podcast, Notebook on Cities and Culture. Marshall talks to all kinds of people with all kinds of backgrounds: writers, editors, movie makers, translators, journalists, artists. From talking about contemporary fiction and publishing with Scott Esposito of The Quarterly Conversation to discussing Robert Walser, Yoko Tawada and the German language with translator Susan Bernofsky, every one of the podcast episodes is of interest.

Based in Los Angeles, Marshall isn't limited geographically and often has conversations with guests in or from Japan or Mexico or Europe.

In this culture of short sound bites and shallow "conversations" that pass as in-depth, it's refreshing to hear an hour-long conversation that really delves into the core issues surrounding art and culture.

Animated Shorts of Literature: Kafka, Dostoevsky, Dickinson

I've been very interested lately in the idea of how image and word come together in a single work. Mainly this has been a result of my fascination with graphic novels the last several months, but even online I am noticing a trend: a lot more animated versions of classics of literature. 

This version of Emily Dickinson's "I Started Early - Took My Dog," is a perfect example. It's a poem (not even that well-known of a poem, actually) but it's also an animated short and the animation both adds to and detracts from the poem. The animation is dreamlike, simple, not rooted in the fundamentals of the poem necessarily but allusive. 

The animation of Piotr Dumala

Then I came across this, an animated short (though this one is nearly 30 minutes long) of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment by Polish animator Piotr Dumala. It's creepy, dark and scary and lacks the intellectual rigour that the Dostoevsky novel contains (though that's not a bad thing: a novelist can do a lot of interesting things with intellectual rigour, but that's not something we expect from a "cartoon.")

Still others:

An animated version of Kafka's "A Country Doctor." (This one in Japanese which gives such an unusual flavour to Kafka).

Hemingway, Calvino, Neil Gaiman and others.

Incidentally, Open Culture is amazing. I never fail to find something there which is fascinating.

Endorsements: Literary Podcasts

All of these are available on iTunes or the organization websites.

Open Source from the Watson Institute. Hosted by Christopher Lydon, this podcast is often focused on literature and the connections between literature and politics and society. His recent series on Pakistan was fascinating as was his recent interview with Nigerian/American writer (Open City). In the past, he's interviewed Helen Vendler on Emily Dickinson and Lila Azam Zanganeh on Nabakov.

I also like the Open Books podcast from the BBC. In this 30 minute weekly program, host Harriett Gilbert interviews two well-known (usually British) novelists or writers who talk about the book which has influenced them most. The guests and Harriett all read the book(s) and then discuss why it has been so important or influential. Recently they've discussed Jean Rhys, Thackeray, and women crime writers.

Of course, there's Writers and Company. No way one can mention literary podcasts without mentioning Eleanor Wachtel's highly influential program which has been available on podcast for many years now. If you only have time for one literary program a week, this is it.

I also like two not necessarily literary podcasts but programmes which often mention or discuss literature, namely NPR's Fresh Air (interviews with writers and hot political or social topics of the day: this programme truly is a key part of the "conversation" happening around culture and politics today and host Terri Gross has her finger on the pulse of contemporary life like almost no other personality) and Slate's Culture Gabfest (discussions of who's or what's in the news including writers, books, movies and personalities: again, a major player in shaping and determining the conversations we have around the water coolers in North America though the personalities and general banter of the hosts can get a bit irritating at times. The Endorsement title is a usual feature of their programme).

Finally, I can't forget about New Yorker Outloud, New Yorker's monthly Fiction podcast (a New Yorker writer reads a short story published in the magazine by a different writer), The Moth Podcast (stories told live on stage) and The Monocle Weekly (design, art, politics, social innovation, and, yes, occasionally literature).

Brûlé's weekly podcast - not just for rich people anymore (since the Recession)!

I'm sure there are others I'm not aware of. Endorse one of your favorites, either here or on our Facebook page.