Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Crime Fiction Reader ...
... thinks much of a debut novel: A Gentle Axe - R. N. Morris and chats with the author.
More on Wilfrid Sheed ...
... Critical Condition. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
“He doggedly went on reviewing, getting better, he thought, in a field where improvement is seldom noticed.” If ever.
“He doggedly went on reviewing, getting better, he thought, in a field where improvement is seldom noticed.” If ever.
Post mortem ...
... What Remains of What was Left .
"Theology still exposes the structures of human thought, it should be taught to children from the age of five at the latest." Indeed.
"Theology still exposes the structures of human thought, it should be taught to children from the age of five at the latest." Indeed.
Saying one thing ...
... meaning another, and not being understood: An unsuccessful ironist. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I confess that I find deconvolve a graceless word.
I confess that I find deconvolve a graceless word.
In this morning's Inquirer ...
... Paula Marantz Cohen reviews Ben Hills's Princess Masako: No fairy-tale endings for Japan's princess.
Also, economics columnist Andy Cassel looks at David Beito's From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State: The Economy Odd fellows and healthy bonds in a benevolent era.
Finally, although it has nothing to do with books, this piece by Karen Heller is well worth your time: A polka couple whose prize ribbons are always blue.
Also, economics columnist Andy Cassel looks at David Beito's From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State: The Economy Odd fellows and healthy bonds in a benevolent era.
Finally, although it has nothing to do with books, this piece by Karen Heller is well worth your time: A polka couple whose prize ribbons are always blue.
More on the inconstancy ...
... of poetic fame: Torquato Tasso, a Poet Both Obscure and Ubiquitous. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
I've been spending time ...
... reading Bud Parr over at Chekhov's Mistress. It's all interesting, so just keep scrolling.
Maxine discovers ...
... that OUP goes to the crime movies. Like Maxine, I am allergic to Martin Scorsese movies.
The headline may be flip ...
... but the discussion is altogether serious: No sex please, we're drunk: rape ancient and modern.
Oops, I forgot ...
... in today's Inquirer Martha Woodall reviews Alice Hoffman's Skylight Confessions: Hoffman's latest is more enchantment.
When writing poetry ...
... can prove costly: Writing of Jordan, dreaming of Palestine. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden)
Here is a selection of Nasrallah's poems: Salvos of Mercy.
Here is a selection of Nasrallah's poems: Salvos of Mercy.
Perhaps it's time ...
... to recognize and reward true courage. (Also via InstaPundit.)
Maybe it's also time for some others to admit they were wrong.
Courage is a major theme in literature - because it is so valuable in real life.
Maybe it's also time for some others to admit they were wrong.
Courage is a major theme in literature - because it is so valuable in real life.
You heard it hear first ...
... specifically, here: I notice. Now others have noticed that Chris Hedges advocates suppression of speech. (Via InstaPundit.)
Monday, January 29, 2007
Happy birthday, Tony ...
... Anton Checkhov was born on this date in 1860: `Being Without You is Like Being Without Hands'. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Speaking of Jane Eyre ...
... I was curious to know something about the actress who played Jane. I thought she was very good. I didn't know we shared a surname: Jane Eyre's BBC will be Ruth Wilson.
Attention J. Eyre fans ...
... A Jane Eyre competition... sans Rhinoceros. (Hat tip, Maxine Clarke, who alerted us to the excellent production that concluded last night.)
Daniel Stern (1928-2007)
... short story writer Daniel Stern diied last Wednesday: Rest in Peace, Mr. Stern.
Terry Teachout alerts us ...
... that he is Not blogging but working. This headline alludes to the same source as this one of Maxine's.
Terry provides the source in this Almanac entry.
Terry provides the source in this Almanac entry.
I'm not sure ...
... what to make of this: Unfinished business. (Hat tip, Vikram Johri.)
Rachel Seiffert says, "It took me a while to work out why I was sad all the time, and then it occurred to me that if you begin each day getting up and talking about the Holocaust over breakfast with someone you've never met before, it's no surprise you feel low."
I suppose my problem is that thinking about the Holocaust and talking about it - while certainly sad - are so infinitely less sad than having experienced it.
Rachel Seiffert says, "It took me a while to work out why I was sad all the time, and then it occurred to me that if you begin each day getting up and talking about the Holocaust over breakfast with someone you've never met before, it's no surprise you feel low."
I suppose my problem is that thinking about the Holocaust and talking about it - while certainly sad - are so infinitely less sad than having experienced it.
More on Stoppard ...
... and Berlin: Stoppard has Oprah-effect for book about Russian Thinkers. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I wonder if Berlin discusses Lev Shestov.
