News from the Republic of Letters is the third magazine collaboration between Saul Bellow

Saul Bellow

Saul Bellow was a Canadian-born Jewish American writer. For his literary contributions, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts...

 and Keith Botsford

Keith Botsford

Keith Botsford is an American/European writer, Professor Emeritus at Boston University, and current editor of News from the Republic of Letters.-Biography:...

, following Noble Savage and ANON. The journal, originally based in Boston and now operated from the editor's home in Costa Rica, publishes new and newly-discovered writings from American and international writers. The magazine appears twice a year at widely varying intervals; subscribers purchase one issue at a time or a subscription for four issues. It first appeared in 1997 in newsprint; issues between 2003 and 2008 were published in bound edition; with the publication of No. 19 by the London-based publisher Sylph Editions, the journal has returned to broadsheet format. As of April 2011 News from the Republic of Letters has gone online the-republic-of-letters.com giving the editor more flexibility and a wider distribution.

The contents of TRoL fall into several categories. TEXTS are Works of fiction or non-fiction, of varying length, written in English or translated into English from any language. LIVES are memoirs, correspondence, biography and autobiography. ARIAS, a unique category, are personal statements and brief essays without restriction of subject. MUSIC, ART, BOOKS comprise intelligent work on any aspect of the arts. Works in the ARCHIVES are selected by the Editor to introduce readers to undeservedly lesser known writers from previous generations. POETRY includes both original verse and work from translation. Reviews and critical essays appear under NEW FICTION and as a part of P.B.'s NOTEBOOK, a column written by Mr. Botsford in the spirit of Enlightenment philosopher and writer Pierre Bayle

Pierre Bayle

Pierre Bayle was a French philosopher and writer best known for his seminal work the Historical and Critical Dictionary, published beginning in 1695....

. In 1684 Bayle began the publication of his Nouvelles de la république des lettres, after which TRoL takes its name.

Another unique feature has been the inclusion in newsprint issues of French-style pamphlets, which readers tear from the other pages and fold and cut themselves into small booklets. "Salido" by Louis Guilloux

Louis Guilloux

Louis Guilloux was a French writer born in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, where he lived throughout his life. He is known for his Social Realist novels describing working class life and political struggles in the mid-twentieth century...

 appears in this form in No.2, as does "O Brother!" by Mr. Botsford in No.3.

TRoL is distinguished by its international character and the publication of unknown authors alongside those already accomplished. The name of the magazine references the network of literary and political correspondence which united prominent thinkers across Europe during the Enlightenment:

The Republic of Letters is of very ancient origin ... It embraces the whole world and is composed of all nationalities, all social classes, all ages and both sexes ... All languages, ancient as well as modern, are spoken. The arts are joined to letters, and artisans have their place in it; but its religion is not uniform, and its manners (as in all republics) are a mixture of good and bad. Piety and licentiousness are both to be found ... Praise and honor are awarded by popular acclaim. (M. de Vigneul-Marville, 1699)

In an 1999 interview with The New York Times Mr. Bellow explained his motivation for the magazine:

One early reader wrote that our paper, "with its contents so fresh, person-to-person", was "real, non-synthetic, undistracting." Noting that there were no ads, she asked, "Is it possible, can it last?" and called it "an antidote to the shrinking of the human being in every one of us." And toward the end of her letter our correspondent added, "It behooves the elder generation to come up with reminders of who we used to be and need to be." This is what Keith Botsford and I had hoped that our "tabloid for literates" would be. And for two years it has been just that. We are a pair of utopian codgers who feel we have a duty to literature.http://www.nytimes.com/library/books/101199bellow-writing.html,

