It’s been longer than usual since the last Literature Carnival appeared, yet this did not impact the number of submissions I received. I appreciate the fact that regulars continue to show faith in the carnival by submitting their posts, but the fact remains that none of the major book blogs have picked up on the carnival or even linked it. Perhaps my place is just too small a venue to draw notice. At least that’s the conclusion I’ve come to. I think a literature carnival is a great idea, and perhaps if we have someone with a bigger draw of readers, it can take off. Meanwhile, until I hear from another blogger willing to take it on, I am retiring the carnival, as it has become increasingly taxing to keep it going and I don’t have the time to devote to finding entries from folks who don’t submit either because they haven’t heard of the carnival or don’t see it as a benefit to submit because it won’t impact their traffic. It is my understanding that Blog Carnival will allow anyone to take over a carnival if it’s been dormant for long enough. I hope someone else does decide to run the carnival.

Meanwhile, welcome to the fifteenth edition of the Literature Carnival, and the final edition to be hosted by Much Madness is Divinest Sense.

Joe Kissell presents The Skin Project: Interesting Thing of the Day posted at Interesting Thing of the Day, saying, “Artist Shelley Jackson has created a short story that was published by tattooing one of its words onto each of more than 2,000 volunteers.”

Ashok presents Interlude: Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73 as an Introduction to New Criticism posted at Ashok’s Blog, explaing that it is “just a good old fashioned reading of a Shakespearean Sonnet.”

renee presents Lost and Found by Carolyn Parkhurst posted at renee.

GrrlScientist presents Harry Potter: Final Chapter posted at Living the Scientific Life, which she notes is “a discussion with my readers regarding the upcoming Harry Potter book (Book 7) and who will die.”

Thanks for stopping by!

I have been hosting the Literature Carnival for approximately six months now.  I had hoped it would catch on so that by this time, I would receive enough submissions that I could simply put them together (with some flair).  That hasn’t happened.  I have some mild interest from a few quarters, but aside from the interest of a few regulars, the carnival hasn’t really gone anywhere, and I’m not sure it’s doing any of the submitters any good to send their posts to me (at least, it’s not if generating traffic to their sites is a goal).

I wish I had time to be more aggressive about tracking down posts and getting people to link the carnival, but the fact is that I don’t.  I have three kids and a full-time job that is very demanding.  I admit, too, that my interest in maintaining the carnival has waned.  I have found myself resenting the obligation when there is not much support or interest.  It is different with the Harry Potter Carnival I also host.  In that case, I find the process of putting together the carnival interesting, and the fact that not many folks stop by doesn’t bother me.  In other words, I do it because I like it and find it interesting and fun.  I haven’t felt that way about the Literature Carnival in a while.

If you are interested in seeing the Literature Carnival continue, please contact me about taking it over.  I will not be doing any more carnivals after the next edition.  If I have no takers, I will delete the carnival.

Welcome to the first all-submission edition of the carnival! I’m very grateful for all your submissions.

Matthew Sollars presents Johnson & Boswell in Scotland posted at OUPblog, saying, “A young and enthusiastic James Boswell befriended Samuel Johnson (1709-84), England’s most famous man of letters, in London in 1763. Soon Boswell was urging Johnson to accompany him on a tour to the Hebrides, reviving the fascination inspired in Johnson by a childhood reading of Martin Martin. The two men went to Scotland in the late summer and autumn of 1773, riding north from Edinburgh to Inverness and then westward through the Great Glen and across the mountains to the coast. Johnson published A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland two years later. Johnson published A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland two years later. These excerpts from Travel Writing, 1700-1830: An Anthology, are presented here as part of our Serial Blogging series.”

F. Scott Sinclair shares a serialization of his novel Pancho Villa Avenged, posted at Novelist F. Scott Sinclair’s Blog.

GrrlScientist shares her review of Lyanda Lynn Haupt’s first book, which won the Washington State Book Award in “Rare Encounters With Ordinary Birds” posted at Living the Scientific Life.

Shona Caroll discusses Salman Rushdie at “Midnight’s Child” posted at abouttexts.com.

Mario Bruzzone calls it “literature as indie rock.” Check it out in “Talents I Have Met: Aimee Bender” posted at There is nothing wrong in the whole wide world.

Mark A. Rayner submits a “flash fiction submission, “Keeping up with Mr. Jones” posted at the skwib.

Gawain du Lac offers his literary review of a book about the composer Domenic Scarlatti and his relationship with his queen and patroness who was also his student in “Les Cinq Amours du Monsieur Kirkpatrick” posted at Heaven Tree. Gawain explains, “The book was written by a great virtuoso harpsichordist and interpretet of Scarlatti’s music, yet, for all its scholarship it is beautifully written.”

GrrlScientist’s second offering is her review of Kenn Kaufman’s Kingbird Highway, which she describes as a “true adventure story of a kid who decides to hitchhike around North America to see every North American bird species in one year and who, in the process, discovers a whole lot more” in “Kingbird Highway” posted at Living the Scientific Life.

Jon Swift has obtained a copy of My Pet Goat with President Bush’s notes in the margin President Bush’s My Pet Goat Margin Notes posted at Jon Swift and explains that the “insights it gives into the President’s thoughts during the seven minutes after he heard about the September 11 attacks is remarkable.”

If you would like to submit your blog article to the next edition of the Literature Carnival, please use our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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