Sunday, June 17, 2012
Thought for the day …
As an inspiration to the author, I do not think the cat can be over-estimated. He suggests so much grace, power, beauty, motion, mysticism. I do not wonder that many writers love cats; I am only surprised that all do not.
— Carl Van Vechten, born on this date in 1880
Watching "Howl"
I am watching Howl, the James Franco starrer that covers the obscenity trial against Allen Ginsberg for his poem, Howl. I will have more to say later but want to post here a bit of the dialogue that Ginsberg has with an unnamed journalist about the trial:
Poetry, generally, is a rhythmic articulation of feeling. And the feeling is an impulse that begins inside. Like a sexual impulse, you know. Almost as definite as that. It's a feeling that begins in the pit of the stomach, right? And rises up through the breast, and out the mouth and ears, right? And...it comes forth as a croon or a groan or a sigh, right?
So if you try to put words to that by looking around you and trying to describe what's making you sigh, just sigh, in words, you simply articulate what you're feeling.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Worth noting …
… Mises on Government: Size Doesn’t Matter. (My thanks to Vikram for alerting me to this.)
People who do not agree with [my conception] of the functions of government may say: “This man hates the government.” Nothing could be farther from the truth. If I should say that gasoline is a very useful liquid, useful for many purposes, but that I would nevertheless not drink gasoline because I think that would not be the right use for it, I am not an enemy of gasoline, and I do not hate gasoline. I only say that gasoline is very useful for certain purposes, but not fit for other purposes. If I say it is the government’s duty to arrest murderers and other criminals, but not its duty to run the railroads or to spend money for useless things, then I do not hate the government by declaring that it is fit to do certain things but not fit to do other things.
A different perspective …
… The New Catholic Fiction — Commentary Magazine. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I have some idea of what David means. I am reading for review Joshua Henkin's The World Without You, which I guess it is fair to describe as a Jewish novel. So far, though, this Catholic is liking it a lot.
In case you wondered …
… Is there any reason to read? - Salon.com. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
According to Socrates, in a legend which he either retold or imagined, the art of writing was the creation of the Egyptian god Theuth, who also invented mathematics, astronomy, checkers and dice. In offering his invention to the Pharaoh, Theuth explained that his discovery provided a recipe for memory and wisdom. But the Pharaoh wasn’t convinced: “What you have discovered,” he said, “is not a recipe for memory but for reminder. And it is not true wisdom that you offer your disciples, but only its semblance, for by telling them of many things without teaching them, you will make them seem to know much, while for the most part they know nothing, and are filled not with wisdom but with the conceit of wisdom.”
Thought for the day …
I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good.
— Adam Smith, baptized on this date 1723
Friday, June 15, 2012
You decide …
… 'Sunny Jim' or 'Herr Satan': Gordon Bowker on Jame... - The Barnes and Noble Review. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Who knew …
… Chesterton and Lewis on the Tyranny of Bloomberg.
Or, as Lord Acton put it, "Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end."
Or, as Lord Acton put it, "Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end."
Oh, really …
… n 1: Cancel Them. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Gee, I went to Amanda Bennett's last night and to Katie's a few weeks ago and I don't think I was the only one present who enjoyed myself. I know that Debbie liked last night's. Like anything else, there are good ones and bad ones.
Freedom from monotony...
...CAT among the crammers
...when I consider sitting in a room full of young enthusiastic people bouncing ideas off one another, and compare that with strapping on a headset and repeating ad nauseam the monotone introducing my erstwhile employer, it’s a no-contest.
In case you wondered …
… OUPblog — Blog Archive — 5 questions about Quantum Theory. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Have a listen …
… FLP - Author Events: Podcasts.
Last night, I introduced my friend and former boss, Amanda Bennett, prior to her reading from her new book, The Cost of Hope (which is excellent, by the way.) By the time this posts, her reading should be on the site.
Careful consideration …
… Bodleian Library considers lending books after 410 years - Telegraph. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Thought for the day …
In this world
we walk on the roof of hell
gazing at flowers
we walk on the roof of hell
gazing at flowers
— Kobayashi Issa, born on this date in 1763
The Cult of Hemingway
Now's here's a great review of the first volume of Hemingway letters.
Andrew O'Hagan spares no expense: he's funny, insightful, and vicious. If Hemingway loved nouns, it was because they allowed him to show off his knowledge, his ability to be specific. But this was desperate, he writes. It was all about ego, and the effect was like taking a drug in a cheap arcade: the lighting eventually reveals your standing as an impostor.
On the myth of Hemingway and his relations with, among others, Fitzgerald and Faulkner, O'Hagan maintains his scorched earth approach: Papa "may have prided himself on never being dazzled by diamonds as big as the Ritz," he argues, "but in the dark he knew he was maimed by his own need to shine."
