All the members of the European Union espouse the common value of fair and efficient cooperation, which in turn involves smooth communication on as equal a footing as possible in business, politics, the arts and the EU institutions. The large linguistic communities, whose languages are often learned as foreign languages, also have particular interests....
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The Hungarian Quarterly | Portfolio Financial Times | Eurozine | The New Yorker | The Guardian | New York Times | Espresso | The Economist | The Spectator
The Hungarian Quarterly 01.08.2008 (Hungary)
The English-language magazine publishes an interview from 1993 with Magda Szabo, Hungary's most translated writer, who died last November. She tells how her first manuscript made its way out of the drawer, where it was hidden from the secret police, and into the hands of German publishers. "Mirza von Schüching told me she had the means to get the manuscript to a childhood friend, an expert. 'May I ask what makes your friend an expert?' I enquired. 'Does he have a good knowledge of literature?' 'Well, some,' she replied. 'You may have heard of him: his name is Hermann Hesse.' Hesse was a publisher's reader at Fischer's. 'Fine,' I told her, 'so we'll put the manuscript in the lap of God and see what happens.' Hesse told the publisher Insel that if they were prepared to buy Mrs Szabo, they should buy her lock, stock and barrel, including her unwritten books. And that is what happened. It was unusual for a book from a socialist country to let fly at the class struggle, the peace priests and the denounced Calvinist church-not to mention portraying the party secretary of a theatre as an idiot. So the German publishers said: 'this woman was made for us; she's as daring as the devil and incredibly impertinent.'"
There is also an interview with Liszt biographer Alan Walker who in 2002 brought out the unpublished diary of Franz Liszt's student Lina Schmalhausen. It tells a very different, if highly subjective version, of the composer's last ten days. "It contributes to the idea of Liszt as a kind of King Lear, being caused endless grief by his nearest and dearest. The story had to be told, because what had been said in the earlier biographies about his death was preposterous and absurd - and we all believed it for much too long."
Portfolio 01.08.2008 (USA)
"The Last Media Tycoon" of the article's title is a woman: Katharine Weymouth, granddaughter of the legendary Katharine Graham and now her successor as publisher of the Washington Post. The newspaper crisis is raging here in on a scale which is still unimaginable in Germany, reports Lloyd Grove in a detailed portrait. Thus the interaction between the newspaper and its website, which previously functioned completely separately, is now of prime importance. "The corporate and geographical separation resulted in two very different and clashing cultures. Now the two entities for the first time report to the same person -Weymouth." And she is highly optimistic that something new can emerge from this. "Think about the record companies,' she told her staff. 'They've all been in this position, and some have survived it and some have not. Apple completely reinvented themselves. IBM did not. TiVo did not. Microsoft constantly reinvents itself. Google has sort of a one-hit, brilliant wonder and is now trying to look for lots of other revenue streams but really hasn't, in my mind, succeeded. So I wish I could come up with what the iPod is for us.'"
Financial Times 21.07.2008 (UK)
Maybe there really is a recipe for the survival of newspapers in the age of the internet. Trevor Butterworth portrays the editor of the New Yorker, David Remnick, for the Financial Times: "Remnick has much to celebrate after 10 years: circulation of The New Yorker has risen by 32 per cent, to more than 1m copies a week; re-subscription rates, at 85 per cent, are the highest in the industry; and despite the conventional wisdom that young readers don't have the attention span to do more than blog, text and twitter, the magazine has seen its 18-to-24 readership grow by 24 per cent and its 25-to-34 readership rise 52 per cent." So the recipe for success is just ambitious articles for a young readership, which are also partially available on-line!"
Eurozine 14.07.2008 (Austria)
Does the Netherlands produce great literature, and what does it say about life today? Margot Dijkgraaf presents (in English) key Dutch authors - Willem Frederik Hermans, Gerard Reve (both deceased), Harry Mulisch, Cees Nooteboom, Hella S. Haasse, Adriaan van Dis, Arnon Grunberg, Geert Mak, Annejet van der Zijl, Frank Westerman, Abdelkader Benali and Hafid Bouazza. One of the best-sellers of recent years was Jan Siebelink's novel "Knielen op een bed violen" ("Kneeling on a bed of violets"). "It is the remarkable story of a nurseryman who falls under the spell of an orthodox Calvinist sect and ends up not only ruining his business, but also completely alienating his wife and two sons, right up until his dying day.". Religious belief has long been a taboo in the Netherlands explains Dijkgraaf, but "This book demonstrates the enduring sway of a deep-rooted and even God-fearing faith in the Netherlands. Fashionable notions such as 'secularization', 'globalization', and 'global village' are a far cry from the world of this novel."
