Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Skipping through the Times of London online ...
... I noticed that tomorrow is the anniversary of the birth of L.S. Lowry, a painter I can't remember having heard of. As it happens, his work is very much worth looking at. You can see for yourself at the Lowry Educational Site. I can imagine some will not agree. But I spent the first nine years of my life in the shadow of factories. They seemed beautiful to me, especially at night, and to this day I enjoy paintings of industrial scenes.
Yes, it is problematic ...
... especially on Halloween: Taking a bite out of science. Who's this guy Costas think he is, anyway?
But not mine ...
... The modern world killed off the nap. (hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Nothing better than a 15-minute cat nap to restore your energy in the late afternoon.
Nothing better than a 15-minute cat nap to restore your energy in the late afternoon.
Bravo ...
... praise for Kidnapped by Stevenson. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
And yes, "Stevenson is one of the most formidable prose stylists you'll ever encounter. This guy can really write."
And yes, "Stevenson is one of the most formidable prose stylists you'll ever encounter. This guy can really write."
Got an MFA ...
... and want to know how to market your work and the like? Well you may want to attend the Literary Writers Conference. New York City. I have it on the best of authority that spaces are available.
The vulgarity sweepstakes ...
... Revenge by the book: It's the rage. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
This from Jonathan Yardley is right on the money "The kiss-and-tell is part of the dumbing down of the United States."
What the Washington scene needs in order to be really understood by the general public is the American equivalent of Evelyn Waugh to write about it - not Bob Woodward, with his leaden prose and cartoon psychology. And at center stage in the cavalcade of absurdity would be the Washington press corps.
No matter what happens here today......
........nothing can change the fact that it's the 211th birthday of John Keats . According to The Writer's Almanac:
It was after his parents' deaths, when he was just a boy, that Keats became obsessed with literature. The book that changed Keats's life was Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene. His friend Charles Brown later said, "It was the Fairy Queen [sic] that awakened his genius. In Spenser's fairy land he was enchanted, breathed in a new world, and became another being." That same year (1814), Keats wrote his first poem, called "In Imitation of Spenser."
It was after his parents' deaths, when he was just a boy, that Keats became obsessed with literature. The book that changed Keats's life was Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene. His friend Charles Brown later said, "It was the Fairy Queen [sic] that awakened his genius. In Spenser's fairy land he was enchanted, breathed in a new world, and became another being." That same year (1814), Keats wrote his first poem, called "In Imitation of Spenser."
John Dewey and Wallace Stevens ...
... In a World Like Ours. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Actually, I think "The Idea of Order in Key West" may embody these notions at least as well, if not better - though I always think of Stevens as having been influenced philosophically, not by Dewey, but by his teacher George Santayana.
Actually, I think "The Idea of Order in Key West" may embody these notions at least as well, if not better - though I always think of Stevens as having been influenced philosophically, not by Dewey, but by his teacher George Santayana.
Monday, October 30, 2006
I'm tired ...
... so I'm going to just lie back and read for a bit. But I should say that if the transcendently stupid happens tomporrow night at midnight and The Inquirer goes on strike, this blog will reappear under another guise not long thereafter. I will have more on that later.
East side, west side maybe ...
... but Peter Cherches says Downtown Made Me. (Hat tip, Richard Grayson.)
Just to be fair ...
... here is evidence that Richard Dawkins does exist: Richard Dawkins Interview - The God Delusion.
I trust my atheist friends will note that I have let the good professor speak for himself without any commentary from yours truly. I link, you decide.
I trust my atheist friends will note that I have let the good professor speak for himself without any commentary from yours truly. I link, you decide.
Amy Nelson-Mile has much ...
... worth viewing, including more on Short Short Stories, as well as Learning More About Nursery Rhymes and Emily Dickinson’s Herbarium.
A book review ...
... we left off the list yesterday - Sandy Bauers's review of Eugene Kaplan's Sensuous Seas: Undersea tales of sex and violence.
Something worth pondering ...
... Yesterday, Inquirer TV critic Jonathan Storm had this piece on the Arts & Entertainment section front: Mindless over matter. He was commenting on this: "The most ambitious new TV shows of the season have slumped in the ratings, while viewers tune in the simpler stuff."
My question: Does this not suggest that the only people left watching network TV are those who aren't interested in the ambitious new shows, but prefer the simpler? Or, to put it another way, that people in search of more sophisticated entertainment don't look for it on TV. Or, to put this even more simply, why do newspapers continue to review television as if it were 1955?
Just asking.
My question: Does this not suggest that the only people left watching network TV are those who aren't interested in the ambitious new shows, but prefer the simpler? Or, to put it another way, that people in search of more sophisticated entertainment don't look for it on TV. Or, to put this even more simply, why do newspapers continue to review television as if it were 1955?
Just asking.
Does Richard Dawkins exist?
... Michael Dibdin explains Why I've lost faith in Richard Dawkins. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
I find it interesting that The God Delusion is selling very well, possibly better than Dawkins's earlier books. He's now a genuine star, but he's starring in trash. 'Twas ever thus.
I find it interesting that The God Delusion is selling very well, possibly better than Dawkins's earlier books. He's now a genuine star, but he's starring in trash. 'Twas ever thus.
Dave Lull needs to see this ...
... though he probably already has: World's Fastest Librarian. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
Return of the Lumpenproletariat ...
... White Trash, Fast food: How Globalization Is Creating a New European Underclass. (Hat tip, Vikram Johri.)
This is worth reading in conjunction with this earlier post: Do you enjoy evolutionary conjecture?
This is worth reading in conjunction with this earlier post: Do you enjoy evolutionary conjecture?
Not for Tolkien fans ...
... Maxine also sends along Michele's conments on Reading The Lord of the Rings: New Writings on Tolkien's Classic .
Attention Virgilians!
Robert Fagles's new English translation of The Aeneid coming to a bookstore near you on Thursday.
Well, this is different ...
... Rus Bowden sends along this link: Poet whose life was short but whose poems endure. Click on the audio at the upper right hand corner and you have the thing read to you.
I'd rather hear one of the poems read, if possible by the poet. I think, by the way, that the thesis is untenable - and for a number of reasons. First, I don't understand why being "less inclined to syllogism and more inclined to gush forth in torrents of splendor both auditory and visual" is such an advantage. I also don't get the bit about Stevens being inclined to syllogism - and his auditory and visual splendor is pretty apparent. Moreover, really good poets don't simply gush forth. Second, Crane's "determination to pursue the visionary quest: the search for meaning, wholeness and something beyond the limits of ordinary understanding" is only valuable insofar as it resulted in great poetry. I have nothing against Crane's poetry, but I don't think it is anywhere near as great as Rubin suggests.
I'd rather hear one of the poems read, if possible by the poet. I think, by the way, that the thesis is untenable - and for a number of reasons. First, I don't understand why being "less inclined to syllogism and more inclined to gush forth in torrents of splendor both auditory and visual" is such an advantage. I also don't get the bit about Stevens being inclined to syllogism - and his auditory and visual splendor is pretty apparent. Moreover, really good poets don't simply gush forth. Second, Crane's "determination to pursue the visionary quest: the search for meaning, wholeness and something beyond the limits of ordinary understanding" is only valuable insofar as it resulted in great poetry. I have nothing against Crane's poetry, but I don't think it is anywhere near as great as Rubin suggests.
Just in time for Halloween ...
... an appreciation of M.R. James: Thrillingly creepy tales of ghosts and ghouls . (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Blogging has been light ...
... because we have been entertaining - and being entertained by - a pair of delightful guests. Back tomorrow.
This can't be right ...
... The All Time Top Ten Greatest Poems of Scotland . It can;t be right because it includes nothing by Edwin Muir. Here's The Animals.