This is a fantastic, readable essay, one that blasts away the edifice (largely self-constructed, of course) surrounding the man himself. You can be an admirer of Hemingway and his novels (and I certainly am), while still enjoying this piece. It's popular criticism at its finest.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Covers story …
… The 50 Coolest Book Covers Ever - Entertainment - ShortList Magazine. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Anniversary …
… Nabokov's Dystopic 'Bend Sinister' Turns 65 – The Arty Semite – Forward.com. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
FYI …
… Jennifer Benka Named Academy of American Poets Executive Director- Poets.org. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Thought for the day …
Because you cannot see him, God is everywhere.
— Yasunari Kawabata, born on this date in 1899
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
I disagree …
… Poetry should be subversive | Simon Armitage | Comment is free | The Guardian. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I don't think poetry ought to be anything, except poetry.
I don't think poetry ought to be anything, except poetry.
RIP...
...Elinor Ostrom dies at 78; first woman to win Nobel in economics
"Her attitude was that public policy is not just something done to the people by government officials but that public policy is done by the people too," said Michael McGinnis, director of the university's Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis.
Thought for the day …
Wise is he who enjoys the show offered by the world.
— Fernando Pessoa, born on this date in 1888
Joan Didion
Play It As It Lays?
Wow, I wasn't ready for that.
Published in 1970, Didion's novel read - for me, at least - with a cadence reminiscent of the Beats. The novel's structure, too, reminded me of Kerouac and the boys.
But then, in its despondency and flirtation with a modern form of nihilism, Play It As It Lays also evoked something of The Bell Jar. The focus on femininity, sorrow, and a sloping path toward enlightenment - all of this reminded me of Plath's masterpiece, first published in 1963.
And finally, there was nothing of John Barth's The End of the Road, which first appeared in 1967. Barth came to mind during my reading because of his fascination (shared, it appears, with Didion) with the waning afterglow of the 1960s. Both novels are testaments to a collapsed dream.
Despite its sadness, Didion's novel is difficult to put down: this is in part because of its format, but also because, as Maria chases nothingness, she uncovers a version of the truth.
It is a brutal, violent, confusing truth. And yet, it is a version of the truth that speaks to self-discovery (even if the discovery is itself laced with despair).
"'Listen,' she said as if by rote. 'I love you.'"
I tip my cap to Joan Didion. But let's not lie: this is a harrowing novel, one which charts an unrelenting path toward both comfort and crisis.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Or the lack of it …
… Isaac Chotiner: The Curse Of Knowledge: A Review Of Jonah Lehrer's "Imagine: How Creativity Works" | The New Republic.
I'm happy to see somebody else notice this.
IMAGINE is really a pop-science book, which these days usually means that it is an exercise in laboratory-approved self-help. Like Malcolm Gladwell and David Brooks, Lehrer writes self-help for people who would be embarrassed to be seen reading it. For this reason, their chestnuts must be roasted in “studies” and given a scientific gloss. The surrender to brain science is particularly zeitgeisty. Their sponging off science is what gives these writers the authority that their readers impute to them, and makes their simplicities seem very weighty. Of course, Gladwell and Brooks and Lehrer rarely challenge the findings that they report, not least because they lack the expertise to make such a challenge.
I'm happy to see somebody else notice this.
Good idea …
… Better know a reader: Umbel wants publishers to have better data on their audience — Nieman Journalism Lab. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The company describes its product as a combination of old-school market research and new-school web analytics. Imagine a scenario where a publisher is able to cross-reference a reader’s profile on their news site with information gathered through social media profiles and other online behaviors. The product, still in private beta, triangulates all the signals we leave around the Internet to try to create a unified picture. You can see how this would be useful to a news outlet that wants to better tailor its content for readers or simply needs better ammunition to raise their CPMs. (And you can see how it might raise the hackles of privacy advocates.)
Thought for the day …
Normal life cannot sustain revolutionary attitudes for long.
— Milovan Djilas, born on this date in 1911
Working the PR machinery...
...Syria’s Assads Turned to West for Glossy P.R.
This web of politics and public relations ensnared Barbara Walters recently. After she conducted an aggressive interview with Mr. Assad on ABC News in December, she offered to provide recommendations for Sheherazad Jaafari, the president’s press aide and the daughter of the Syrian ambassador to the United Nations, who was applying for a job at CNN and admission to Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Ms. Walters issued a statement on Tuesday expressing regret for her actions, which she called “a conflict.”This just goes to show how even national media are hand-in-glove with the PR machinery to present a distorted image of the truth. No reporting was done, there was no journalism. If newspapers end up as handmaidens of PR agencies, there should be no reason to cry over their demise.
