TOBI'S DESK

  Herbert Gold, now ninety-four and still clacking away on his Royal typewriter, was once a famous author. His most successful novel, Fathers , was admired by critics and read widely: it was a best seller for many weeks in 1967. In the New York Times , Eliot Fremont-Smith called it a “beautiful … book, the best and most deeply felt that this talented, sensitive and dispassionate author has yet produced.” It was Gold’s seventh published volume of fiction; there would be nearly twenty more, plus six books of nonfiction. Saul Bellow was a personal friend and an admirer; he published short stories by Gold in his magazine, The Noble Savage . Vladimir Nabokov put one of Gold’s stories, “Death in Miami Beach,” on his personal list of favorite American short stories. When the success of Lolita allowed Nabokov to give up academia to write full-time, he chose Gold to succeed him as a lecturer on Russian literature at Cornell; and in 1967, Gold interviewed Nabokov for The Paris Review....

As soon as I alighted from the taxi,  rain clouds surfaced and darkened the sunny afternoon. I scuttled into the banking hall to finish the deposit before the cloud releases its bullets of tears. I walked across to the writing platform and got a deposit slip. As I reached into my pocket for my pen, … Continue reading Misled → from NaijaStories.com https://ift.tt/2J6tXtM

On April 16, 2018, Junot Díaz came forward in a daring New Yorker piece sharing his story as a survivor of childhood sexual assault. Fast-forward to May 4—Díaz appears once more in newspapers, this time in the New York Times, as the subject of accusations of sexual misconduct ( “The Writer Zinzi Clemmons Accuses Junot Díaz of Forcibly Kissing Her” ). Clemmons was quickly supported by Carmen Maria Machado and Monica Byrne , both of whom gave accounts of being subject to disproportionate aggression from Díaz. This came on the same day as the Swedish Academy’s announcement that no Nobel Prize in Literature would be awarded this year, “in view of the currently diminished Academy and the reduced public confidence in the Academy.” This followed the disgrace of Jean-Claude Arnault , husband of Academy member Katarina Frostenson ; Arnault faces allegations of sexual assault from 18 women as well as an investigation over the leak of the names of seven Nobel literature laureates. Three d...

In our column  Poetry Rx , readers  write in  with a specific emotion, and our resident poets—Sarah Kay, Kaveh Akbar, and Claire Schwartz—take turns prescribing the perfect poems to match. This week, Sarah Kay is on the line.   Original illustration by Ellis Rosen.   Dear Poets, I have never felt this way about anyone before. At first, I didn’t understand what I was feeling, but I’m sure of it now. I have fallen in hate with someone. He hurt my friend, who loves him, and she’s still with him. I don’t wish him any pain, but I want him to cease being a threat to my friend’s happiness. It has taken up residence in my heart, and it feels like poison. Poets, this is the first time I have loathed someone, and I don’t know how I can go on like this. I was going to ask if you had any poems for hatred, but perhaps my real need is for a poem for unearned forgiveness. Sincerely, First Hate   Dear First Hate, I don’t know if you inhabit the same corner of t...

THIS IS DEMOCRACY This is democracy, where we say we practice government of the people, government by the people and government for the people. This is democracy, where the cats, the dogs, the rats, the goats, the pigs and the antelopes were to choose a Lion as a subordinate but they ended up choosing an … Continue reading This Is Democracy → from NaijaStories.com https://ift.tt/2kEmQOD

Every hand is on deck the search is on To recover all what the looters has taken from her The government of the day is fighting tooth and nail To make sure no stone is left untouched Everyone must be probe and brought to book   To book to face the consequence of yester years … Continue reading DEMOCRACY DAY: “The Corruption Crusade” → from NaijaStories.com https://ift.tt/2styoYh

IF NOT US, WHO? IF NOT YOU, WHO? In a nation filled with with miscreantsIF NOT US, WHO? In a nation filled with political miscreants and tyrants, Led by unworthy leaders, All moving towards the path of the gutter, Despite her uncommon number of talented hustlers. In a world filled with endless opportunities, Undeniable abilities, … Continue reading If Not Us, Who? → from NaijaStories.com https://ift.tt/2kFlDqd

After Amadioha went into sweet nightmares, he made us to breath through the chest of the sea. from the celestial bodies of the shrine, We shone our forefather’s smile with a mirage, a little littered mirage spelling words in ellipsis. these were the rose crumbs tailored in the sand castle of our glassful laughter, we’re … Continue reading Rituals → from NaijaStories.com https://ift.tt/2sszOCw

maiah and rose are two odd ladies, maiah is 30 while rose is 28 but they have an elder sister who is 34yrs but still single.. maiah and rose are very loose with no decency not because they mess arround with men but because every thing about their behaviors is unladylike.. they dress inappropriately, talks … Continue reading The Farting Sisters → from NaijaStories.com https://ift.tt/2J3j28h

Charles White, Sound of Silence , 1978, color lithograph on white wove paper. All images: © The Charles White Archives Inc.   I have been a stalwart advocate for the legacy of Charles White. I have said it so often, it could go without saying. I have always believed that his work should be seen wherever great pictures are collected and made available to art-loving audiences. He is a true master of pictorial art, and nobody else has drawn the black body with more elegance and authority. No other artist has inspired my own devotion to a career in image making more than he did. I saw in his example the way to greatness. Yes. And because he looked like my uncles and my neighbors, his achievements seemed within my reach. The wisdom he dispensed to the many aspiring artists who gathered around him was always straightforward: do your work with skill and integrity, everything else is superfluous. It is a right time for him to be considered again in the fullness of his expertise. And fi...