Faithless words ...
... Atheists top book charts by deconstructing God. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Judging by some of the email I've been getting today, they're a sensitive lot, God bless them.
Judging by some of the email I've been getting today, they're a sensitive lot, God bless them.
Speaking of Vikram Johri ...
... he has an interesting piece about one of my favorite stories: Thomas Mann's Tonio Kroger.
Reading Alfred Kazin ...
... when I was in high school was one of the reasons I wanted to do what I in fact do for a living. Patrick Kurp has been writing about Kazin at Anecdotal Evidence. Just keep scrolling.
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
... cover a lot of ground.
I take a look at books on science and religion by Owen Gingerich, Richard Dawkins and Francis Collins: Three scientists take on religion.
Richard Di Dio was impressed by Wu Ming's collaborative 54: Collectively written novel is a fine, sprawling epic.
Cheryl Miller think Robert Hughes's memoir effective despite its reticence: An art critic's self-portrait skimps on the self.
David Montgomery has nothing but praise for Michael Connelly's Echo Park: In 'Echo Park,' you're there, cracking the case.
Katherine Bailey likes Anna Quindlen's Rise and Shine: 'Rise and Shine' examines sisterly, and human, bonds .
Steve Weinberg is impressed by John Grisham's latest: Grisham explores travesty of justice.
And Katie Haegele says she has a new personal hero: Young Adult Reader An androgynous adventurer unearths human nature's perils .
And l;ast week, we did have some reviews:
Karen Heller took a look at Annie Leibovitz's shockingly revealing new book .
Elizabeth Fox absolutely loved Jasper Fforde's latest: Who knocked off Goldilocks?
And Edward Turzanski found Michael Korda's memoir of the Hungarian uprising quite fascinating :For Korda, Hungary's uprising was personal and political.
Finally, if you didn't see it, here is John Freeman's interview with Edna O'Brien: New novel is 'imaginary' life, not autobiography, O'Brien says.
I take a look at books on science and religion by Owen Gingerich, Richard Dawkins and Francis Collins: Three scientists take on religion.
Richard Di Dio was impressed by Wu Ming's collaborative 54: Collectively written novel is a fine, sprawling epic.
Cheryl Miller think Robert Hughes's memoir effective despite its reticence: An art critic's self-portrait skimps on the self.
David Montgomery has nothing but praise for Michael Connelly's Echo Park: In 'Echo Park,' you're there, cracking the case.
Katherine Bailey likes Anna Quindlen's Rise and Shine: 'Rise and Shine' examines sisterly, and human, bonds .
Steve Weinberg is impressed by John Grisham's latest: Grisham explores travesty of justice.
And Katie Haegele says she has a new personal hero: Young Adult Reader An androgynous adventurer unearths human nature's perils .
And l;ast week, we did have some reviews:
Karen Heller took a look at Annie Leibovitz's shockingly revealing new book .
Elizabeth Fox absolutely loved Jasper Fforde's latest: Who knocked off Goldilocks?
And Edward Turzanski found Michael Korda's memoir of the Hungarian uprising quite fascinating :For Korda, Hungary's uprising was personal and political.
Finally, if you didn't see it, here is John Freeman's interview with Edna O'Brien: New novel is 'imaginary' life, not autobiography, O'Brien says.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Why does it not surprise me ...
... that Maxine likes Gustave Moreau? Long wont to roam. "To Helen" is not only Poe's best poem. It is a well-night perfect poem.
Also check out Far off and exceeding deep.
Also check out Far off and exceeding deep.
Now, here's a challenge ...
... Birth of a Masterpiece . I guess I'll try my hand: "Follow that star. It leads homeward."
Last night ...
... in this post, I had intended to quote this, from Bryan Aplleyard's New Statesman article, but I couldn't get back into it:
Religion, in my view, can only be properly understood as something like emotion: an innate condition of our existence and a form of our perception of the world. When its expression is denied or refused in one direction, it will simply find another. An inability to grasp this explains the deep and abiding failure of the secular imagination to grasp the dynamics of the post-cold war world in which religion has come to play such a huge part.
I think Bryan is right on the money.
Before I return to the kitchen ...
... I recommend to your attention these from Maxine: Detectives old and new, and Narnia and Shoe shine or boot camp? Regarding the latter, my own all-time favorite is Puss in Boots. I never read the book Walkabout, but I do remember Peter Weir's film of it.
On the radio ...
... while I was cooking was Puccini's Manon Lescaut. At one point, I took a break and sat on the sofa in the living room (ours is a tiny house). The intermezzo was playing, and I found myself for a moment intensely moved. Certain sequences simply clutch the heart and ring a tear from the eye. I can't imagine that there is a naturalistic explanation for such - whether mathematical, chemical, or glandular. And even is there were I doubt if it would prove adequate to the experience. That is the thing about passion: It is much more than the sum of whatever goes into it or precipitates it.
I haven't been blogging ...
.... (obviously) because I've been cooking. Former colleagues of Debbie - from her teaching days - are coming by for dinner tomorrow night and I'm the Sunday features editor tomorrow, so the only time to cook was today. What was I cooking? A venison ragout of my own devising, but owing something to boeuf bourguignonne and carbonade a la Flammande - venison, wine, onions, garlic, raisins and mushrooms. It's in the oven now - though I still have to make a winter squash soup (the onions are caramalizing).
Friday, October 27, 2006
Speaking of Bryan Appleyard ...
... I am in the middle of reading his book Understanding the Present and I want to get back to that. It has been a busy week and I have an even busier weekend ahead of me. So that's going to be it for blogging tonight. I want to learn more about how to understand the present.
Update: I suppose I should have mentioned that it is a very good book.
Update: I suppose I should have mentioned that it is a very good book.
I have not been blogging ...
... because I have been browsing through Bryan Appleyard's blog, where I found this, from last April: Religion. Do click on the link to Bryan's New Statesman article.
This is for Noel ...
... Conrad Aiken's "Winter for Moment Takes the Mind":
Winter for a moment takes the mind; the snow
Falls past the arclight; icicles guard a wall;
The wind moans through a crack in the window;
A keen sparkle of frost is on the sill.
Only for a moment; as spring too might engage it,
With a single crocus in the loam, or a pair of birds;
Or summer with hot grass; or autumn with a yellow leaf.
Winter is there, outside, is here in me:
Drapes the planets with snow, deepens the ice on the moon,
Darkens the darkness that was already darkness.
The mind too has its snows, its slippery paths,
Walls bayonetted with ice, leaves ice-encased.
Here is the in-drawn room, to which you return
When the wind blows from Arcturus: here is the fire
At which you warm your hands and glaze your eyes;
The piano, on which you touch the cold treble;
Five notes like breaking icicles; and then silence.
The alarm-clock ticks, the pulse keeps time with it,
Night and the mind are full of sounds. I walk
From the fire-place, with its imaginary fire,
To the window, with its imaginary view.
Darkness, and snow ticking the window: silence,
And the knocking of chains on a motor-car, the tolling
Of a bronze bell, dedicated to Christ.
And then the uprush of angelic wings, the beating
Of wings demonic, from the abyss of the mind:
The darkness filled with a feathery whistling, wings
Numberless as the flakes of angelic snow,
The deep void swarming with wings and sound of wings,
The winnowing of chaos, the aliveness
Of depth and depth and depth dedicated to death.
