House

• Politica is the fourth novel by Yumna Kassab, who has made a significant impact on the Australian literary scene since the publication of her debut novel The House of Youssef in 2019.
• Politica is written in Kassab’s now signature polyphonic style.
• Set in a small community, the novel is sparsely written, with minimal description of character, place or historical moment.

• Politica achieves its impressionistic effects through quirky vignettes, poetry, fable, gnomic aphorisms, and arguments between conservative forces and those seeking to redefine their values.
• Some of the characters are resistance leaders and their heirs; others are ordinary people with everyday aspirations.
• Accept the political as the only authentic option or seek the consolations of private life?
• Politica has allegorical ambitions, so these dilemmas cannot be resolved by referring to a describable geopolitical reality.
• The novel spans decades, yet no particular enemy or threat can be consistently identified, nor does it identify the nation in which it is set.
• idolise death over life […] Such is the tendency of one who has not yet learned to live.

Read more:
Colonial and nationalist myths are recast in Yumna Kassab's Australiana

A moral project

• This is of crucial importance when Arab and Muslim political movements, including that of the Palestinians, are relentlessly delegitimised and dehumanised.
• Politica wants to show what a resistance movement might look like from the side of the oppressed.
• The novel questions the total warfare the West now excuses as a drive for security.
• Yet there is always a danger that a novel seeking to say something about politics will begin to moralise.
• A war that began with noble ideals comes to resemble a plague laying waste to all who experience it.
• It prefers bathos in a minor key to the ambitious scope of historical fiction, now an abundant postcolonial genre.

Ned Curthoys does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• TOKYO, Jan 16, 2024 - (JCN Newswire) - NTT DOCOMO, INC. announced today that it has developed a generative AI that automatically generates non-player characters (NPCs), characters not controlled by the player, in the metaverse based solely on text input.
• The technology integrates three generative AIs: behavior-logic-generative AI, animation-generative AI,3 and appearance-generative AI.4 The behavior-logic-generative AI and the seamless synchronization of all three types of AI are unique developments by DOCOMO; significant achievements that mark the new technology as cutting-edge.
• Behavior-logic-generative AI automatically creates a unique behavior tree5 that defines the behavior of NPCs in the metaverse using only text.
• This technology will be introduced during the "docomo Open House '24" online event beginning on January 17.

• Founded in 2017 by Louise Dean, a Booker Prize-listed author, The Novelry provides writing courses, editing and coaching services to thousands of students annually.
• "Given the success and interest in our writing school, we are thrilled to bring The Novelry to the U.S. market.
• “I am so grateful to everyone at The Novelry for their exceptional guidance throughout the writing process of my debut novel.
• “Their insightful feedback allowed me to grow as a writer, and their unwavering support and encouragement made this entire process a true joy.”

• When the world converges on Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII, EA SPORTS™ will hit football’s biggest stage with EA SPORTS™ Presents The Madden Bowl, an event that highlights the brand’s unique position at the intersection of sports, culture and entertainment.
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• Fans across the globe can tune into the Ultimate Madden Bowl on Twitch and YouTube at 6:30 p.m. PST on Friday, Feb 9.
• Exciting details will be announced in the days ahead as the big game approaches.