The poem was W.H. Auden’s. The date marked the moment when Germany invaded Poland, initiating the start of World War II. “September 1, 1939” was originally published in The New Republic on October 18, 1939. You can find the text of the poem here. Plus, you can also read George Orwell’s account of what happened that historic day in Poland. I found it, and just had to throw that in.
Crime writer Dominick Dunne passed yesterday today at 83, his death overshadowed by that of Ted Kennedy. Above, we feature Dunne remembering his rather unpleasant relationship with Frank Sinatra. It’s a perverse story, though told in a somewhat humorous way.
Initially, I considered featuring another video, but it’s entirely too sad, especially for any parents among us. Back in 1982, Dunne’s daughter, an actress, was strangled to death by her boyfriend. And, in this clip, Dunne reflects on his relationship with his daughter. A heartbreaking bit.
As a side note, Dunne kept a diary during the trial of his daughter’s murderer. The account was eventually published in Vanity Fair, and you can find it here, along with many other major pieces that Dunne wrote for VF. Amazingly, the murderer was convicted and served less than 4 years. Meanwhile, millions who have peddled small amounts of drugs are doing considerably more time across the US.
A quick note: Audible has recently launched a series called the Audible Modern Vanguard (more details here) that brings groundbreaking works and authors into unabridged audio for the first time. Here, you’ll find works by Paul Auster (one of my faves), Saul Bellow, John Cheever, John Irving, Kurt Vonnegut, and William Kennedy.
There are some good “reads” here, and, unless I’m mistaken, there’s a way that you can download one for free. I’ve created a page where you can get information on Audible’s (no strings attached) 14 day trial here, which gives you a completely free download of any audio book you choose.
Even though we sometimes give Amazon’s Kindle a hard time, the device is undoubtedly handy for reading e‑books. The Kindle lets you seamlessly download books straight from Amazon in a matter of seconds. And, even better, you can load the Kindle with thousands of free e‑books from sources such as Project Gutenberg. (Few people know this.) This guide will show you how to download a free book from Project Gutenberg, and then read it on your Kindle. You can also find many free ebooks for the Kindle in our Free eBook collection.
Step 1:
Go to http://www.gutenberg.org and search for a book you would like to read.
Image by Christopher Peterson, via Wikimedia Commons
I first heard about Junot Díaz in the early 90s. He was only in his 20s, already publishing in The New Yorker, and getting a lot of wunderkind talk. By 1996, he published, Drown, a bestselling collection of short stories that earned high praise. And then, things slowed down. It took a good eleven years for him to publish The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. But the patience paid off. The novel won him a Pulitzer in fact. And it’s an excellent read. Really.
Having said this, I want to highlight Díaz reading one of his early New Yorker stories that also found its way into Drown. It’s called How to Date a Brown Girl (Black Girl, White Girl, or Halfie). The free audio clip, which is listed in our collection of Free Audio Books (and produced by The New Yorker), has some colorful language, but it’s not gratuitous.
Looking for free, professionally-read audio books from Audible.com? Here’s a great, no-strings-attached deal. If you start a 30 day free trial with Audible.com, you can download two free audio books of your choice. Get more details on the offer here.
If you’ve watched The Wire, you know him as Jimmy McNulty, the smart, boozing Baltimore cop that likes an occasional romp and goes rogue here and there. Now, here’s your chance to see another side of Dominic, the side that’s more at home, at least geographically speaking. Here we have, as Ed tells us, the British actor, an Eton product, “reading Pride and Prejudice (he’s a first-rate reader) and then smirking before he gamely sips some Carte Noire coffee.” Watch it here, and thanks Ed for the tip.
Related Content:
Bill Moyers with The Wire’s David Simon
The Creator of the Wire on American Urban Decline
On Bloomsday (June 16), BoingBoing featured a rare audio recording of James Joyce reading from Finnegans Wake (mp3). It’s a bit intriguing to hear his voice and accent. Also, we came across another Joyce recording, where, this time, he’s reading Anna Livia Plurabelle, another section of the same novel. For kicks, you can catch an animated version of the same recording on YouTube here.
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