Here are the bickerings of the inconsequential,
The chatterings of the ridiculous, the iterations
Of the meaningless. Memory, like a juggler,
Tosses its colored balls into the light, and again
Receives them into darkness. Here is the absurd,
Grinning like an idiot, and the omnivorous quotidian,
Which will have its day. A handful of coins,
Tickets, items from the news, a soiled handkerchief,
A letter to be answered, notice of a telephone call,
The petal of a flower in a volume of Shakespere,
The program of a concert. The photograph, too,
Propped on the mantel, and beneath it a dry rosebud;
The laundry bill, matches, an ash-tray, Utamaro’s
Pearl-fishers. And the rug, on which are still the crumbs
Of yesterday’s feast. These are the void, the night,
And the angelic wings that make it sound.
What is the flower? It is not a sigh of color,
Suspiration of purple, sibilation of saffron,
Nor aureate exhalation from the tomb.
Yet it is these things because you think of these,
An emanation of emanations, fragile
As light, or glisten, or gleam, or coruscation.
Creature of brightness, and as brightness brief.
What is the frost? It is not the sparkle of death,
The flash of time’s wing, seeds of eternity;
Yet it is these because you think of these.
And you, because you think of these, are both
Frost and flower, the bright ambiguous syllable
Of which the meaning is both no and yes.
Here is the tragic, the distorting mirror
In which your gesture becomes grandiose;
Tears form and fall from your magnificent eye,
The brow is noble, and the mouth is God’s.
Here is the God who seeks his mother, Chaos, —
Confusion seeking solution, and life seeking death.
Here is the rose that woos the icicle; the icicle
That woos the rose. Here is the silence of silences
Which dreams of becoming a sound, and the sound
Which will perfect itself in silence. And all
These things are only the uprush from the void,
The wings angelic and demonic, the sound of the abyss
Dedicated to death. And this is you.
Winter for a moment takes the mind; the snow
Falls past the arclight; icicles guard a wall;
The wind moans through a crack in the window;
A keen sparkle of frost is on the sill.
Only for a moment; as spring too might engage it,
With a single crocus in the loam, or a pair of birds;
Or summer with hot grass; or autumn with a yellow leaf.
Winter is there, outside, is here in me:
Drapes the planets with snow, deepens the ice on the moon,
Darkens the darkness that was already darkness.
The mind too has its snows, its slippery paths,
Walls bayonetted with ice, leaves ice-encased.
Here is the in-drawn room, to which you return
When the wind blows from Arcturus: here is the fire
At which you warm your hands and glaze your eyes;
The piano, on which you touch the cold treble;
Five notes like breaking icicles; and then silence.
The alarm-clock ticks, the pulse keeps time with it,
Night and the mind are full of sounds. I walk
From the fire-place, with its imaginary fire,
To the window, with its imaginary view.
Darkness, and snow ticking the window: silence,
And the knocking of chains on a motor-car, the tolling
Of a bronze bell, dedicated to Christ.
And then the uprush of angelic wings, the beating
Of wings demonic, from the abyss of the mind:
The darkness filled with a feathery whistling, wings
Numberless as the flakes of angelic snow,
The deep void swarming with wings and sound of wings,
The winnowing of chaos, the aliveness
Of depth and depth and depth dedicated to death.
Here are the bickerings of the inconsequential,
The chatterings of the ridiculous, the iterations
Of the meaningless. Memory, like a juggler,
Tosses its colored balls into the light, and again
Receives them into darkness. Here is the absurd,
Grinning like an idiot, and the omnivorous quotidian,
Which will have its day. A handful of coins,
Tickets, items from the news, a soiled handkerchief,
A letter to be answered, notice of a telephone call,
The petal of a flower in a volume of Shakespere,
The program of a concert. The photograph, too,
Propped on the mantel, and beneath it a dry rosebud;
The laundry bill, matches, an ash-tray, Utamaro’s
Pearl-fishers. And the rug, on which are still the crumbs
Of yesterday’s feast. These are the void, the night,
And the angelic wings that make it sound.
What is the flower? It is not a sigh of color,
Suspiration of purple, sibilation of saffron,
Nor aureate exhalation from the tomb.
Yet it is these things because you think of these,
An emanation of emanations, fragile
As light, or glisten, or gleam, or coruscation.
Creature of brightness, and as brightness brief.
What is the frost? It is not the sparkle of death,
The flash of time’s wing, seeds of eternity;
Yet it is these because you think of these.
And you, because you think of these, are both
Frost and flower, the bright ambiguous syllable
Of which the meaning is both no and yes.
Here is the tragic, the distorting mirror
In which your gesture becomes grandiose;
Tears form and fall from your magnificent eye,
The brow is noble, and the mouth is God’s.
Here is the God who seeks his mother, Chaos, —
Confusion seeking solution, and life seeking death.
Here is the rose that woos the icicle; the icicle
That woos the rose. Here is the silence of silences
Which dreams of becoming a sound, and the sound
Which will perfect itself in silence. And all
These things are only the uprush from the void,
The wings angelic and demonic, the sound of the abyss
Dedicated to death. And this is you.
We were there first ...
... sort of. Maxine sends along this link to Color coded books. A couple of years ago, I had a bright young assistant named Jonathan Saruk, who came up with the idea of color-coding the books that come into my office - a particular color for whatever month the book was officially published. Great idea - especially for when books have to be taken off the shelves to make room for new ones.
Speaking of hat tips ...
... fellow Verlaine admirer Levi Asher makes mention of same in his post Bleak House.
I got it from Glenn Reynolds. It's a nod of appreciation to those who send one links.
I got it from Glenn Reynolds. It's a nod of appreciation to those who send one links.
Maybe he did some boxing ...
... Aristotle as he really looked: "A bust of Aristotle found beneath the Acropolis in Athens is the first to show the Greek philosopher with a hooked nose." (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
For a moment there ...
... I thought Maxine was an REM fan (or maybe just a Michael Stipe fan) - hey, I do work in Features!: A walk in the dark.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Yesterday ...
... as my partner in blogging, John Brumfield noted, was John Berryman's 92d birthday. I sort of owe Berryman. Back in my drinking days I used to ponder the poem "He Resigns" (from Delusions, etc.):
Age, and the deaths, and the ghosts.
Her having gone away
in spirit from me. Hosts
of regrets come & find me empty.
I don’t feel this will change.
I don’t want any thing
or person, familiar or strange.
I don’t think I will sing
any more just now;
ever. I must start
to sit with a blind brow
above an empty heart.
Age, and the deaths, and the ghosts.
Her having gone away
in spirit from me. Hosts
of regrets come & find me empty.
I don’t feel this will change.
I don’t want any thing
or person, familiar or strange.
I don’t think I will sing
any more just now;
ever. I must start
to sit with a blind brow
above an empty heart.
Patrick Kurp (in a post titled Gratitude and Despair) is right: "Chilling words from so garrulous a poet: 'I don’t think I will sing/any more just now;/ever.' "
I knew the poem before Berryman committed suicide and of course read it again the day he took his life. I don't know if you have to be deep in drink to appreciate it fully, but if you have been deep in drink you know its peculiar despair in perhaps a more knowing way. I visited the sight of Berryman's suicide when I visited Minneapolis many years ago. I felt I owed it to him. Because that poem, perhaps more than any other literary work - with the possible exception of Donald Newlove's Those Drinking Days - let me see where my own drinking was likely to lead me. That I didn't go there is what I owe Berryman - and dear Don Newlove.
Bryan Appleyard discovers ...
... another Bryan Appleyard - and hopes to mimic a rare Sioux dialect: Bryan, Where Are You?
Speaking of Patrick ...
... check out Nostalgia and Cantankerousness.
I quite agree with Virgil Thomson that "to describe what one has heard [or read or seen] is the whole art of reviewing." And it's not easy.
I quite agree with Virgil Thomson that "to describe what one has heard [or read or seen] is the whole art of reviewing." And it's not easy.
I'm coming late to this ...
... so I have catch up a bit. Minx has invited people to submit "poems and flash fiction (no more than 150 words)" about "Samhain sabbat, summers end, the beginning of a new year."