The January edition of the magazine Mittelweg 36 featured previously unpublished correspondences from 1967-8 between the then 25 year-old theology student Hans-Jürgen Benedict and Hannah Arendt. Eurozine has now made the the scanned originals available online. In them, Arendt presciently denounces any kind of World Police pretentions of the USA, her adopted country. "Concerning the latter, without question, it concerns us when 'ignoble conditions' prevail in Iran, Vietnam and Brazil, but it is truly not up to us. It appears to me to be a kind of inverse megalomania. Try doing politics in Iran once, and you'll soon be cured of trying again."
And two Norwegian women who wore the headscarf after converting to Islam in the 1980s, explain in an interview (again in English) why they have now rejected it.
The New Yorker 28.07.2008 (USA)
In his Letter from China, Evan Osnos presents a new neoconservative and nationalistic student generation who strictly reject the West. "The students in 1989 were rebelling against corruption and abuses of power. 'Nowadays, these issues haven't disappeared but have worsened,' Li Datong, an outspoken newspaper editor and reform advocate, told me. 'However, the current young generation turns a blind eye to it. I've never seen them respond to those major domestic issues. Rather, they take a utilitarian, opportunistic approach.'" Later, a student gives the reporter food for thought when he tells him: "Chinese people have begun to think, One part is the good life, another part is democracy. If democracy can really give you the good life, that's good. But, without democracy, if we can still have the good life why should we choose democracy?"
Further articles: David Samuels investigates how marijuana for medical purposes is changing the cannabis market. James Wood offers a portrait of Sarajevo-born author Aleksandar Hemon reviews his new book "The Lazarus Project" (Riverhead).
The Guardian 19.07.2008 (UK)
The quandary of quantum poetry! When poet Nick Laird was paired up with astrophysicist Paul Murdin and asked to contribute to an anthology of "space poems", he found himself in a bit of a black hole. "In general modern poets have taken more easily to Freud than Darwin, for reasons obvious enough: Freud's work privileges the human, Darwin's does not. But the remit of science is forever widening. Neuroscience is asking what the self is made from. Evolutionary biology seeks to explain behaviour. Quantum mechanics overturns notions of causation. Astronomy attempts to discover the texture and origin of the universe. In these inquiries, the 'hows' become the 'whys'. Just as Emerson called for a new kind of poetry that was commensurate with America, and Whitman obliged, should we hope for poetry capacious enough to map the new countries of science?"
New York Times 20.07.2008 (USA)
For the Sunday Book Review, Howard Hampton reads a "moderately mad" study of the influence of Heavy Metal in the Middle East and North Africa. Author Mark LeVine gets involved in jams and festivals and finds a real form of resistance:"'Heavy Metal Islam' turns the notion of irreconcilable differences between Islam and the West on its head, appealing to the universality of youth culture as 'a model for communication and cooperation' in the Internet age (...) LeVine reckons the likes of Metallica and Slayer provide a brute lingua franca that knows no borders, opening up breathing room in cloistered societies, gradually undermining rigid belief systems — a benign, bottom-up brand of globalization as opposed to the ruthless corporate or state-sponsored kind."
L'Espresso 18.07.2008 (Italy)
In a wonderful article, Roberto Saviano, the author of "Gomorrah", remembers his journey to the Cannes Festival, where he travelled with a group of amateur actors from Naples who performed the roles of the new generation Camorra in the film of his book. When asked at the press conference, whether they might have joined the Mafia had other alternatives not presented themselves, one of them answered: "No, you are mistaken. Me, a Mafioso, never! Aside from the money, they have a terrible life. And my mother is still crying from having seen me being shot dead in the film. Guess what, it happens for real!"
The Economist 18.07.2008 (UK)
The music industry seems to be slowly emerging from its file-share shock-freeze and is starting to show interest in the data of evil. It has started to pay, as this article reports, for information that file-sharing provides into consumer preferences. "For every song that is bought legally, in shops or online, around 20 songs are illegally downloaded, according to BigChampagne, a firm based in Beverly Hills, California, that compiles and sells statistics about file-sharing. Its customers can find out how many times, and where, a song has been illicitly downloaded, for example, what the figure was five weeks ago, what other music its fans like, and so on. ... Such information can help managers promote their artists. Jennifer Bird of Red Light Management, a management agency in Los Angeles, says her agency knows the names and geographic destinations of the 7.5 billion songs swapped in 2007. That is a big help if you are trying to work out whether people are raving about an artist - or merely about a song. And planning joint tours is easier when you know what other music an artist's fans listen to."