List of contributors

Martin Amis Martin Amis Martin Louis Amis is a British novelist, the author of many novels including Money and London Fields . He is currently Professor of Creative Writing at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester, but will step down at the end of the 2010/11 academic year... Alfred Andersch Alfred Andersch Alfred Hellmuth Andersch was a German writer, publisher, and radio editor. The son of a conservative East Prussian army officer, he was born in Munich, Germany and died in Berzona, Ticino, Switzerland... Aharon Appelfeld Aharon Appelfeld -Biography:Appelfeld was born in the village of Zhadova near Czernowitz, Romania, now Ukraine. In 1941, when he was eight years old, the Romanian army invaded his hometown and his mother was murdered. Appelfeld was deported with his father to a concentration camp in Ukraine. He escaped and hid for... Roberto Arlt Roberto Arlt Roberto Arlt was an Argentine writer.-Biography:He was born Roberto Godofredo Christophersen Arlt in Buenos Aires on April 2, 1900. His parents were both immigrants: his father Karl Arlt was a Prussian from Posen and his mother was Ekatherine Iobstraibitzer, a native of Trieste and Italian speaking... John Auerbach Murray Bail Murray Bail Murray Bail is an Australian writer of novels, short stories and non-fiction.He was born in Adelaide, South Australia. He has lived most of his life in Australia except for sojourns in India and England and Europe... Joshua Barkan Janis Freedman Bellow Saul Bellow Saul Bellow Saul Bellow was a Canadian-born Jewish American writer. For his literary contributions, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts... François Bondy François Bondy François Bondy was a Swiss journalist and novelist.He worked for Swiss and German newspapers and was reputed for his political commentaries... Keith Botsford Keith Botsford Keith Botsford is an American/European writer, Professor Emeritus at Boston University, and current editor of News from the Republic of Letters.-Biography:... Yuri Buida Cevat Capan John Randolf Carter Peter Coleman Peter Coleman William Peter Coleman is an Australian writer/journalist, former politician and Minister of the Crown in the cabinets of Tom Lewis and Sir Eric Willis. Following Willis' resignation as leader he was made Leader of the New South Wales Opposition... Julia Copeland Prudence Crowther Régis Debray Régis Debray Jules Régis Debray is a French intellectual, journalist, government official and professor. He is known for his theorization of mediology, a critical theory of the long-term transmission of cultural meaning in human society; and for having fought in 1967 with Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara in... G.V. Desani Annie Dillard Annie Dillard Annie Dillard is an American author, best known for her narrative prose in both fiction and non-fiction. She has published works of poetry, essays, prose, and literary criticism, as well as two novels and one memoir. Her 1974 work Pilgrim at Tinker Creek won the 1974 Pulitzer Prize for General... Marguerite Duras Marguerite Duras Marguerite Donnadieu, better known as Marguerite Duras was a French writer and film director.-Background:... Benoît Duteurtre Benoît Duteurtre Benoît Duteurtre is a French novelist and essayist, born in 1960. He is also a musical critic, musician, producer and host of a radio show about music. He spends his time between Paris, New York and Normandy.-Early life and family:... William Empson William Empson Sir William Empson was an English literary critic and poet.He was known as "燕卜荪" in Chinese.He was widely influential for his practice of closely reading literary works, fundamental to the New Critics... Colin Fleming Colin Fleming Colin Fleming is a British professional tennis player who lives in Linlithgow.He was selected for 2009 Great Britain Davis Cup team.... Francesco Forlani Bernhard Frank B.H. Friedman Romain Gary Romain Gary Romain Gary was a French diplomat, novelist, film director, World War II aviator. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt twice .- Early life :Gary was born in Vilnius under the name Roman Kacew...

