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2003 In Literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 2003. Events *February 12 – An invitation from the First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush, for some poets to attend a conference at the White House is postponed when one of them, Sam Hamill, organizes a "Poets Against the War" group for poetry readings across the United States on the same date. *February 15 – Anti-war protests occur in London. They are later used as the setting for Ian McEwan's 2005 novel ''Saturday''. *March – The University of Mosul library is damaged and looted during the Iraq War, but many volumes are removed for protection by staff. *April 14 – The Iraq National Library and Archive is burned down during the Battle of Baghdad. *April – Nicholas Hytner succeeds Sir Trevor Nunn as artistic director of London's Royal National Theatre. * November 7 – UNESCO places among the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity ''wayang kulit'', a shadow pupp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
February 12
Events Pre-1600 *1404 – The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sophie performed the first post-mortem autopsy for the purposes of teaching and demonstration at the Heiligen–Geist Spital in Vienna. *1429 – English forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orléans in the Battle of the Herrings. * 1502 – Isabella I issues an edict outlawing Islam in the Crown of Castile, forcing virtually all her Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity. * 1502 – Vasco da Gama with 15 ships and 800 men sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal on his second voyage to India. * 1541 – Santiago, Chile is founded by Pedro de Valdivia. *1593 – Japanese invasion of Korea: Approximately 3,000 Joseon defenders led by general Kwon Yul successfully repel more than 30,000 Japanese forces in the Siege of Haengju. 1601–1900 *1689 – The Convention Parliament declares that the flight to France in 1688 by James ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. Internationally, it is known as the National Theatre of Great Britain. Founded by Laurence Olivier in 1963, many well-known actors have performed at the National Theatre. Until 1976, the company was based at The Old Vic theatre in Waterloo. The current building is located next to the Thames in the South Bank area of central London. In addition to performances at the National Theatre building, the National Theatre tours productions at theatres across the United Kingdom. The theatre has transferred numerous productions to Broadway and toured some as far as China, Australia and New Zealand. However, touring productions to European cities was suspended in February 2021 over concerns about uncertainty over work permits, additional costs and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brick Lane (novel)
Monica Ali FRSL (born 20 October 1967) is a British writer of Bangladeshi and English heritage. In 2003, she was selected as one of the "Best of Young British Novelists" by ''Granta'' magazine based on her unpublished manuscript; her debut novel, ''Brick Lane'', was published later that year. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. It was adapted as a 2007 film of the same name. She has also published three other novels. Her fifth novel, ''Love Marriage'', was published by Virago Press in February 2022 and became an instant ''Sunday Times'' bestseller. Early life and education Ali was born in Dhaka, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1967 to a Bangladeshi father and an English mother. When she was three, her family moved to Bolton, England. Her father is originally from the district of Mymensingh. She went to Bolton School and then studied philosophy, politics and economics at Wadham College, Oxford. ''Brick Lane'' Brick Lane is a street at the heart of London's Banglade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monica Ali
Monica Ali FRSL (born 20 October 1967) is a British writer of Bangladeshi and English heritage. In 2003, she was selected as one of the "Best of Young British Novelists" by ''Granta'' magazine based on her unpublished manuscript; her debut novel, ''Brick Lane'', was published later that year. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. It was adapted as a 2007 film of the same name. She has also published three other novels. Her fifth novel, ''Love Marriage'', was published by Virago Press in February 2022 and became an instant ''Sunday Times'' bestseller. Early life and education Ali was born in Dhaka, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1967 to a Bangladeshi father and an English mother. When she was three, her family moved to Bolton, England. Her father is originally from the district of Mymensingh. She went to Bolton School and then studied philosophy, politics and economics at Wadham College, Oxford. ''Brick Lane'' Brick Lane is a street at the heart of London's Banglade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Five People You Meet In Heaven
''The Five People You Meet In Heaven'' is a 2003 novel by Mitch Albom. It follows the life and death of a ride mechanic named Eddie (inspired by Albom's uncle) who is killed in an amusement park accident and sent to heaven, where he encounters five people who had a significant impact on him while he was alive. It was published by Hyperion and remained on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list for 95 weeks. Plot On his 83rd birthday, amusement park ride mechanic Eddie is killed in an accident when a ride breaks down. During the accident, he makes a desperate attempt to save a little girl's life. Eddie arrives in Heaven, where he meets "the Blue Man." The Blue Man explains that Eddie is about to journey through Heaven's five levels, meeting someone who has had a significant impact upon his life or someone on whom his life had a significant impact. Eddie asks why the Blue Man is his first person, and he informs Eddie that, when Eddie was very young, he caused the car accident ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitch Albom