Further articles address the role of Islam in France and Turkey. The supplement focusses on the fate of al-Qaeda. Expert Anton La Guarda asks "Victory or defeat?". Another article believes that the group's practice of indiscriminate killing will be its downfall.
The Spectator 18.07.2008 (UK)
The sporting contest at the Olympic Games in Bejing is at best a sideshow to the real Olympic competition - the battle to define how China is seen by its citizens and the world outside, writes Mark Leonard: "In the past, we have defined surveillance as the powerful monitoring the powerless; the use of information technology by state institutions to monitor individuals. But increasingly, the availability of new technology allows individuals to monitor the state institutions themselves. In an interesting new book, 'Owning the Olympics', the academics Monroe Price and Daniel Dayan use the phrase 'sousveillance' - French for monitoring from below - to capture a new phenomenon where the powerful can be filmed and held to account for their actions in the court of public opinion. Sousveillance famously made an appearance with the beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles, the hanging of Saddam Hussein in 2006 and the protests in Burma in 2007. But the Beijing Olympics could take this to an industrial scale."
Further articles: Lloyd Evans takes part in a ritual Falun Gong exercise opposite the Chinese Embassy and concludes that it demands "a degree of meekness that is alien to my nature." David Tang observes the preparations for the Olympic Games in Bejing.
RSS
The Internet is changing our brains, philosopher Joaquin Rodriguez Lopez explains in the French magazine, Books. David Hockney shows his new iPhone drawings to the Spectator. In the New York Review of Books, historian Timothy Snyder calls for a new understanding of the Holocaust, that begins not in Auschwitz, but deep in the forests of Eastern Europe. In Literaturen, Aleksandar Hemon remembers an empty reading that turned out to be a success. Dawn introduces Michael Jackson as internalised by the Pakistanis. In the Weltwoche, pedagogy professor Georg Feuser calls for a ban on Ritalin for kids. The NYT witnesses the end of the black middle class in Detroit.
The Economist is impressed the by the hybrid of old and new media in the coverage of events in Iran. Outlook India looks at racism at home. In Le Point, Bernard-Henri Levy rallies support for the Iranian opposition. In Salon.eu.sk, Zygmunt Bauman continues his thoughts on the effects of totalitarianism in Poland. In the Guardian, Wallace Shawn explains why sex is still shocking. Al Ahram sings the praises of the Pakistanis who chased the Taliban out of their villages. In Nepszabadsag, Lajos Parti Nagy explains why he doesn't want to be Hungarian. And the TLS holds its nose in Versailles.
MicroMega wants nothing to do with the ritual of 1000 women – especially if it involves Gaddafi. Outlook India explains how Berthold Brecht put the fun into Hindu theatre. Polish author Pawel Huelle savours his vote while riding his bike. The Guardian learns from Abbas Kiarostami where to find the beauty in art. In Nouvel Obs Breyten Breytenbach wonders what went wrong in South Africa. Elet es Irodalom is irked by intellectuals who won't go to the theatre. The NYRB reads books about Darfur, the Nation reads books about Cuba. And the New York Times is very excited indeed about the new Grand Paris.
Al Ahram asks what the Arabs can do for Obama. Outlook India says the US president should have talked to non-Arab Muslims instead. Charlie Kaufman's film "Synecdoche, New York" plunged the London Review into a thick fog of existential questions. Polityka discovers a republic of soloists in Poland. The Economist loses itself in the life of an American dreamer who is pinned down by a 483,000 dollar debt. In Clarin, Beatriz Sarlo asks: What does Buenos Aires want to be? In Elet es Irodalom, Ignac Romsics describes the difference between the Western and Eastern European right. NZZ Folio travels the coast of the Black Sea. And in the Guardian, sculptor Alexander Stoddart reaches for his pistol. 
Al Ahram witnesses Tunisians hitting the roof at the Arab Theatre Festival in Cairo. Alaa Al Aswany assures the Observer that democracy is coming to Egypt soon. Polityka complains about the grumblers who have rained on the June 4 parade. The New Statesman, Prospect and The Nation discuss China. In Nouvel Obs, Michel Pastoureau describes the fine line between man and pig. In Salon.eu.sk Zygmunt Bauman criticises Slavoj Zizek for not looking "beyond the barbed wire". Bookforum is excited by the boom in African literature.
Wired explains what Google really is: an auction house. The New York Review of Books sees Pakistan near the brink of anarchy. Elet es Irodalom introduces a new Hungarian magazine about culture on the periphery. The Nation turns to the Kundera Affair. In Literaturen, novelist Barbara Vinken compares sex stories by children. The LRB is impressed by a wiki. In El Espectador, Hector Abad describes the potentially fatal consequences of reading. Espresso portrays the fascists of the third millennium.