Claire Messud Claire Messud Claire Messud is an American novelist. She is best known as the author of the 2006 novel The Emperor's Children.-Early life:... Stephen Miller Stephen Miller Stephen Miller was an American Republican politician. He was the first Civil War veteran to serve as Minnesota Governor. He was the fourth Governor of Minnesota.-Early years and business entrepreneur:... Yesi T. Mills Nicole Nemec Nicanor Parra Nicanor Parra Nicanor Parra Sandoval is a mathematician and poet born in San Fabián de Alico, Chile, who has been considered to be a popular poet in Chile with enormous influence and popularity in Latin America, and also considered one of the most important poets of the Spanish language literature... Christopher Ricks Christopher Ricks Sir Christopher Bruce Ricks, FBA is a British literary critic and scholar. He is the William M. and Sara B. Warren Professor of the Humanities at Boston University and Co-Director of the Editorial Institute at Boston University, and was Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford from 2004... Gary Roberts Gary Roberts Gary R. Roberts is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League . He was the first round pick of the Calgary Flames, 12th overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. Roberts played the first ten seasons of his NHL career with the Flames, winning... Alane Rollings Leon Rooke Leon Rooke Leon Rooke, CM is a Canadian novelist. He was born in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina in the United States. Educated at the University of North Carolina, he moved to Canada in 1969. He now lives in Toronto, Ontario.... Conall Ryan Andrew Saltarelli Salvatore Sciona W.G. Sebald Adam Seelig Nora Seton Penelope Shuttle Penelope Shuttle -Life:Shuttle "left school at 17, completing her first novel when she was 20." Her home is in Falmouth, Cornwall since 1970. She married the poet Peter Redgrove, who died in 2003, and they have a daughter, Zoe... William A. Simpson Henryk Skwarczynski Richard Stern Sassan Tabatabai Raymond Tallis Raymond Tallis Raymond Tallis F.Med.Sci., F.R.C.P., F.R.S.A. is a British philosopher, humanist, poet, novelist, cultural critic and retired medical doctor.-Medical career:... Emilio Lascano Tegui Federigo Tozzi Federigo Tozzi Federigo Tozzi was an Italian writer.Federigo Tozzi was the son of an innkeeper. He first worked as a railway official, then continued running the inn of his father. 1911 he published his first book of poetry. 1913 he began work on his first novel, Con gli occhi chiusi , a highly autobiographical... Jonathan Vogels George Walden George Walden George Gordon Harvey Walden is a British journalist and a former Conservative Party Member of Parliament who served as the Minister for Higher Education from 1985-87.... Sarah Walden James Wood James Wood (critic) James Wood is a literary critic, essayist and novelist. he is Professor of the Practice of Literary Criticism at Harvard University and a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine.-Background and education:...

Herbert Gold Herbert Gold -Early life:Gold was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in Lakewood, a community he was later to memorialize in his first book, Birth of a Hero, published in 1951 by Viking Press. He moved to New York City at age 17 after several of his poems had been accepted by New York literary magazines... Naama Goldstein David Green Mark Greenberg Louis Guilloux Louis Guilloux Louis Guilloux was a French writer born in Saint-Brieuc, Brittany, where he lived throughout his life. He is known for his Social Realist novels describing working class life and political struggles in the mid-twentieth century... Susan Hamlyn Chris Harris Mark Harris Mark Harris Mark Harris may refer to:*Mark Harris , Welsh professional bodybuilder*Mark Harris , American writer of the baseball novel Bang the Drum Slowly*Mark Harris English association football player... David Hart Jack Herlihy Gustaw Herling Jessica Hornick Bette Howland Bette Howland Bette Howland is an American writer and literary critic.She wrote for Commentary Magazine.She appeared at Yaddo.-Works:*The iron year, University of Iowa., 1967*W-3, Viking Press, 1974, ISBN 9780670748631... Michael Hulse Michael Hulse Michael Hulse is an English translator, critic, and poet.-Life and Works:Hulse has translated over sixty books from the German, among them works by Goethe, Rilke, and Jakob Wassermann. He is nowadays most familiar as the translator of three of W. G. Sebald's books: The Emigrants, The Rings of... Chantal Loiseau Hunt John Clinton Hunt Arthur Johnston Arthur Johnston Arthur Johnston was a Scottish poet and physician. He was born in Caskieben near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire... Jacques Julliard Ken Kalfus Ken Kalfus Ken Kalfus is an American author and journalist. Three of his books have been named New York Times Notable Books of the Year.-Early life and education:... George Kalogeris Katia Kapovich Katia Kapovich Katia Kapovich is a Russian poet now living in the United States. She writes in both Russian and English.-Life and career:... Marcia Karp John Kinsella Adam Kirsch Adam Kirsch Adam Kirsch is an American poet and literary critic.-Early life and education:Kirsch is the son of lawyer, author, and biblical scholar Jonathan Kirsch, and a 1997 graduate of Harvard College.-Career:... Chaim Lapid Melvin J. Lasky Melvin J. Lasky Melvin Jonah Lasky was an American journalist, intellectual, and member of the anti-Communist left. He was the older brother of the influential entertainment lawyer Floria Lasky and Joyce Lasky Reed, the President and founder of the Faberge Arts Foundation and former Director of European Affairs... Karl Logher Arturo Loria