Here are submissions from Jason Evans, Sam Wright, Shameless, Cailleach, John T. Ahearn. Scynt, and Roberta Nolte.
Here are submissions from Jason Evans, Sam Wright, Shameless, Cailleach, John T. Ahearn. Scynt, and Roberta Nolte.
That'll teach him ...
... Book thief gets medal .
Actually, his motives for committing the crime - even if the preposterous speculations reported herein were true - are irrelevant. For whatever reason, he chose to steal. And he should have been punished for the act of stealing. At least that used to be the idea. Like the GOB, I am a mediaevalist at heart.
Actually, his motives for committing the crime - even if the preposterous speculations reported herein were true - are irrelevant. For whatever reason, he chose to steal. And he should have been punished for the act of stealing. At least that used to be the idea. Like the GOB, I am a mediaevalist at heart.
True or False?
From the October issue of Poetry comes this provocative little nugget from South Philly-born poet W.S. Di Piero: "Some shy from putting prose out there because it's a giveaway. You can't fake it. It reveals quality of mind, for better or worse, in a culture where poems can be faked."
Let this be a warning to us all ...
... never neglect your piano: Autumn Jealousy. (On Tuesdays, when I usually work at home writing, I punctuate the day by playing a bit of Purcell or Handel or Bach. I'm as far from being a virtuoso as is imaginable, but I can make my way more or less ignorantly and uncertainly through some simple scores.)
And speaking of blogs ...
... there is now a Britannica Blog. (I don't know if you have to be a subscriber or not.)
What makes us human ...
... are things we do for their own sake, for the love of doing them: In Praise of the Useless. (Hat tip Dave Lull.)
This, by the way, looks like an interesting blog.
This, by the way, looks like an interesting blog.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Those last two links ...
... came from a post by Terry Teachout that has many more goodies: Elsewhere.
I should have stuck with Francis ...
... there are nearly 3,00o people in the U.S. named Frank Wilson. But only 1,012 who go by the name Francis Wilson. How many of you are there? Find out at HowManyOfMe.com.
I had not seen ....
... this PW story Reviewing the State of Book Review Coverage.
I actually don't buy the business about book sections being expendable because they don't generate ads. And sports isn't the only thing that newspapers cover that don't advertise. Restaurants generally don't and certainly the government doesn't. One covers what one thinks readers are interested in, because if you attract readers, you attract advertising. Newspapers think book sections are expendable because they don't think people read that much. They think people watch TV, go to sport events and movies and concerts. And of course many people do. But the number of people at a lot of the rock concerts that are reviewed is often a fraction of the number who attend a classical concert. The obvious strategy would be to focus on the core constituency of people who like to read, period. There are plenty of such people.
Let's join David Montogomery ..
... in welcoming Jerome Weeks to the blogosphere: The list that wouldn't die -- and a new blog.
David also has a nice post about Roger Ebert, who's had a rough time lately: Welcome back, Roger!
David also has a nice post about Roger Ebert, who's had a rough time lately: Welcome back, Roger!
Bill Peschel wonders ...
... what his blog's supposed to be. Well, I think this post provides the answer, actually: A Quandary of Incredible Proportions.
Our man in Botswana ...
... The creator of Mma Ramotswe. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
Like Maxine, I have read the latest in the series, but I've loved the ones I have read.
Like Maxine, I have read the latest in the series, but I've loved the ones I have read.
Entering the lion's den ...
... that's what Bryan Appleyard is doing: An Archeresque Plug for My Wonderful Life . Tell us how we can hear this, Bryan.
Happy 92nd birthday, John Berryman....
....Of course, he's not here to enjoy the party but those of us who are can celebrate pre-posthumously by brushing up on this great poet's life. Thanks for the tip to the Writer's Almanac who also had this to say about him:
...born John Smith in Oklahoma (1914). He first became celebrated as a Shakespeare scholar. His lectures became famous. More than 200 people would show up for his talks. There were parties for him every week. Other professors would dismiss their students so they could go see Berryman speak.
He had published a few unnoticed collections of poetry when, one summer, he began an affair with a graduate student and fell helplessly in love with her. The first night they kissed, he wrote a sonnet about her, and he began writing sonnets obsessively, one after another, and he wrote more freely than he ever had before, expressing his thoughts and emotions in a kind of stream-of-consciousness style, full of jokes and slang and plays on words.
He didn't publish the sonnets until 20 years later, as Berryman's Sonnets (1967), but they were a breakthrough for him, and the first major poem he wrote after those sonnets was Homage to Mistress Bradstreet (1948), his first big success.
...born John Smith in Oklahoma (1914). He first became celebrated as a Shakespeare scholar. His lectures became famous. More than 200 people would show up for his talks. There were parties for him every week. Other professors would dismiss their students so they could go see Berryman speak.
He had published a few unnoticed collections of poetry when, one summer, he began an affair with a graduate student and fell helplessly in love with her. The first night they kissed, he wrote a sonnet about her, and he began writing sonnets obsessively, one after another, and he wrote more freely than he ever had before, expressing his thoughts and emotions in a kind of stream-of-consciousness style, full of jokes and slang and plays on words.
He didn't publish the sonnets until 20 years later, as Berryman's Sonnets (1967), but they were a breakthrough for him, and the first major poem he wrote after those sonnets was Homage to Mistress Bradstreet (1948), his first big success.
I've been maintaining this for years ...
... Assigned Books Often Are a Few Sizes Too Big. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I remember slogging my way through The Return of the Native when I was in high school. Didn't make a lot of sense to me then. When I read it in college, though, I thought it was fabulous. Boys in particular are likely to be turned off by books that lack action and excitement. They're more likely to want to read science fiction. Let them. And let them find it on their own.
Easy for him to say ...
... well, not really. Lars Walker takes on subjectivity: Living in the purple zone. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The problem with people going on about subjectivity is that they tend to forget that the terms is a relational one: Knowledge involves a relation between subject and object or else between subject and subject. The notion of "purely subjective" is purely fantastic.
The problem with people going on about subjectivity is that they tend to forget that the terms is a relational one: Knowledge involves a relation between subject and object or else between subject and subject. The notion of "purely subjective" is purely fantastic.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
But first ...
... here's an encouraging word: Computers Are a Fad. Poetry Has Been Around For Centuries.
I have just finished ...
... my review of Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion, Owen Gingerich's God's Universe, and Francis Collins's The Language of God. I am principally aware of all that I had to leave out and that I probably did not do justice to any of the books. But I haven't heard from my editor yet. That is it for today.
An excellent exegesis ...
... only consequences . I have often thought that Adam and Eve weren't expelled from the garden, but ran away from it - then claimed they had been expelled. And that many of us are still trying to flee from God.
My, my, my ...
... I thought this would get some discussion going, but wow: What do you think ... So far, Maxine has been the only person abroad to comment. I hope more decide to. Where are you, Minx?
Something worth remembering ...
... the Kindertransport: The Tiger in the Attic by Edith Milton . (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
Four little words ...
... seem to have conferred immortality on Hannah Arendt. Carlin Romano on A Healthy Dose of Heroine. (Also via Arts & Letters Daily.)
The unexamined life ...
... Socrates opined, is not worth living. But the over-examined one may be no life at all: We're all big babies. (Via Arts & Letters Daily.)
Once again, my inherent shallowness has served to protect me.
Once again, my inherent shallowness has served to protect me.
Monday, October 23, 2006
I have just finished reading ...
... Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion - it got better toward the end - and must spend tomorrow reviewing it, along with Owen Gingerich's God's Universe and Francis Collins's The Language of God. So that's it for tonight.
Politics and art ...
