Around The Web: Surviving Failure, Mix Tape Poetry, Funding Cuts, and Norton Juster

Hello, readers! For those new here, Around the Web is our weekly roundup of book content. This week, I’m sharing one author’s experiences with failure, a poet’s take on structuring a poetry collection, a story about advocates seeking funding for services for Canadians with print reading disabilities, and an obituary for author Norton Juster.

Surviving Failure

David Hollander had big expectations for his debut novel, but they didn’t quite come to fruition. In this piece for LitHub he describes his experience of failure and what he’s learned from it. If you’ve ever felt or wondered about the ups and downs of a literary life, this’ll be a good read for you.

Using Mix Tape Rules for Poetry Collections

Rachelle Toarmino couldn’t figure out how to organize the poems in her collection That Ex, until she looked to music. She chronicles using Beyoncé and Jamie xx albums as inspiration to rethink structure in this Electric Lit essay.

Advocates Urge Cancellation of Cuts to Services

The Canadian government has announced funding cuts to the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) and the National Network for Equitable Library Services (NNELS), both of which offer services for Canadians with print disabilities (“conditions that negatively affect someone’s ability to read traditional print materials”). Advocates are now speaking up against these cuts arguing that they will be devastating to those seeking access to books and other print materials, especially during a pandemic when so many have relied on reading. For more information, check out CBC’s story.

RIP Norton Juster

Finally, I have the sad news that children’s author Norton Juster has passed away this week. The Phantom Tollbooth author was 91 years old and he had a career that crossed paths with several other prominent folks in the children’s literature sphere. The New York Times has a full obituary for those looking to remember and celebrate his life.