(PS Frank wrote my recommendations for Columbia's Journalism program. I made it. There was no conflict of interest there, only my absolute certainty that Frank's word will significantly bolster my application.)
Courage under fire...
...The Sum of His Many Parts
“I have never been a very religious man,” says Jacob. “I believe in God, I can say a few Jewish prayers, but that’s it. When we were young, our parents hired tutors to teach us Hebrew. Unlike my brothers, I was not bothered to learn. I regret that now.”
Monday, June 11, 2012
Depends on who you are …
… Are We Living in Sensory Overload or Sensory Poverty? - NYTimes.com. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Who knew?
… The rebirth of tragedy. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Maybe. Or maybe it tells us they spend too much time watching television and not enough doing their jobs. I mean let's get serious. I'm supposed to be impressed by a TV series because a couple of politicians are. Next I'll have to be impressed by a politician because some celebrity is.
That the president and attorney general are so familiar with the series underlines its enormous resonance.
Maybe. Or maybe it tells us they spend too much time watching television and not enough doing their jobs. I mean let's get serious. I'm supposed to be impressed by a TV series because a couple of politicians are. Next I'll have to be impressed by a politician because some celebrity is.
Good point …
… Guest Post: Turning the Atheistic Flavor of Evolutionary Biology on Its Head. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
So, someone who believes evolutionary biology is the cat’s meow, and who finds a widespread human practice, so widespread that we have never encountered a single culture where it is absent, and one into which a huge amount of energy is poured, would have to say it is most likely adaptive, right?Wrong! Not if the practice is religion: Then this universal, high-energy consuming activity turns out to be a social pathology! (This link is only intended to be representative of the genre: you can find plenty more examples with a little search.) Religion is ubiquitous in human life not because it has helped us to survive, but because it kills us! It is very telling that, when it comes to their bête noire, the rules of evolutionary thinking are suddenly reversed.
Dead again …
… Publishing Has Perished: Long Live the Personal Cloud | Cloudline | Wired.com. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
One Lionel on another …
… Lionel Shriver reviews Martin Amis's Lionel Asbo: Pit bull nation - FT.com.
Amis’s premise has possibilities – but execution is all, innit? This novel’s first third or so is a pleasure. Yet once Lionel the “Lotto Lout” starts frittering his millions, becoming first the butt, then the darling, of the tabloids, the book flatlines.
Indeed …
… CultureLab: The book is dead, long live the book. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Reid-Cunningham thinks the rumours of the printed word's death have been greatly exaggerated. Printed books will live on as art objects and collector's items, he argues, like vinyl records and daguerreotypes. People may start buying all their beach novels and periodicals in ebook formats, and curating their physical bookshelves more carefully. It is not about technology, he says, it is about people.I've thought this for quite some time.
Thought for the day …
I should be proud to have my memory graced, but only if the monument be placed... here, where I endured three hundred hours in line before the implacable iron bars.
— Anna Akhmatova, born on this date in 1889
Sunday, June 10, 2012
In case you wondered …
… Overcoming Bias : What Function Music? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
It certainly feels helpful that music can adjust our mood and emotions. The question is why we’d be built with something so expensive as our mood adjustment knobs. If we needed conscious control of mood, why not just evolve a direct control? I’m also struck by how important lyrics are to music – none of the above functions explain why we prefer songs with meaningful words.
Freedom of choice...
...Of readers and their rights
To some of us reading is a special kind of oxygen. We need it. Others don’t. As parents and educators, our job is simply to enable kids to read. Whether they read later or not is their choice. As Pennac reminds us, while it’s fine for a child to grow up and reject reading, ‘it’s totally unacceptable for someone to feel that they have been rejected by reading’. Wise words indeed!
Thought for the day …
You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.
— Saul Bellow, born on this date in 1915
Saturday, June 09, 2012
Literary speed …
… The Narrative Physics of Novels - NYTimes.com. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
It can be dismaying, all the same, for a novelist to compare the slowness of the writing with the speed of the reading. Novels are read in a matter of days, even hours. A writer may labor for weeks over a particular passage that will have its effect on a reader for an instant — and that effect may be subliminal or barely noticed. The vibrations of thought and feeling that a single sentence in its context can release in a reader may be too rapid for measurement. “It leapt off the page” is what we say of a happy reading experience.
Back to the original …
… The Decline and Fall of Literary Journalism — Commentary Magazine. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
The term literary journalism dates from the mid-19th century. The earliest use of it in this country that I’ve been able to track down was in an unsigned editorial in the Yale Literary Magazine in June 1842.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)