Mitchell David Albom (born May 23, 1958) is an American author, journalist, and musician. His books have sold over 40 million copies worldwide. Having achieved national recognition for sports writing in his early career, he turned to writing the inspirational stories and themes that weave through his books, plays, and films. Albom lives with his wife Janine Sabino in Detroit. Early life Albom was born on May 23, 1958, to a Jewish family in Passaic, New Jersey. He lived in Buffalo, New York for a little while until his family settled in Oaklyn, New Jersey, just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up in a small, middle-class neighborhood which most people never left. Albom was once quoted as saying that his parents were very supportive, and always used to say, "Don't expect your life to finish here. There's a big world out there. Go out and see it." His older sister, younger brother and he himself all took that message to heart and traveled extensively. His siblings are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purple Hibiscus
''Purple Hibiscus'' is a novel written by the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Her debut novel, it was first published by Algonquin Books in 2003. Synopsis ''Purple Hibiscus'' is set in postcolonial Nigeria, a country beset by political instability and economic difficulties. The central character is Kambili Achike, aged fifteen for much of the period covered by the book, a member of a wealthy family in Enugu State, dominated by her devoutly Catholic father, Eugene. Eugene is both a religious zealot and a violent figure in the Achike household, subjecting his wife Beatrice, Kambili herself, and her brother Jaja to beatings and psychological cruelty. Beatrice even has two miscarriages because of the violence. The story is told through Kambili's eyes and is essentially about the disintegration of her family unit and her struggle to grow to maturity. A key period is the time Kambili and her brother spend at the house of her father's sister, Ifeoma, and her three children. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ( ; born 15 September 1977) is a Nigerian writer whose works include novels, short stories and nonfiction. She was described in ''The Times Literary Supplement'' as "the most prominent" of a "procession of critically acclaimed young anglophone authors hichis succeeding in attracting a new generation of readers to African literature", particularly in her second home, the United States. Adichie has written the novels '' Purple Hibiscus'' (2003), '' Half of a Yellow Sun'' (2006), and ''Americanah'' (2013), the short story collection '' The Thing Around Your Neck'' (2009), and the book-length essay ''We Should All Be Feminists'' (2014). Her most recent books are '' Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions'' (2017), ''Zikora'' (2020) and '' Notes on Grief'' (2021). In 2008, she was awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant. She was the recipient of the PEN Pinter Prize in 2018. She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2021. Early ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Clerkenwell Tales
''The Clerkenwell Tales'' is an historical novel by English writer Peter Ackroyd, first published in 2003. Plot summary The novel is set in London in the year 1399, a year of revolt, revolution and religious conspiracy. As Henry Bolingbroke challenges Richard II for the throne of England the reader's attention is focused on Dominus, a secret society of religious fundamentalists, known to history as Lollards Lollardy, also known as Lollardism or the Lollard movement, was a proto-Protestant Christian religious movement that existed from the mid-14th century until the 16th-century English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Catholic .... The story is oriented similar to Chaucer's ''The Canterbury Tales'' and makes use of some of the characters from ''The Canterbury Tales'' as well. It turns on the conspiracies of a religious sect, led by the mad nun and making use of the prophecies of the mad Clerkenwell nun to foment panic and hysteria to bring forth the det ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Ackroyd
Peter Ackroyd (born 5 October 1949) is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a specialist interest in the history and culture of London. For his novels about English history and culture and his biographies of, among others, William Blake, Charles Dickens, T. S. Eliot, Charlie Chaplin and Sir Thomas More, he won the Somerset Maugham Award and two Whitbread Awards. He is noted for the volume of work he has produced, the range of styles therein, his skill at assuming different voices, and the depth of his research. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1984 and appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2003. Early life and education Ackroyd was born in London and raised on a council estate in East Acton, in what he has described as a "strict" Roman Catholic household by his mother and grandmother, after his father disappeared from the family home. He first knew that he was gay when he was seven. He was educated at St. Benedic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wayang
, also known as ( jv, ꦮꦪꦁ, translit=wayang), is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. refers to the entire dramatic show. Sometimes the leather puppet itself is referred to as . Performances of wayang puppet theatre are accompanied by a ''gamelan'' orchestra in Java, and by '' gender wayang'' in Bali. The dramatic stories depict mythologies, such as episodes from the Hindu epics the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata'', as well as local adaptations of cultural legends. Traditionally, a is played out in a ritualized midnight-to-dawn show by a ''dalang'', an artist and spiritual leader; people watch the show from both sides of the screen. performances are still very popular among Indonesians, especially in the islands of Java and Bali. performances are usually held at certain rituals, certain ceremonies, certain events, and even tourist attractions. In ritual contexts, puppet shows are used for prayer rituals (held in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state and the 14th-largest country by area, at . With over 275 million people, Indonesia is the world's fourth-most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world's most populous island, is home to more than half of the country's population. Indonesia is a presidential republic with an elected legislature. It has 38 provinces, of which nine have special status. The country's capital, Jakarta, is the world's second-most populous urban area. Indonesia shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and the eastern part of Malaysia, as well as maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and India ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
