{"id":162,"date":"2017-04-27T20:37:05","date_gmt":"2017-04-27T20:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/electricliterature.com\/johnny-depp-true-friend-spent-5-million-exploding-hunter-s-thompsons-remains\/"},"modified":"2019-03-14T20:49:44","modified_gmt":"2019-03-14T20:49:44","slug":"johnny-depp-true-friend-spent-5-million-exploding-hunter-s-thompsons-remains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/electricliterature.com\/johnny-depp-true-friend-spent-5-million-exploding-hunter-s-thompsons-remains\/","title":{"rendered":"Johnny Depp, True Friend, Spent $5 Million Exploding Hunter S. Thompson\u2019s Remains"},"content":{"rendered":"

And other essential literary news from around the interwebs<\/h4>\n
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Today in the book world, we learned that Ta-Nehisi Coates is going to light up the Apollo Theater, Bill O\u2019Reilly still has a book deal, poems are for pockets, and Johnny Depp is the kind of pal who will treat your everlasting remains with the delicacy and respect they deserve\u200a\u2014\u200aby firing that shit out of a motherloving cannon. It\u2019s just another day on the literary interwebs\u2026<\/p>\n

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Author Ta-Nehisi Coates. Credit: John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Between the World and Me\u2019 Is Being Adapted for the\u00a0Stage<\/h4>\n

There are some exciting developments in the works for Ta-Nehisi Coates fans. The author of the 2015 National Book Award winner, Between the World and Me, <\/em>is teaming up with his longtime friend and producer Kamilah Forbes to create a multi-media performance based on the book, which the New York Times<\/em><\/a> reports will feature,\u201cexcerpted monologues, video projections, and a score by the jazz musician Jason Moran.\u201d The show will be running at the historic Apollo Theatre starting next April. There\u2019s still no word on exactly how the show will be cast, but Forbes says, \u201cthere\u2019s a mix of everyday folks and celebrity voices, one night is going to be vastly different from the\u00a0next.\u201d<\/p>\n

[The New York Times<\/em><\/a>, Andrew R.\u00a0Chow]<\/p>\n

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Is That a Poem in Your Pocket, Or Are You Just Excited to See\u00a0Me?<\/h4>\n

Did you know that April 27th is Poem in Your Pocket Day? Yes, it\u2019s a thing! To cap off National Poetry Month, folks all over the country are celebrating the event by folding up a poem that holds some special meaning and putting it in their pocket to share with friends, colleagues, and classmates. (We know what you\u2019re thinking\u200a\u2014\u200athis could get kinky. That\u2019s poetry, guys.) The tradition started in 2002 by the Office of the Mayor in NYC, and it has since grown into a nationwide movement with sponsorship from the Academy of American Poets. The organization put together a handy guide<\/a> for how to honor the day\u200a\u2014\u200awhether at school, in the workplace, or on social media, and they also have some fantastic suggestions for one page poems that will definitely delight your\u00a0friends.<\/p>\n

[Book Riot<\/em>,<\/a> Karina\u00a0Glaser]<\/p>\n

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Being Accused of Sexual Assault Doesn\u2019t Affect Your Book Deal When You\u2019re a Rich White\u00a0Guy<\/h4>\n

Henry Holt has vowed to continue its support of disgraced former Fox News<\/em> host, Bill O\u2019Reilly. In a statement provided to Publishers Weekly<\/em><\/a>, the Macmillan imprint said, \u201cour plans have not changed,\u201d with regard to publishing an as-yet-untitled O\u2019Reilly\/Dugard book due out in September. Throughout the years, O\u2019Reilly has been a cash cow for the company. His most recent publication, Killing the Rising Sun, <\/em>sold over 1 million print units, making it the best-selling adult non-fiction book in 2016. It\u2019s still too soon to tell if Holt will face some controversy for this decision like Simon and Schuster did after contracting a deal with the unapologetic racist, Milo Yiannopoulos<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, O\u2019Reilly\u2019s replacement, Tucker Carlson, is fielding his own book advance offers from publishers. Buzzfeed<\/em><\/a> speculates the final figure will soar into the millions. Carlson\u2019s representative at the literary agency Javelin, Matt Latimer, says, \u201cTucker\u2019s is easily the most sought-after book by a news personality in many years, and he\u2019s on track to get one of the biggest and certainly most well deserved deals in recent history.\u201d<\/p>\n

If by recent history Latimer is exclusively referring to O\u2019Reilly, then yeah, maybe we can agree with\u00a0that.<\/p>\n

[Publishers Weekly<\/em><\/a>, Jim\u00a0Milliot]<\/p>\n

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Johnny Depp Spent $5 Million On a Cannon to Blast Out Hunter S. Thompson\u2019s Remains<\/h4>\n

In coolest-funeral-EVER news, Johnny Depp is claiming that in 2005 he spent $5 million dollars on a cannon used to discharge Hunter S. Thompson\u2019s ashes over Aspen, CO, in unison with red, white, blue and green fireworks. This matter has recently become relevant as Depp is in the midst of a financial crisis and is suing his former business managers at TMG. No need to get into the humdrum specifics of a multi-millionaire\u2019s money woes, but can we appreciate that the father of Gonzo journalism and the author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas <\/em>(adapted by Depp) <\/em>got to go out in kick-ass\u00a0style?<\/p>\n

[Vulture<\/em><\/a>, Jackson\u00a0McHenry]<\/p>\n

Streep, Sondheim, the Women\u2019s March, and a Call to Arms at the PEN America Gala<\/a><\/p>\n