What makes us happy?, the Atlantic asks. Outlook India celebrates the victory of secular politics in India. The Spectactor finds itself in the hour of the medievalist. The Economist explains why Perlentaucher is essential reading. Magyar Narancs asks what happened to May 8th in Hungary. In ResetDoc, Nasr Abu-Zayd explains why Afghan marriage laws have nothing to do with the Qur'an. And jazz is fading into the background in Poland.
The Nouvel Obs features an interview with Imre Kertesz about survival after survival. The New York Review of Books celebrates the affluent and brilliant Madame de Stael. Tygodnik Powszechny welcomes the first film of a Stasiuk book. In the Guardian, Elaine Showalter asks why America's women writers are so notoriously underrated. Le Point profiles Dieudonne, who has declared his anti-Semitism as art. Rue89 asks whether it's left-wing to block Internet access. And in the New Republic, John Banville reads Samuel Beckett's letters.
The Nation portrays Bulgarian mafioso and author Georgi Stoev, who met the same death as many a victim in his books. In Nepszabadsag, poet Akos Szilagyi explains why outlawing Holocaust denial would not restrict freedom of speech. The New Yorker wants to see more command responsibility. In the Gazeta Wyborcza, Roza Thun wants to see more Polish passion for the EU. Andrew Orlowski in the New Statesman has lost his belief in Long Tails on the Net. And in the New Yorker, Russell Shorto explains the difference between the Dutch and the Americans.
In Merkur Ralf Dahrendorf speaks out for the stakeholder. In the Guardian, Kazua Ishiguro warns writers not to "fart about" in their thirties. In Literaturen, Peter Sloterkijk tells it like it is: you have to put in at least 10,000 hours of practice to become even a passable craftsman or musician. The London Review explains the appeal of sharia-compliant banks. In Le Monde, philosopher and theologian Mezri Haddad talks about the vampirisation of Islam. The NYT fathoms the sub culture of drug smuggling.
In Espresso, Suketu Mehta calls upon his fellow writers to save the world from the banksters! In the Guardian, Julian Barnes reads the only poem Arthur Hugh Clough ever received a penny for. The Polish language does nothing but express distrust, Tygodnik Powszechny complains. In Commonweal, Terry Eagleton describes the clash of culture and civilization. Observator Cultural throws a spotlight on Norman Manea. And Google's clairvoyant, the Economist discovers.
In Eurozine, Serbian artists refuse to be reminded of their past. La vie des idees shows how the skirt has become a symbol of emancipation in France. In the Boston Review, Evgeny Morozov tells cyber-utopians that bloggers can be as anti-democratic as anyone else. The Spectator wants a "muscular Christianity" on its side. In Beszelö, the poet Akos Györffy sees a new Golem approaching. Paper money is confetti, Dr. Doom tells the NZZ Folio. And Douglas Adams cries on his bed in the Guardian.
Google Street View provides the London Review with the key to understanding, finally, Stendhal's description of realism. Le Figaro reads Cioran's juvenilia. Outlook India salivates over food blogs. Babelia observes the divorcees in the Teatro Colon. Vanity Fair gloats over the promiscuous micturition in the Bohemian Club.
In the Spectator, John Cleese tells a critic what a critic is. In Tygodnik Powszechny, philosopher Jean-Luc Marion has no problem proving the existence of God. In Prospect, Hanif Kureishi wishes authors had more balls. In the New Yorker, Seymour Hersh outlines the sort of sophisticated diplomacy that the Obama team needs. Espresso watches the Calabrian mafia using PTT. Wired visits a prison to hear the tale of the world's biggest diamond heist. n+1 is glad that the weirdness has been put back into German sex. The Gazeta Wyborcza drowned in the earnestness of a Berlin production of Dorota Maslowska's new play. And in the NYT, Freeman Dyson heats up the climate.
Lettre International prints Bela Hamvas' 1960 essay on direct morality and bad conscience. The Nation demands state subsidies for old media. In El Pais Semanal, Javier Cercas waits for a novel about Hitler's moustache hair. In the Guardian, Mary Beard dispels all hopes for a good death. In Novel Obs, Alain Finkielkraut does not mention the Kundera Affair. In the New York Review of Books, John Gray learns all about debt from Margaret Atwood. Elet es Irodalom dwells on otherness. The TLS celebrates Josef Skvorecky. Umberto Eco eyes up the bodies of Mussolini and Berlusconi for L'Espresso. And Carlos Fernando Chamorro sheepishly tells the New York Times how he opposed his mother.