... Scott Stein has some interesting things to say about this and satire: Satire's Survival.
Satire does require an idiomatic grasp of a culture. And it can last: Dryden's MacFlecknoe is still funny, as is Swift's "Modest Proposal." Some satires - The Late George Apley, for instance - that seem cutting at first are transmogrified by time into something gentler. But what enables them all to survive is that the "relevant" issue is less central to them than the universal insight into human nature that they display.
The best science book ever ...
... Primo Levi's The Periodic Table: Levi's memoir beats Darwin to win science book title .
Today's poem ...
... also comes via Rus Bowden: Shann Palmer's I have a lamp from my mother’s house.
Why was this not a problem ...
... when I was a kid? Boy-friendly classrooms. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Maybe it was and I was too dense or self-centered to notice. I certainly knew guys who weren't enamored of school - but weren't dumb, either. I guess in education as in much else one size just does not fit all. There's a certain age differential, too, I think. What you may not feel like paying attention to when you're young may turn out to interest you a great deal when you're older.
Bill Kauffman fans ...
... may find this interesting: A Little History for the Hyperventilating (Via InstaPundit.)
Clement L. Vallandingham receives high praise from Kauffman in Look Homeward, America, though I don't believe these remarks of his are quoted: "I see more barbarism and sin, a thousand times, in the continuance of war ... and the enslavement of the White race by debt and taxes and arbitrary power" than in Negro slavery. "In considering terms of settlement we [should] look only to the welfare, peace, and safety of the white race, without reference to the effect that settlement may have on the African." A fellow every bit as noble as Millard Fillmore.
How come the Swedish Academy ...
... never notices The Playwright President? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
He's also better than Pinter - and in more ways than one.
He's also better than Pinter - and in more ways than one.
Hooray!
... praise for Somerset Maugham: A master carpenter. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I hadn't known Waugh was an admirer, too.
I hadn't known Waugh was an admirer, too.
I wasn't going to ...
... link to this, because of the predictable comments attached, but they can be ignored and I have a comment of my own: Bush: ‘I Have Not Read One Book About Me,’ Says There’s Nothing He Could Learn From Them.
I myself would not be inclined to read a book about myself. I doubt I would learn anything from such a book that I didn't know already. I mean, what kind of a person would read a book about himself into order to come to a better understanding of himself?
I myself would not be inclined to read a book about myself. I doubt I would learn anything from such a book that I didn't know already. I mean, what kind of a person would read a book about himself into order to come to a better understanding of himself?
Taking the prize ...
... Glittering inconsistencies. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke, who likes "the bit about Prudhomme winning the first Nobel prize for literature ahead of Tolstoy.")
It's about time ...
... they did Gilbert & Sullivan in Yiddish. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Dave also sends along Let children blow their own trumpets.
Dave also sends along Let children blow their own trumpets.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Another fine roundup ...
... at Petrona (I feel such a sluggard): Booklists, highlights and awards. Thanks, Maxine. I did read a good bit about Mr. Darwin - though in books by Owen Gingerich and Francis Collins. In fact, I think much better of him now than I did before (though I always had a warm spot in my heart for the guy).
Dostoyevsky on stage ...
... Debbie and I went to see the Arden Theatre Company's production of Crime and Punishment Saturday night. Compressing Dostoyevsky's great - and long - novel into a mere 80 minutes might seem improbable, but the adaptation by Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus turned out to be excellent, as did the production. Cory Nickell was pretty much what Raskolnikov ought to be - someone basically decent whose grandiose thoughts get the better of him; Christopher Donahue was excellent as (principally) Porfiry, the inspector; and Julianna Zinkel was just right as (principally) Sonia. Donahue and Zinkel had to pay other roles as well. Zinkel, who is quite lovely, pulled off being the old pawnbroker by covering her head in a shawl, and also managed to play the pawnbroker's sister Lizaveta. The lady can act.
I was worried before the play started when I read in director Aaron Posner's notes that "nearly every hard headline I read each morning reminds me of some part of this play." I thought to myself, "Oh no, we're going to be shown how 'relevant' Dostoyevsky is." Happily, Posner didn't let his headline reading get in the way of his direction. This is Dostoyevsky, not Relevance 101.
Why do people in the arts think something has to be relevant to, of all things, the day's headlines? Dostoyevksy isn't relevant. He's perennial. As the play itself notes, human nature hasn't changed, doesn't change, isn't about to change.
Advice to artists: Turn off the news. Cancel your subscription to the newspaper. Relish human character for its own sake in all its myriad variety.
Not surprisingly ...
... response to Bryan Appleyard's excellent article about bokks and technology has been robust: Pods, Blogs and Books 2.
Some shots of the hills ...
The weather was rainy upstate during our visit - except for Thursday, when it was a bit hazy, but mostly sunny. Here are some shots. More to come.
Fans of C.S. Lewis ...
... among whom I count myself, will enjoy - as I have - this Lewis Link at Brandywine Books.
I couldn't agree more ...
"Politics makes artists stupid," says Terry Teachout,in his review of My Name Is Rachel Corrie: Bulldozed by Naiveté.
Speaking of Maxine ...
... she's also put together a characteristically fine roundup: Old protagonists, old and new books.
For a different take ...
... on Stephen King's Lisey's Tale, see Maxine's Unpretentious reading, which links to David Montgomery's review. We link, you decide.
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
Roger Miller sings the praises of Look Homeward, Angel: No matter how it's cut, still a classic.
But Edward Pettit is dispappointed in the Charles Frazier's Thirteen Moons: 'Cold Mountain' author fails in his second novel.
While Glenn Altschuler has mixed feelings about Michael Berube's What's Liberal About the Liberal Arts?: Professors' politics have little to do with curriculum.
Edward Champion thinks Stephen King's latest is a dud: Grief and memory, but no King magic.
Sandy Bauers enjoyed listening to T.C. Boyle: Of course, T.C. Boyle's 'Talk Talk' is about a woman who's deaf.
Thanks to space constraints no reviews ran during the week.
But Edward Pettit is dispappointed in the Charles Frazier's Thirteen Moons: 'Cold Mountain' author fails in his second novel.
While Glenn Altschuler has mixed feelings about Michael Berube's What's Liberal About the Liberal Arts?: Professors' politics have little to do with curriculum.
Edward Champion thinks Stephen King's latest is a dud: Grief and memory, but no King magic.
Sandy Bauers enjoyed listening to T.C. Boyle: Of course, T.C. Boyle's 'Talk Talk' is about a woman who's deaf.
Thanks to space constraints no reviews ran during the week.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
The real reason Frank hasn't been here the last few days.
It's because he's taken a tip from Dave Lull and has been holed up in a secure, undisclosed location reading every last word of The Complete Works of Charles Darwin Online.
And if your literary profile...
..............isn't quite as high as Mr. Le Carre's, Lynne Scanlon is offering some tips on how to get your unrecognized masterpiece noticed.
We'd be remiss.........
...........if we didn't mention that today is the 75th birthday of -- anyone care to guess? -- that's right, John Le Carre .
Speaking of Halloween.....
...........as I was several hours ago, Dave points us to a website that is all things Poe.
Do you enjoy evolutionary conjecture?
If so, the following piece will provide you and your friends with hours of rainy-day fun as you try to tease out how your distant progeny will look in 1,000 years (which apparently will be our evolutionary high-water mark) after which we'll start a long slow chinless decline.
Don't be surprised to find this in the form of a computer game coming to an electronics outlet near you soon.
Don't be surprised to find this in the form of a computer game coming to an electronics outlet near you soon.
I'm a bit jammed-up ........
..... but I have to note this little divertissement Dave Lull (yes, THAT Dave Lull) onpasses to us from The Guardian.
Yikes! Apologies are called for evidently.