I wonder if Berlin discusses Lev Shestov.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
I suspect it is true ...
... that the best war reporting these days comes via alternative media: Reporting From Mosul.
The ecclesiatical boobs ...
... responsible for approving the ghastly missal used at my church would do well to acquaint themselves with poetry. Then they might grasp how painful it was to listen this morning to a bowdlerized version of I Corinthians, 13: 1-13. In their version it is not "I am nothing," but "it is nothing." I have forgotten - Deo gratias! - what they did to the sounding brass and tinkling cymbal. Here, for your delectation, is the Douay-Rheims version, done by people with an ear for language:
1 If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2 And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3 And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 4 Charity is patient, is kind: charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely; is not puffed up; 5 Is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8 Charity never falleth away: whether prophecies shall be made void, or tongues shall cease, or knowledge shall be destroyed. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But, when I became a man, I put away the things of a child. 12 We see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to face. Now I know I part; but then I shall know even as I am known. 13 And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity.
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8 Charity never falleth away: whether prophecies shall be made void, or tongues shall cease, or knowledge shall be destroyed. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But, when I became a man, I put away the things of a child. 12 We see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to face. Now I know I part; but then I shall know even as I am known. 13 And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity.
A clutch of poems ...
... John Yau's In the Kingdom of Poetry.
... Michaela Gabriel's Virginia.
... and Ko Un's Market Grannies.
(Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
... Michaela Gabriel's Virginia.
... and Ko Un's Market Grannies.
(Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Scores of ways ...
... of drinking alone (something I know something about): Li Bai drinking alone (with the moon, his shadow, & 30 translators) .
Here's a pertinent link: 300 Tang Poems. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
Here's a pertinent link: 300 Tang Poems. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
The labor behind awards ...
... It sounded easy until I read the fine print. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I sympathize. A couple of years ago I was a Pulitzer juror (one of three, general nonfiction). We looked at well over 300 books.
Also nice to see someone take a swipe at Eliot Weinberger, whose dogmatism in matters of war and foreign policy has become tiresome.
I sympathize. A couple of years ago I was a Pulitzer juror (one of three, general nonfiction). We looked at well over 300 books.
Also nice to see someone take a swipe at Eliot Weinberger, whose dogmatism in matters of war and foreign policy has become tiresome.
Old folks' tomes ...
... Long past the time critics predicted their demise, the country's literary giants are still revered for their prose. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Hard to believe there is only one John Freeman.
Hard to believe there is only one John Freeman.
Check this out ...
... Intoxicated - The Novel. The Inquirer had much good to say about John Barlow's novel.
I watch very little TV ...
... but I do like the Geico cave man ads (may favorite is the "trouble evolving" one). I hadn't seen the therapist ad, and tend to agree with Ron Rosenbaum: The Geico Caveman Finally Jumps the Shark...
Among today's Inquirer reviews ...
... the big one is Mark Yost's review of Max Boot's War Made New: Trends in warfare, and why they matter.
In other reviews:
... John Timpane finds Karl Kirchwey's latest collection of poems thrilling: Finding a world of happiness in the heart of home.
... I find Martin Amis's House of Meetings problematic: Amis' imagining of gulag suffering.
... and John Freeman finds Jonathan Raban's Surveillance disturbing: Unsettling look at price that fear exacts from society on high alert.
Also, Jen Miller ponders the plight of those discussed in Fame Junkies: Fame as a drug, by an author who says we're all addicts.
During the past week:
John Freeman joined Paul Auster in his Travels in the Scriptorium: The reader seeks answers for a man who has none.
I took a look at a one-time best-seller about my native city: 1957 portrait of a society Philadelphian.
And Sarah Weinman got a kick out of David Hiltbrand's latest: Caustic P.I. is back in another Hollywood whodunit.
Those of you who see these reviews only online are probably unaware that The Inquirer spreads its book reviews out. The main book page on Sunday is in Currents, which also frequently runs a review off the section front (as with Mark Yost's review today).
There are also reviews in the Arts & Entertainment section (today devoted to a spring review that has yet to appear online - though Jen Miller's review got through).
And during the week - usually on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday - we also run reviews. All are gathered here on Sunday.
In other reviews:
... John Timpane finds Karl Kirchwey's latest collection of poems thrilling: Finding a world of happiness in the heart of home.
... I find Martin Amis's House of Meetings problematic: Amis' imagining of gulag suffering.
... and John Freeman finds Jonathan Raban's Surveillance disturbing: Unsettling look at price that fear exacts from society on high alert.
Also, Jen Miller ponders the plight of those discussed in Fame Junkies: Fame as a drug, by an author who says we're all addicts.
