Bedugul Coffee: Your alternative back-to-school reading list 📖

The Huffington Post

Culture Shift is a weekly newsletter curated by the HuffPost Culture writers and editors.

This week we're talking about an alternative back-to-school reading list, the typography legend Alan Peckolick, the ethics of telling trans stories in art, diversity at New York Fashion Week, and the women fighting poachers in South Africa.

How To Fall In Love With Letters, According To A Typography Icon

"Have you ever fallen in love with a word? Not for its meaning or the way it rolls off your tongue. Not for the idea it communicates or the vision it summons. How about for the way the letters, laid out before you, greet your eyes? The way W cozies up to O which leads into R and ends sharply with a D. Word. Alan Peckolick most certainly has." (Read more here)

When A Pseudonym Is Not Just A Pseudonym

"This week, Yi-Fen Chou, author of a poem entitled 'The Bees, the Flowers, Jesus, Ancient Tigers, Poseidon, Adam and Eve,' which appeared in Best American Poetry 2015, was revealed to be a nom de plume -- for Michael Derrick Hudson... Why is this pen name different from other pen names? Well, let's talk about systematic oppression and cultural appropriation for a sec." (Read more here)

17 Books You Should Add To Your Usual Back-To-School List

"We know all too well that reading lists can get a little stale. The classics tend to dominate English teachers' plans, and throughout grade school, high school and college you're often stuck reading the same ol' tomes off the same ol' lists. So, let's fix that. The writers at HuffPost Culture teamed up to create an alternative back-to-school reading list, in which books like The Giver and Heart of Darkness are replaced with works like On Such A Full Sea and The World and Me." (Read more here)

Meet The Black Mambas, South Africa's Majority-Female Anti-Poaching Unit

"'I am strong. I am a woman. And I bite like a Mamba!' 22-year-old Leitah, pictured above, told photographer Julia Gunther. Leitah is a proud member of the Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit, stationed on and around the Balule Nature Reserve in South Africa, located near the Kruger Reserve, home to the critically endangered black rhino as well as the endangered white rhino. Along with 23 other women and two men, Leitah spends 21 days a month patrolling the reserve, teaching locals about wilderness preservation, and keeping an eye out for poaching activities." (Read more here)

What Sol LeWitt's Art Can Teach Us About Living A Fulfilling Life

"LeWitt's take on art making is simple, and can help dispel the apprehension some of us feel when we're staring at a piece of modern or contemporary art, wondering how we're supposed to feel in its presence. 'Perception is subjective,' he said, modestly. 'The artist may not necessarily understand his own art. His perception is neither better nor worse than that of others.' But beyond his ability to condense the art world into a few poignant philosophical musings, his humble approach to creativity is something most people can relate to, regardless of an interest in conceptual canvases." (Read more here)

The Ethics Of Telling Trans Stories In An Artistic Space

"It's especially rare to see a trans woman writing and performing her own story. Now that transgender narratives are emerging in the mainstream, the conversation has shifted from the whether-or-not of representation to how trans stories are told. The Huffington Post spoke to [Christine] Howey about the value of sharing her journey in an artistic space, the ethics of depicting trans women and men in fiction, and what she hopes the future of trans representation will look like." (Read more here)

Fashion Has A Diversity Problem. We're Doing Something About It.

"This season, HuffPost Lifestyle will disrupt New York Fashion Week to ensure that it is an inclusive event for people of all skin tones, genders, sizes, shapes and personalities. Over the next week, we'll be highlighting designers, models and runway shows that are working to democratize NYFW." (Read more here)

Author Explores The Secrets That Make Up A Happy Marriage

"A saga of secrets, Fates and Furies examines the conjoined perspectives that make up a mostly happy -- if at times tragic -- marital relationship... Who will read it? Those interested in sprawling, epic stories, or stories about marital bliss or turmoil. Those interested in anything Shakespeare-adjacent." (Read more here)