Yesterday I misattributed a pointer to a much-viewed website to Dave Lull, when the kudos should have gone to Rus Bowden. In the spirit of the times, I accept responsibility (but, of course, not the blame) and I attribute the miscue not to my own incompetence, but to the fact that Rus's email name is LowellDude and Dave's last name is well, Lowell-like.
When you factor in the Tom Brokaw sub-vocalizer that pronounces all the "L"s in my mind's ear I think can get away with my otherwise feeble excuse.
So, I hereby dedicate this entire day to proper attribution and I'll start with Maxine who refers us to this charmingly plaintive Halloween poem posted on The Inner Minx.
When you factor in the Tom Brokaw sub-vocalizer that pronounces all the "L"s in my mind's ear I think can get away with my otherwise feeble excuse.
So, I hereby dedicate this entire day to proper attribution and I'll start with Maxine who refers us to this charmingly plaintive Halloween poem posted on The Inner Minx.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
If we ever become a bibliocracy..........
I nominate Dave Lull for prime minister. He sends us this link to an erudite but lively website.
Yeah, yeah, we know Mick went to the London School of Economics
...........but could he come up with a list of favorite books on Englishness as Bill Bragg has done?
A Books, Inc. Thanks-For-the-Tip goes out to Vikram Johri.
A Books, Inc. Thanks-For-the-Tip goes out to Vikram Johri.
Today's ephemera.........
.........comes courtesy of The Writer's Almanac.
It's the birthday of writer Thomas Love Peacock, born in Weymoth, England (1785). His most successful novel was Nightmare Abbey (1818), but he became famous for an incident when he was an old man. In 1865, a fire broke out in his house one night. He retreated to his library and refused to leave, shouting, "By the immortal gods, I will not move!" The fire was extinguished and he was not hurt.
It's the birthday of writer Thomas Love Peacock, born in Weymoth, England (1785). His most successful novel was Nightmare Abbey (1818), but he became famous for an incident when he was an old man. In 1865, a fire broke out in his house one night. He retreated to his library and refused to leave, shouting, "By the immortal gods, I will not move!" The fire was extinguished and he was not hurt.
Adam Kirsch..........
..............does some nice trans-generational comparisons of poetic reputations in his review of James Fenton's new book of poetry. Fenton might not choose the word, "nice" though.
Wearing out the brim on my hat as I acknowledge Dave Lull once again.
Wearing out the brim on my hat as I acknowledge Dave Lull once again.
Whether it's Biblical exegesis you enjoy.........
............or just plain ol' scriptural hermeneutics, Dave Lull points out a rave review of a new book on the story of Jacob and his children. Ned Flanders has already bought his copy.
Hey, Bloggers. Thinking of turning pro?
Dave Lull sends us this story of an apparently wildly successful professional blogger.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Let us now sing Happy Birthday to a famous man.
Nice bio and more of today's pre-eminent literary birthday boy, Arthur Miller (1915-2005).
Did someone say it's too late?
Here's a heartening story on a 79-year-old who has just published his first book of poetry.
Refreshing news on American accents....
..........comes to us via the Smithsonian magazine. It's especially nice to know that we don't all sound like American news anchors, as I was repeatedly told we would when I was a lad.
I remember once being scared out of my wits after hearing Tom Brokaw say "Honolulu."
Hat tip to Rus Bowden.
I remember once being scared out of my wits after hearing Tom Brokaw say "Honolulu."
Hat tip to Rus Bowden.
New blog discovered in Germany.........
At least it's new to me, and I wouldn't have found it with being directed to it by Arts & Letters Daily. It's called signandsight.
Well, I couldn't leave without ...
... posting this: Amazing Mars picture show planet's 'dramatic climate changes'. Think solar activity might have anything to do with this - and perhaps with something similar elsewhere in the solar system?
We are off ...
... for a three-day trip to Tunkhannock. The foliage should be splendid. I leave the blog in the trustworthy hands of John Brumfield, now an official contributor.
Speaking of death ...
... Maxine sends along this link: The Death of Newspaper Book Sections. Richard Nash's comment, by the way, is right on the money. (Hat tip to Dave Lull for alerting me to the bad link.)
Question of the day ...
... What Edward Gorey Death Will You Die? (complete with quiz!)
My heavens, I'm going to sink in mire.
Byt the way, the Gwen of Gwendolyn At Sea linked to a few posts ago I believe can still quote large chunks of The Gashlycrumb Tinies.
My heavens, I'm going to sink in mire.
Byt the way, the Gwen of Gwendolyn At Sea linked to a few posts ago I believe can still quote large chunks of The Gashlycrumb Tinies.
Likewise, I perfectly understand ...
... Maxine when she says that "I keep on finding interesting items on the internet, yet keep on not finding the time to highlight them here. " In spite of that, she's managed to put togetherquite a roundup: Competitions, awards, reviews, favourites.
If you're going to be ...
... in Brooklyn Thursday, you might want to check out Brooklyn Reading Works.
I was shocked ...
... to learn that Gwen is now 100, since I have known her since she was about 9. I have also suggested she post more pictures: Gwendolyn At Sea. Debbie and I have visited Bustins Island. It is a lovely place.
Monday, October 16, 2006
I missed this yesterday ...
... Sonnet Sunday: "And So It Goes"
Here's Rob Mackenzie's characteristically fine contribution: Gardener.
Here's Rob Mackenzie's characteristically fine contribution: Gardener.
I have one ...
... but I don't think I'm ready to fight over it: Battle of the Beards. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
United Kingdom of blogs ...
... UK mass blogging day tomorrow. Debbie and I will be on our way to the mountains by then.
Nobel thoughts ...
... from Kelly Jane Torrance: Not even Nobel escapes politics. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I like this from Jessa Crispin: "I'm really bored with the older, white man who has erection problems. I'm really tired of that book." Me too.
To which I might add that, when asked about great American novelists, people tend to cite Faulkner, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, etc. Not to take anything away from them, but Willa Cather is easily their equal.
Turkish dissent ...
... from Melik Kaylan regarding Orhan Pamuk's 'Reality.' This is probably available only to subscribers, but two points are worth citing. This:
I have read Mr. Pamuk's novels in both English and Turkish and I couldn't tell you now, or even while reading, what happens in most of them. Mine is scarcely a unique reaction. Maureen Freely, one of his translators, cheerfully avowed in a recent interview that you need a good memory to follow the plot of "The Black Book." Or did she mean "My Name Is Red," in which a coin, a tree, a dog and a dead man (among others) internarrate an impenetrable mystery over hundreds of pages? She could equally have meant "The White Castle" -- Kafka, anyone? -- where the Sultan's chief engineer tries, with Sisyphean longueurs, to relocate a giant cannon up a hill for an entire book. I believe that's what happens. You're not really supposed to know. You are only the reader. The text refers to itself and to other texts; we are merely eavesdroppers.
And this:
... Orhan Pamuk writes in Turkish for foreign plaudits. He hasn't taught anyone anything they didn't already know, but he has made precisely the right noises that the "progressive" arbiters of taste in Europe like to hear. And it flatters their own semi-informed sense of activism to reward him for it.
The downside of prizes ...
... Do awards like the Man Booker trivialise literature? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The fact is, there is no necessary relation between such prizes and the literary merit of the works honored. The prize is arrived at by a consensus among experts - and readers of this blog know that I am skeptical of experts. Reliance on them is a reliance on authority - which has its uses, but is not without its perils. If you go to the Phillips Collection in Washington, the original collection, gathered by Duncan Phillips and on display in the main part of the museum (which was his home), is uniquely impressive, a true collector's collection. Among the more interesting items are some abstract landscapes by Augustus Tack. Once you get to the new wing and the works chosen by curators - in other words, works the current experts approve of - the drop off in quality is palpable. There is no character to what is on display there. That part of the collection does not cohere. It's committee work. Luckily for Augustus Tack, Duncan Phillips had a sharper eye and better taste than any committee. At left, is an untitled work by Tack.
