Edward Champion's Return of the Reluctant

Headlines

• While certain litblogs looking for a picayune fight keep their heads in the sand about anything written outside the English language, Scott Esposito talks with Dalkey Archive Press' Chad Post. Post reveals how he picked the books for the Reading the World program (an effort to promote global literature based on PEN's celebration), but stops short of responding to Mr. Esposito's questions in French. Chekhov's Mistress has the full skinny on the titles. Taking things further, Robert Gray has pledged to review each book on his blog.
• Within a very interesting Cannes juries (headed by the underrated filmmaker Emir Kustarica, who I am nothing less than nuts about), Toni Morrison is a judge this year. Morrison is also adapting Beloved into a tragic opera.
• One of the first comprehensive world atlases is now on display in Australia. Amazingly, the geographic area that comprises Ohio today is marked as "Beezlebub's Valley."
• Kinky Friedman is dead serious about his Texas gubernatorial run. He's so serious that, in an effort to appeal to Texas conservatives, he's changed his first name to "Milton."
• Matt Damon as Marco Polo? What next? Ben Affleck as Galileo?
• Apparently, in addition to being a fabricator, Mitch Albom is also a playwright.
• The California Literary Review tackles Paul Auster.
• Author Peter James is so upset by the film adaptations of his novels that he's decided to make them himself.