The Voynich Manuscript Finally Solved (?)
For more than a century, The Voynich Manuscript has been an enigma. The 500-year-old manuscript is written in some unknown language and its provenance is equally cloudy. Scholars, linguists, and interested amateurs have been trying to crack if for decades, Nicholas Gibbs, a scholar of medieval medical history claims to have figured it out. In essence, he believes the inscrutable writing is a variety of Latin in an indiosyncratic shorthand and that the book itself is a bespoke book about women’s hygiene. However, some other scholars are already questioning his analysis. Where is Robert Langdon when you need him?
Roxane Gay and Ashley Ford Talk About the Black Literary Community
This isn’t news exactly, but this conversation with Roxane Gay and Ashley Ford about mentorship, publishing, and writing is terrific reading. They talk about how important early encouragement is, the difference a good mentor can make, and the necessity of getting real, first-hand information about the day-to-day experience of being a black woman in publishing.
U.S. House of Representatives Fully Funds NEH, NEA, and Federal Library Funding
Despite rhetoric from the Trump administration suggesting that the White House would almost fully eliminated federal arts and library funding, on Thursday the House voted (211-198) to pass HR 3354, which basically maintains current funding levels. The bill will still have to go through reconciliation with the Senate, but most expect that to happen without much friction. Whew.
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