Reality vs. fiction ...
... Oates story draws ire from TCNJ. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I hadn't known of the story or the controversy until a colleague - who lives in Lawrenceville - told me about it. To put it mildly, he was not amused. What do I think? Well, obviously, if it's in the news, it's in the public domain. And this particular incident is the sort one would find in a Joyce Carol Oates story. She is probably right that if it had appeared in some obscure journal it would have passed unnoticed. But presumably it was she who submitted it to the New Yorker and she certainly knew it was going to appear there. I think it is a perfect example of just how ruthless artists can be.
"Guerrilla" project ...
... the other day I posted this: Hey, kids ... I'm linking to it now because Pat Hughes has appended a comment that is very much worth reading. I also wanted to link to this at her Web site. This is the sort of thing I think we are going to see much more of in the future, another way in which the Internet is changing our world - in this instance, schools and teaching.
Eleven-day parenthesis ...
... Christie's most famous mystery solved at last . (Hat tip, Vikram Johri.)
Sunday, October 15, 2006
More on censorship ...
... as a dubious form of argument: The chilling effect on free speech and Cease All Movement. Nothing proves your own lack of faith in your position than an attempt to silence by force those opposed to your position.
It's about time ...
... that there's an Yvor Winters Web Site. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Update: There is more to this than met my eye at first: A Year with Yvor Winters and Yvor Winters.
Update: There is more to this than met my eye at first: A Year with Yvor Winters and Yvor Winters.
Bryan Appleyard has it ...
... just about right, I think: A novel use of technology. (God, he's a good writer.)
Update: Here's Bryan's post about this on his blog: Pods, Blogs and Books .
Update: Here's Bryan's post about this on his blog: Pods, Blogs and Books .
Given the recent murder ...
... of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, this is most timely: What time is it in Russia?
An unreclusive Pynchon ...
... his son, apparently: Pynchon's Son Big Man on Campus. (Hat tip, Drew Kerr.)
Today's must read ...
... is this post of Maxine's at Petrona: Mass creativity on the web.
Maxine's on a roll, actually. Check out Inscription No-Nos and Red Leaves in the Rainforest and MySpace is Ok on one score.
Maxine's on a roll, actually. Check out Inscription No-Nos and Red Leaves in the Rainforest and MySpace is Ok on one score.
Let's get back ...
... to the subject of literary innovation: Like modern poetry? Take a look back. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
Maxine is very disappointed in the new Elizabeth George novel: New Elizabeth George an odd prequel.
But I was very impressed by Edna O'Brien's latest: Mother's dying, daughter's not living.
Speaking of Edna O'Brien, John Freeman chats with her about her new book: New novel is 'imaginary' life, not autobiography, O'Brien says.
Inquirer music critic Dan De Luca thinks Griel Marcus may be a bit over the top:
Listening, broadly, deeply, for the real America.
Katie Haegele looks at a book on writing for young people: Young Adult Reader Young storytellers: Have fun and save every word you write.
Last week, John Freeman also chatted with Man Booker winner Kiran Desai: Globalization and its discontents.
But I was very impressed by Edna O'Brien's latest: Mother's dying, daughter's not living.
Speaking of Edna O'Brien, John Freeman chats with her about her new book: New novel is 'imaginary' life, not autobiography, O'Brien says.
Inquirer music critic Dan De Luca thinks Griel Marcus may be a bit over the top:
Listening, broadly, deeply, for the real America.
Katie Haegele looks at a book on writing for young people: Young Adult Reader Young storytellers: Have fun and save every word you write.
Last week, John Freeman also chatted with Man Booker winner Kiran Desai: Globalization and its discontents.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Pepys is in trouble ...
... Pepys’s abuse - it probably went on for years. I don't know what to say.
My colleague ...
... David Hiltbrand's column today is more than just (as usual) funny: Dave on Demand The hits don't keep coming.
There isn't anything exceptional about critics raving over shows that don't attract an audience. What is noteworthy, I think, is that newspapers continue to assume that their readers are as interested in TV as the people who run newspapers are. TV isn't the draw it was 20 or 30 years ago. People have others things to do. And the people who are in planted in front of the tube all day probably don't read the paper. The news business just hasn't caught on to any of this.
There isn't anything exceptional about critics raving over shows that don't attract an audience. What is noteworthy, I think, is that newspapers continue to assume that their readers are as interested in TV as the people who run newspapers are. TV isn't the draw it was 20 or 30 years ago. People have others things to do. And the people who are in planted in front of the tube all day probably don't read the paper. The news business just hasn't caught on to any of this.
Richard Holmes thinks very well ...
... of Claire Tomalin's biography of Thomas Hardy: At home in his socks.
Holmes knowa what he's talking about. He's one of the best biographers around, His biography of Coleridge is outstanding.
Holmes knowa what he's talking about. He's one of the best biographers around, His biography of Coleridge is outstanding.
Dave Lull sends along ...
... Bill Kauffman, An Introduction. I am not a fan myself, but that is neither here nor there. I would link to my review of Look Homeward, America if I could.
Update: I couldn't find it online, but the intrepid Dave Lull could. So here is the forementioned review: Alternative history's big helping of scorn. A word of caution: This is my account of how the book struck me. Obviously, it has struck others differently. Who's right? Who knows?
Update: I couldn't find it online, but the intrepid Dave Lull could. So here is the forementioned review: Alternative history's big helping of scorn. A word of caution: This is my account of how the book struck me. Obviously, it has struck others differently. Who's right? Who knows?
Friday, October 13, 2006
It's late of a Friday night ...
... and I still have reading to do. So that's it for blogging. It has been sporadic these last few days because I have had a lot to do in order to be able to take for the mountains next week. I also had some social obligations. We'll try to be a little more regular over the weekend.
The IBPC Competition's
... October winners have been posted. (hat tip, Rus Bowden.) Congratulations all.
Hey, kids ...
... and teachers ... and parents ... and others, take a look at The Guerrilla Season Book Blog .
(More full disclosure: Author Pat Hughes is a former colleague of mine. No need to hold that against her, though.)
(More full disclosure: Author Pat Hughes is a former colleague of mine. No need to hold that against her, though.)
Lots of good stuff as usual ...
... at Books, Words, and Wriiting: Great Site For Fans of Romance Novels, Using White Space In Literary Non-Fiction, Miniature Books, and Comic Books And Literacy.
Funny, I read a lot of comic books when I was a kid, but I can't get into them anymore at all. Don't know why - except that I'm not a kid anyomore, only that doesn't seem to explain it.
Funny, I read a lot of comic books when I was a kid, but I can't get into them anymore at all. Don't know why - except that I'm not a kid anyomore, only that doesn't seem to explain it.
How brilliant is this?
... I could count the ways, but why bother? I will just refer you to Bryan Appleyard's On Politics 1, On Politics 2, On Politics 3, and On Politics 4.
Let me note this, though: "(This is On Politics 1 because it is potentially very long and I don't like the look of long posts.)" The sound instinct of a born blogger.
And this: "The old politics survives in the form of purely tribal badges. That is what all the name-calling and abuse is about and it is why blogs have become so politically active. They naturally lend themselves to this kind of tribal warfare, though not necessarily. There are blogs of political ideas, though they seem to be more common in the US." (There are plenty of the other kind in the US, too. The old divisions between left and right have become meaningless. The new left and the old right have found common ground in their mutual dislike of Israel, the so-called neo-cons are revised and edited Wilsonians - Woodrow, not me. )
Let me note this, though: "(This is On Politics 1 because it is potentially very long and I don't like the look of long posts.)" The sound instinct of a born blogger.
