The Smart Set is a weekly feature, compiled and posted by Lauren Cerand, that usually appears Mondays at 12:30 pm, and highlights the best of the week to come. Special favor is given to New York’s independent booksellers and venues, and low-cost and free events. Please send details to Ms. Cerand at lauren [at] maudnewton.com by the Thursday prior to . . .
The Observer profiles Toni Morrison, whose new novel, A Mercy, a prelude to Beloved, appears in the States next month.
While I’m in England to celebrate the OED, Yale marks the 250th birthday of Noah Webster, father of the American dictionary. (Thanks, GMB.)
Reissued: Recordings of 1908 presidential campaign speeches by Bryan and Taft.
I’m in Oxford, England (as a guest of Oxford University Press, which has covered travel expenses and lodgings) for the 80th anniversary celebration of the Oxford English Dictionary. The festivities begin tomorrow. My previous post about the trip is here. Some Sundays when I was in high school, my dad would drop me off at the UM student library, leaving . . .