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Books

14 Great Poets on Their Favorite Love Poems

By Emily Temple on

Valentine’s Day is upon us, but don’t despair if you’re still stuck on finding that perfect love poem to scribble inside your beau’s pink card (or croon drunkenly from a snowy patch below your girlfriend’s bedroom window, whatever floats your boat). We’ve asked a few great poets to tell us their favorite love poem or the line of poetry they find most romantic — and why, so you can sound smart when you steal… Read More

Books

15 Scathing Early Reviews of Classic Novels

By Emily Temple on

There are some literary classics that are near unimpeachable. We’re thinking Lolita, Ulysses, The Great Gatsby: the best of the best. Except that they’re decidedly not unimpeachable — or at least they weren’t when they first hit bookshelves. These books and many others that are now considered masterpieces got their fair share of scathing reviews when they first came out, and in reputable publications no less. Sure, hindsight is 20/20, but we can’t help having this to say to these brutal reviewers: ha, ha. Click through to read 15 harshly negative early reviews of classic novels, and feel free to register your outrage (or your agreement) in the comments. … Read More

Books

The Literary Canon as Graphic Novel

By Emily Temple on

Earlier in the year, we shared some of our favorite selections from the first volume of one of the coolest publishing projects we’ve heard about in a long time — The Graphic Canon, wherein almost 200 classic works of literature will be re-interpreted and published in graphic form by 130-odd visual artists over 1,344 pages in three volumes. Whew. The second installment, The Graphic Canon, Vol. 2: From “Kubla Khan” to the Brontë Sisters to The Picture of Dorian Gray, edited by Russ Kick, hits shelves next week, but we’re lucky enough to have a little preview to whet your appetite. Click through to check out a few standouts from the second volume of this amazing series, and then be sure to pick up a copy of the book for much more. … Read More

Books

Pithy Literary Posters Perfect for Writers’ Salons

By Emily Temple on

Still tickled by Capote’s epic and oft-quoted insult to Kerouac’s writing? Agree with William Faulkner that “civilization begins with distillation”? Now you can have them in poster form, accompanied by lovely minimalist illustrations by New York-based artist Evan Robertson. Robertson, whose poster series we discovered over at Jacket Copy, describes his work as “inspired by my love of literature, word play and straight-shooting language,” and indeed, the prints are filled with visual puns and insider nudges that will have the word nerds among you punning with delight. Plus, it never hurts to add a little extra literary wisdom to your décor. Click through to browse ten of our favorites from Robertson’s collection, and then if you must have one for your study, salon, or writers’ retreat, head over to his Etsy shop to make one of them your very own. … Read More

Books

Photos of Celebrities Reading Books About Other Celebrities

By Emily Temple on

When we came across this photo of Steve Martin reading about Bob Dylan, we had a serious celebs-they’re-just-like-us moment. After all, you’d think that biographies of cultural heroes are for us plebs, who would thrill at descriptions of fame, stardom, and emotional breakdowns. Okay, we’re overstating it a little, but still. Turns out, celebrities are just as fascinated with each other as we are with them — especially the rock stars — and we think it’s very enlightening to see which of our cultural icons are fascinated by which. Click through to check out our gallery of photos of celebs reading books about other celebs, and if you’ve spotted another good one, be sure to let us know in the comments! … Read More

Pop Culture

Pop Culture Icons Who Are Also Occasional Nudists

By Emily Temple on

Here at Flavorpill, we’re all for being confident in your own skin, but we’ve noticed that several pop culture icons have been known to be a little more confident than your average bear. In America, where nude beaches are uncommon and the ’60s are over, we tend to think of nudists — or naturists, as they often call themselves — as a very small and out-there minority. However, many of our most famous and influential icons have dabbled in naturism over the years, from Benjamin Franklin to Dame Helen Mirren, so maybe it’s time to give the movement a little more thought. Or maybe not — we just bought a new sweater — but it’s still fun to think about. Click through to read our list of famous nudists, and let us know if you feel inspired to follow in their footsteps in the comments. … Read More

Pop Culture

Original DIY: A History of Artists Distributing Their Own Work

By Victoria McNally on

Jim Gaffigan recently announced that he will be producing his upcoming comedy special without the help of a studio, having been inspired by Louis CK’s similar venture from a couple months ago. While this is now considered unusual, at least outside the increasingly inventive world of music distribution, back in the day many creative types chose not to rely on industry backing to get their material out to the public — and sometimes it even worked out for the better. After the jump, we’ll show you some of the biggest self-produced works from the 18th century through the present, from books to comics and even feature films. … Read More

Books

The 30 Harshest Author-on-Author Insults In History

By Emily Temple on

[Editor's note: While your Flavorwire editors take a much-needed holiday break, we're revisiting some of our most popular features of the year. This post was originally published June 19, 2011.] Sigh. Authors just don’t insult each other like they used to. Sure, Martin Amis raised some eyebrows when he claimed he would need brain damage to write children’s books, and recent Pulitzer Prize winner Jennifer Egan made waves when she disparaged the work that someone had plagiarized, but those kinds of accidental, lukewarm zingers are nothing when compared to the sick burns of yore. It stands to reason, of course, that writers would be able to come up with some of the best insults around, given their natural affinity for a certain turn of phrase and all. And it also makes sense that the people they would choose to unleash their verbal battle-axes upon would be each other, since watching someone doing the same thing you’re doing — only badly — is one of the most frustrating feelings we know. So we forgive our dear authors for their spite. Plus, their insults are just so fun to read. Click through for our countdown of the thirty harshest author-on-author burns in history, and let us know if we’ve missed any of your favorites in the comments! … Read More

Photography

A Look at Patti Smith’s First Major Photography Exhibition, ‘Camera Solo’

By Emily Temple on

Yesterday, Patti Smith’s first major photography exhibition, Camera Solo, opened at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut. Smith opened the show, which boasts 70-odd intimate black and white photographs shot with either a vintage Land 100 or a Land 250 Polaroid camera, a multi-media installation, and a video work, with an hour-long performance that doubled as a birthday salute to Rimbaud, her ultimate muse. Fitting, because many of the gorgeous, misty photographs are inspired by artifacts from some of Smith’s favorite artists, from museums she has visited around the world, and many are from her personal life, making the show as a whole feel like a complex view of her world and the things that inspire her. For those that can’t make it to Hartford, or who just can’t get enough, an accompanying book, Patti Smith: Camera Solo, is also slated to come out at the end of the month. Click through to see a few images from the exhibition, and let us know what you think in the comments. … Read More

Pop Culture

Ode to a Prostitute: 10 Famed Tarts in Art

By Alison Nastasi on

Prostitutes have occupied the role of muse for innumerable artists. Writers, painters, musicians, filmmakers, and poets have alternately identified with, idealized and demonized working girls in an obsessive fixation spanning generations. From Paris’ 19th Century avant-garde to the streets of New York City in the 1970s, the disgust and awe that surrounds the working girl (and boy) continues to consume the pages and palettes of creative minds.

The Internet, alongside changing sexual and social mores, may have begun to transform the way we perceive sex workers — making the world’s oldest profession less of a clandestine operation and more of a business transaction (see: Steven Soderbergh’s The Girlfriend Experience). However, there will always be an artistic refuge — and planet Hollywood, of course — for the romanticization of crooked pimps and saucy streetwalkers. For every sordid, seamy expose, there’s a Pretty Woman waiting in the wings to silver-line the mythos. After the jump, check out some of our favorite “love letters” — and less flattering missives — to the women and men of the night. Which ones have always fascinated you? … Read More