We here at CutBank were horrified and saddened at the news of the mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand on Friday. Here The New Yorker examines the best way to discuss the tragedy without amplifying either the voice of the gunman or the violence he wrought, but laments the social media platforms that allow for endless circulation of the filmed attacks. Over here, they argue that it’s time to have a serious look at the rising threat of white nationalism around the world, while The Atlantic shines a light on the long history of white supremacist ideology in the United States before taking a look at the ways mass shooters, including Friday’s, have repurposed literary words of bravery to evoke the heroic in their attacks on the defenseless.
So how to cope with a world gone mad? With books, perhaps. Over at Guernica, 2018 Oregon Literary Arts Writer of Color Fellow Reema Zaman discusses how to heal collective and individual wounds after a traumatic event, which is the focus of her new memoir, I Am Yours. And The New York Times will be celebrating Women’s History Month by featuring stories, essays, and appreciations by and about women throughout March.
Let’s pause a moment to mourn the passing of a literary great, poet W.S. Merwin, on Friday March 15. In honor of his life and work, The Paris Review has compiled a few of his best poems.
To end on a brighter note, today is St. Patrick’s Day, dedicated to the saint known for converting pagans to Catholicism and for driving the snakes out of Ireland. You could certainly mark the holiday by drinking green beer in an Irish pub or parade, or you could seek out one of these books written by Irish authors set far from the homeland. Whichever you choose, sláinte!