Appearing in TRoL as Archives or Lives

John Aubrey John Aubrey John Aubrey FRS, was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He is perhaps best known as the author of the collection of short biographical pieces usually referred to as Brief Lives... Christabel Bielenberg Christabel Bielenberg Christabel Bielenberg was a British writer who was married to a German lawyer, Peter Bielenberg. She described her experiences living in Germany during the Second World War in two books: The Past is Myself and The Road Ahead... Roberto Bolaño Roberto Bolaño Roberto Bolaño Ávalos was a Chilean novelist and poet. In 1999 he won the Rómulo Gallegos Prize for his novel Los detectives salvajes , and in 2008 he was posthumously awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction for his novel 2666, which was described by board member Marcela Valdes... Kenneth H. Brown Samuel Butler Samuel Butler Samuel Butler may refer to:*Samuel Butler , author of Hudibras*Samuel Butler , classical scholar, schoolmaster at Shrewsbury, Bishop of Lichfield... François-René de Chateaubriand François-René de Chateaubriand François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian. He is considered the founder of Romanticism in French literature.-Early life and exile:... Xavier de Maistre Xavier de Maistre Xavier de Maistre of Savoy , lived largely as a military man, but is known as a French writer. The younger brother of noted philosopher and counter-revolutionary Joseph de Maistre, Xavier was born to an aristocratic family at Chambéry in October 1763... Alan Govenar R.B. Cunninghame Graham Bohumil Hrabal Bohumil Hrabal Bohumil Hrabal was a Czech writer, regarded as one of the best writers of the 20th century.- Life and work :...

Philip O'Connor Philip O'Connor Philip O'Connor was a British writer and surrealist poet, who also painted. He was one of the 'Wheatsheaf writers' of 1930s Fitzrovia... Marcella Olschki Alberto Rangel David Rousset David Rousset David Rousset was a French writer and political activist, a recipient of Prix Renaudot, a French literary award.... Rudaki Rudaki Abu Abdollah Jafar ibn Mohammad Rudaki , also written as Rudagi , was a Persian poet, and is regarded as the first great literary genius of the Modern Persian, who composed poems in the "New Persian" alphabet. Rudaki is considered as a founder of Persian classical literature.He was born in 858 in... Victor Serge Victor Serge Victor Serge , born Victor Lvovich Kibalchich , was a Russian revolutionary and writer. Originally an anarchist, he joined the Bolsheviks five months after arriving in Petrograd in January 1919 and later worked for the Comintern as a journalist, editor and translator... Leonard St. Clair Dylan Thomas Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself... Sophie Wilkins

Victor Hugo Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France.... Sean Jackson Shafi Kadkani Mohammad Reza Shafiei-Kadkani Mohammad Reza Shafiei Kadkani is a Persian writer, poet, literary critic, editor, and translator.Born in Nishapur, Razavi Khorasan, Shafiei-Kadkani graduated from Tehran University with a doctorate degree in Persian literature... Rudolf Kessner Walter Savage Landor Walter Savage Landor Walter Savage Landor was an English writer and poet. His best known works were the prose Imaginary Conversations, and the poem Rose Aylmer, but the critical acclaim he received from contemporary poets and reviewers was not matched by public popularity... Leopardi Samuel Lipman Cesare Lombroso Cesare Lombroso Cesare Lombroso, born Ezechia Marco Lombroso was an Italian criminologist and founder of the Italian School of Positivist Criminology. Lombroso rejected the established Classical School, which held that crime was a characteristic trait of human nature... Jack Miles Jack Miles Jack Miles is an American author and winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the MacArthur Fellowship. His work on religion, politics, and culture has appeared in numerous national publications, including The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and The Los... Charles Morgan Charles Morgan Charles Morgan may refer to:* Sir Charles Morgan , military governor of Bergen op Zoom* Charles Gould Morgan, Sir Charles Morgan, 1st Baronet , Member of Parliament for Brecon, 1778–1787, and Breconshire, 1787–1806...

Collaborators

A number of authors and editors have at times served on the staff or as contributing editors of the magazine, including James Wood

James Wood (critic)

James Wood is a literary critic, essayist and novelist. he is Professor of the Practice of Literary Criticism at Harvard University and a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine.-Background and education:...

, Sassan Tabatabai, Chris Walsh, Zachary Bos, Lakis Proguidis, and Francesco Forlani.

External links

• Saul Bellow on literaryness in a technological age, in The New York Times
• The Republic of Letters at Toby Press
• Eric Alterman in The Nation: Not Dead Yet!
• Hans Suter, on delivery of a new issue: "Beautiful day today!"
• Sister magazine, L'Atelier du roman
• Bellow and Botsford in Conversation
• News from: The Republic of Letters Main Site