... 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.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
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.
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