The Malaysian Insider :: Books
The Malaysian Insider :: Books |
| US author, poet Maya Angelou dies at 86 Posted: 28 May 2014 09:00 AM PDT The prolific African-American writer penned more than 30 books, won numerous awards, and was honoured last year by the National Book Awards for her service to the literary community. "Dr. Angelou has passed in Winston-Salem," said Sally Marvin, of Random House. No other details were immediately available. Angelou provided eloquent commentary on race, gender and living life to its fullest in poems and memoirs. Her latest work 'Mom & Me & Mom,' about her mother and grandmother and what they taught her, was released last year. "She was beyond simply being a writer of autobiography and poetry. She transcended the idea of writing and using writing as a transcendence medium to further the individual," Harold Augenbraum, the executive director of the National Book Foundation, told Reuters. "She was an extraordinary symbol in the United States of what can accomplished using the arts," he added. Wake Forest University also mourned the loss of Angelou. "Dr. Angelou was a national treasure whose life and teachings inspired millions around the world, including countless students, faculty, and staff at Wake Forest, where she served as Reynolds Professor of American Studies since 1982," the university said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Dr. Angelou's family and friends during this difficult time." It added that details about a campus memorial service will be announced at a later date. 'I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings,' a coming-of-age story in a hostile society in the American South in the 1930s and '40s that deals with racism and rape, is considered an American classic. In addition to her many books, she was a Grammy winner for three spoken-word albums. She had a home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she was a professor of American studies at Wake Forest University. – Reuters, March 28, 2014. |
| Sri Lankan-born author wins more book awards Posted: 27 May 2014 09:50 PM PDT It has been named Book of the Year at the New South Wales (NSW) Premier's Literary Awards, as well as winning the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction and sharing the Multicultural Award. The novel also won last year's Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Prime Minister's Award for Fiction. The author is delighted with her win. "Well it's always a thrill each time and it's always a surprise too, because you're up against a different set of books and I never imagine it's going to be me," Sydney-based de Kretser told ABC News. "Questions Of Travel" is about the intersecting lives of an Australian woman who looks for meaning in foreign cultures and a Sri Lankan man forced to flee to Australia after his wife and child are killed in political violence. The judges of the NSW Premier's Awards praised the novel's mastery of language, imagery and detail, along with the resonance and power of the story. De Kretser attributes her success to striking a chord with readers. "Australians are big travellers, travelling as a tourist, which many Australians are very familiar with; migration as travel, again that applies to a huge number of people in the community; and of course the travel of asylum seekers, which is such a vital political issue," she said. De Kretser drew on her own experiences backpacking and living overseas to inform her characters in Questions Of Travel. Her migration from Sri Lanka when she was a teenager was also important. "Of course my interest in Sri Lanka stems from the fact that I spent the first 14 years of my life there, and my interest in global lives and the way that individuals' lives are shaped by their historical moment," she said. – Bernama, May 28, 2014. |
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