Literary critic rejects rubbish TV award on air: It was meant to be the crowning moment of an illustrious career, but the award of a lifetime-achievement prize to Germany’s top literary critic, Marcel Reich-Ranicki, veered off script when he spurned the prize and tore into German television. [Guardian]
‘Simpsons’ writer nabs Thurber Prize: Larry Doyle, a former TV writer-producer for “The Simpsons,” was named the winner of this year’s Thurber Prize for American Humor. He was cited for the novel “I Love You, Beth Cooper.” [Chicago Tribune]
Report Says Acclaimed Czech Writer Informed on a Supposed Spy: The allegations could diminish Mr. Kundera’s moral stature as a spokesman, however enigmatic, against totalitarianism’s corrosion of daily life. The reclusive Mr. Kundera vehemently denied the account. [NYT]
Andy Burnham: a barbarian: The culture secretary is proposing that libraries should abandon the rule of silence. What a cruel and futile plan. [Guardian]
My Parrot, My Self: In 2006, newspapers reveled in the tale of Ziggy, an 8-year-old parrot in Britain who exposed the secret affair that his owner’s girlfriend was conducting with a man called Gary. Ziggy made kissing sounds when the name Gary was spoken on TV and said, “Hiya, Gary,” when the girlfriend’s cellphone rang. She broke down and confessed after Ziggy said, “I love you, Gary,” in an imitation of her voice. The revelation of female infidelity is in fact an ancient staple of parrot literature. [NYT]
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