From the 1st edition of the original, 1771 three volume set of the Encyclopaedia Britannica: “SENTENCE, in grammar, a period or set of words, comprehending some perfect sense or sentiment of the mind.” Thus, by prior definition, many sentences are never sentences at all…

(1) Dalkey Archive reupped their website into a stare-machine. (2) They are also offering a special sale of 100 books for $500. Give the gift of a whole library, to yourself, or to your mom. (3) They have also announced a few new forthcoming releases, including new by Jean-Phillipe Toussaint, Patrik Ourednik, John Hawkes, Joshua Cohen, and more. Bamm.

Winners for the Artifice Magazine contest (belated in announcement on my part, as I’ve been across the map) are:

Daniel Powell for “1 fiction in the form of a Wikipedia article that’s been e-vandalized”
Mark for “1 Game Genie”
mjm for “0 honeybees framed as the plight of the working man”

To collect their winnings, folks need to email Artifice their addresses at editors@artificemag.com.

Meanwhile, I received issue 1 and gotdamm is it beautiful. Do a look.

I’m loving Andrew Marvell’s To His Coy Mistress. What a seduction technique: Your coyness might be cute if we weren’t going to die some day, but we’re mortal so let’s fuck. Ha. Read the poem out loud and pay attention to enjambment. It’s really lovely.

"The grave's a fine and private place,
But none, I think, do there embrace."





              		
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Martin Amis’s new novel, The Pregnant Widow, is out in the UK, and once again he’s the subject of much British comment, according to Olivia Cole at the Daily Beast.  I cannot wait to read The Pregnant Widow, and I thought House of Meetings was the best novel of his career.  Amis recently predicted a “silver tsunami”: “There’ll be a population of demented very old people, like an invasion of terrible immigrants, stinking out the restaurants and cafes and shops. I can imagine a sort of civil war between the old and the young in 10 or 15 years’ time.”

Bought Xbox 360 yesterday. My distant cohort said, “Are you going to get the literary games?” What are the literary games?

O, wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is!

Rebecca Brown on failure: “Because failing as an artist is a necessary thing, a thing I wish I could more easily accept.”

Existential crisis as Lévy quotes fictional philosopher.

Another Annoying Person at Chronicle