Under the moniker NovelTea Tins John Pujol and Matt Kraemer have launched a Kickstarter campaign to produce a line of organic teas emanating from classic literature. NovelTea Tins has partnered with world class tea aficionados to pair the classics with award winning, organic teas. They also have enlisted the services of Iuliia Glushchuk and Dietrich Kleffel to illustrate the tins. They have two tins ready for production, The Picture of Earl Grey and Don Quixotea, with Tolstoy's War and Peach in the bullpen almost ready to go. Here's how they work: First, we pick major themes from a novel. Next we lay out the...
The Public Collection: A new public art and literacy project
This August eight unique artist created libraries will grace the streets of Indianapolis. Under the moniker of The Public Collection these amazing micro libraries will be spread over the city and offer free books courtesy of the Indianapolis Public Library. The Public Collection is a blend of art and literacy. The goal is to "increase access to books through the use of functional pieces of art in familiar settings. The initiatives are to improve literacy, foster a deeper appreciation of the arts, and raise awareness for educational justice in the community." Tom Torluemke, model for “Cool Books, Food for Thought” (2015) The Public...
A university in the UK unveils what just might be the oldest known fragments of the Qur’an
Last November we reported that a German University had discovered what was then one of the earliest known copies of the Qur’an. The folks at the Coranica Project, part of the University of Tübingen, had placed a manuscript of the Qu'ran to between 649-675 AD. Now researchers at the University of Birmingham have unearthed a copy that according to radiocarbon testing was written on parchment that originated between 568-645 AD, making it easily one of the oldest known fragments. It is quite possible that the author of these fragments actually knew the Prophet Muhammad. The first Qur’an collected in book form was completed in about 650. The manuscript...
For your viewing pleasure: Booklandia.TV, a new literary-focused Web channel from the University of Oregon
We noted there are food channels, sports channels and animal channels. However, we could not identify a book channel of any significance. Given the role of books in our culture, the idea made sense...Even people who don’t consider themselves avid readers recognize the influence of literature in their lives, from texts required in school to popular written works that make their way into film and television - faculty adviser Ed Madison Tough to argue with that reasoning. It also helps being 2 hours away from one of the best independent bookstores on the planet. Booklandia.TV is partnering with Powell's Books and...
Project REVEAL: The Harry Ransom Center takes a huge digital step forward
One of the kinks in the harried digital evolution for university special collections and archives has been the focus on getting their best stuff processed first. This selective approach to digitization, which of course has its roots in the pervasive financial and human resource constraints faced by most repositories, can have a profound long-term effect on what information finds the public realm. Project REVEAL, which stands for Read and View English & American Literature, by The Harry Ransom Center hopes to change that. For Project REVEAL the entire manuscript collections of 25 of some of the best-known writers from nineteenth and early twentieth century...