And this: "The old politics survives in the form of purely tribal badges. That is what all the name-calling and abuse is about and it is why blogs have become so politically active. They naturally lend themselves to this kind of tribal warfare, though not necessarily. There are blogs of political ideas, though they seem to be more common in the US." (There are plenty of the other kind in the US, too. The old divisions between left and right have become meaningless. The new left and the old right have found common ground in their mutual dislike of Israel, the so-called neo-cons are revised and edited Wilsonians - Woodrow, not me. )
On this date ...
... in 1890, Conrad Richter was born in Pine Grove, Pa. Pine Grove is about a 20-minute drive from Pottsville, where John O'Hara was born. Both won the National Book Award (Richter also won the Pulitzer). About an hour south is Shillington, where John Updike - who has won both the Pulitzer and the NBA twice - was born and raised. And Shillington is right outside Reading, which is where Wallace Stevens hailed from. Can't be many places in this country that have that kind of literary record.
More on Arthur Rackham ...
... at ARType. (Hat tip, Art Durkee, who notes you should click on "Rackham" on the navigation bar to the left.)
Maxine's "10" ...
... Ten favourite detective authors (and much else besides). In the meantime, the GOB has taken note of this little contretemps in his Thursday digest (which has a wealth of good stuff), but doen't join in the fray. (I suppose full disclosure is on order: Both David Montgomery and Maxine Clarke review for The Inquirer.)
Thursday, October 12, 2006
This is a great idea ...
... tracking down books with wonderful illustrations: Arthur Rackham. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke, who also notes that this is neat blog.)
These guys better watch out ...
... Study Links Extinction Cycles to Changes in Earth’s Orbit and Tilt .
Reminds one a bit of Emmanuel Velikovsky.
Reminds one a bit of Emmanuel Velikovsky.
What a liberal idea this is ...
... Nuremberg-style Trials Proposed for Global Warming Skeptics.
Persecution is among the weaker forms of argument.
Persecution is among the weaker forms of argument.
We're back ...
... Blogger was acting - actually, not acting at all. By now, you surely know that Orhan Pauk has won the 2006 Nobel Prize for literature: Orhan Pamuk's rise to stardom proceeded on different tracks abroad and at home.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Maxine has some holiday suggestions ...
... Book blog on blog books.
I like this: " ... it would be a fantastic Christmas/seasonal present for any husbands, wives, lovers, friends, etc who wonder why they never see you any more since you started your blog."
Yes, I should get one for Debbie.
I like this: " ... it would be a fantastic Christmas/seasonal present for any husbands, wives, lovers, friends, etc who wonder why they never see you any more since you started your blog."
Yes, I should get one for Debbie.
Since I am an editor ...
... I am naturally inclined to speak well of editors. Still, I wonder if this doesn't complicate things more than is necessary: The Editorial Function. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Since I also write a column, I also get edited. I was edited today by my current editor, Charlie Peitz, The Inquirer's fine arts editor. He definitely improved my review of Edna O'Brien's The Light of Evening. Just little nips and tucks here and there, but crucial.
Since I also write a column, I also get edited. I was edited today by my current editor, Charlie Peitz, The Inquirer's fine arts editor. He definitely improved my review of Edna O'Brien's The Light of Evening. Just little nips and tucks here and there, but crucial.
Blogging pretty much ceased ...
... this afternoon because the response time on my computer at work became prohibitively slow. I just got home and hope to do some blogging before settling down to read - I have a lot of reading to do for a forthcoming article.
The future has arrived ...
... in Philadelphia and it doesn't look good for books: At Philly 'Future' School, Books Are So 20th Century. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Laughs of a master ...
... Patrick Kurp gathers some gems of Peter De Vries: "Hilarious Frustration."
And the winner ...
...at the Quill Book Awards is Tyler Perry: ‘Don’t Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings’ Takes Book of the Year. (Hat tip, Bonnie Calhoun.)
The rest of The Quill Book Awards. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The rest of The Quill Book Awards. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
We'll always have ...
... the Paris Review, apparently: After Plimpton, Onward & Upward. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Speaking of prizes ...
... John Freeman wonders: Do Book Prizes Keep Books in Print? (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke. Where would I be on a day like this if friends like Maxine and Dave and Bud din't alert me to what's out there? Thanks all.)
I can't say I know much ...
... about alternative prose - or feminist sf, for that matter -- but this seems interesting: interview : l. timmel duchamp : part one. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Blogging has been light ....
... because I have been toiling over a review of Edna O'Brien's The Light of Evening. It is a very good book. Probably should have won the Booker.
And the winner is ...
... Kiran Desai: Youngest ever woman wins Man Booker Prize at age of 35 . (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Thoughts on best novels ...
... I cannot tell you when I have been more pleased... (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke.)
An adventure in language ...
... Attempting to Live Inside Federico García Lorca’s Poema del Cante Jondo for a While . (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Bryan Appleyard has second thoughts ...
... about irony: Universal Disdain and Poured Scorn. I must say I love this: Paris Hilton is "the empty carrier for the entire culture of pallid, inattentive distraction."
What interests me about celebrity culture is that it doesn't really involve people, except peripherally. It is images - on a screen or magazine cover - that provide what little substance it has. A jaw-droppingly shallow form of idolotry.
What interests me about celebrity culture is that it doesn't really involve people, except peripherally. It is images - on a screen or magazine cover - that provide what little substance it has. A jaw-droppingly shallow form of idolotry.
As Gauguin put it ...
... Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
In the spirit of those queries, take some time to Share your favourite poems on identity. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
In the spirit of those queries, take some time to Share your favourite poems on identity. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
We progress, we progress ...
... as Genevieve (who no one besides me probably remembers) used to say: Victory for the Riyadh girls. (Hat tip, Vikram Johri.)
Monday, October 09, 2006
Not too hot, not too cold ...
... just right: Goldilocks and the riddle of the perfect universe. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
One of the things that strikes me about this is the extraordinarily unsophisticated notion of God - "... a miracle-working cosmic magician meddling with events” - and religion that seems to obtain among many scientists. Now it's true that many people of faith also subscribe to rather unsophisticated notions of God. But not all of us do, and it would behoove scientists to look into some of the more nuanced views of deity before dismissing all of them out of hand. As I have pointed out a number of times, I'm sure I don't believe in the same God Richard Dawkins doesn't believe in.
There's so much good stuff ...
... over at the GOB, it's best to just go there and keep scrolling - and the Kathy O'Beirne update is a must-read.
Another Anthony Burgess fan ...
...Edward Champion writes of Burgess Hunting. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I notice that Ed calls Earthly Powers "Burgess's masterpiece." I quite agree.
I notice that Ed calls Earthly Powers "Burgess's masterpiece." I quite agree.
Fool's gold
... The tarnished truth beneath Hollywood's golden age glitter . (Hat tip, Vikram Johri.)
The morals may have been the same as today, but the movies were better.
The morals may have been the same as today, but the movies were better.
The art of lives ...
... Terry Teachout on biography: Beyond the pigeonhole. See also, though, this Almanac entry.
The biographies that annoy me are those in which the author has decided to simply catalog the research. A good biography demands that the author make hard choices in order to arrive at a clear and distinct portrait of the subject. This involves a selection and arrangement of salient details - and, as Terry says, it means to show and not merely tell.
The biographies that annoy me are those in which the author has decided to simply catalog the research. A good biography demands that the author make hard choices in order to arrive at a clear and distinct portrait of the subject. This involves a selection and arrangement of salient details - and, as Terry says, it means to show and not merely tell.