During the past week:
John Freeman joined Paul Auster in his Travels in the Scriptorium: The reader seeks answers for a man who has none.
I took a look at a one-time best-seller about my native city: 1957 portrait of a society Philadelphian.
And Sarah Weinman got a kick out of David Hiltbrand's latest: Caustic P.I. is back in another Hollywood whodunit.
Those of you who see these reviews only online are probably unaware that The Inquirer spreads its book reviews out. The main book page on Sunday is in Currents, which also frequently runs a review off the section front (as with Mark Yost's review today).
There are also reviews in the Arts & Entertainment section (today devoted to a spring review that has yet to appear online - though Jen Miller's review got through).
And during the week - usually on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday - we also run reviews. All are gathered here on Sunday.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Hollywood, home of the brave ...
... but, as Andrew Klavan suggests, too timid for the war on terror. Glenn Reynolds has more here.
The end of scientific progress ...
... as we know it: The Knock Out Mouse that Stayed the Same.
I hope that those who worship science and scientists as somehow necessarily superior to other forms of knowing and knowers read and ponder this.
I hope that those who worship science and scientists as somehow necessarily superior to other forms of knowing and knowers read and ponder this.
Critiquing the critic ...
... this is another very good review: Brian Henry of William Logan. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I don't much like Adrienne Rich or Paul Muldoon myself, and cultural studies, identity politics, the confessional impulse don't do much for me, either. As it happens, I confine myself to reviewing poets I like, because I want to let other people know about them. If I don't like a poet, it's hard to read the work, and what I would be likely to write is a long kvetch. Who needs that?Also, just because I don't like something doesn't mean it isn't any good.
I don't much like Adrienne Rich or Paul Muldoon myself, and cultural studies, identity politics, the confessional impulse don't do much for me, either. As it happens, I confine myself to reviewing poets I like, because I want to let other people know about them. If I don't like a poet, it's hard to read the work, and what I would be likely to write is a long kvetch. Who needs that?Also, just because I don't like something doesn't mean it isn't any good.
Check this out ...
... arcane matter out of place. Make sure to scroll down and click on the recording.
A style of leveling ...
... or The Politics of Pants. (Hat tip, Scott Stein.)
Sullivan uses Nabokov inventively, quoting from his 1955 novel Lolita to demonstrate how the narrator’s “refined” sensibility is transformed by a whole world of low-end culture that has become—for him—eroticized. The novel’s motels and shopping strips, writes Sullivan, “are the consummate low-culture backdrops for Lolita’s jeans, sneakers, and lollipops.” It’s not just Lolita that Nabokov’s intellectual narrator has fallen for.
I never realized how perceptive Nabokov was in this regard. But this I quite understand: "Elvis actually disliked denim. To him, as to most people from real working-class backgrounds, it was just a reminder of working hard and being poor. The less denim Elvis wore, the happier he was."
It's one reason I am always suspicious of professional working-class types - as well academics bloviating about "the people."
Sullivan uses Nabokov inventively, quoting from his 1955 novel Lolita to demonstrate how the narrator’s “refined” sensibility is transformed by a whole world of low-end culture that has become—for him—eroticized. The novel’s motels and shopping strips, writes Sullivan, “are the consummate low-culture backdrops for Lolita’s jeans, sneakers, and lollipops.” It’s not just Lolita that Nabokov’s intellectual narrator has fallen for.
I never realized how perceptive Nabokov was in this regard. But this I quite understand: "Elvis actually disliked denim. To him, as to most people from real working-class backgrounds, it was just a reminder of working hard and being poor. The less denim Elvis wore, the happier he was."
It's one reason I am always suspicious of professional working-class types - as well academics bloviating about "the people."
The power of poetry ...
... lies in part in how it can insinuate itself in ways you never suspect: Park, He Said.
I don't rememebr Larner's novel, but I do remember - though only vaguely - the film based on it, which was directed by Jack Nicholson.
I don't rememebr Larner's novel, but I do remember - though only vaguely - the film based on it, which was directed by Jack Nicholson.
The sounds of music ...
... can be elusive, Byron Janis observes: Want a concert seat with good acoustics? So does the pianist.
The recording of the Mussorgsky Pictures at a Exhibition referred to in this piece has to be heard to be believed. It is spectacular.
The recording of the Mussorgsky Pictures at a Exhibition referred to in this piece has to be heard to be believed. It is spectacular.
Friday, January 26, 2007
I left work early today ...
... so I could spend the night reading about Goethe and writing a letter to a dear friend. And that is what I am going to do. Back - though probably only briefly - tomorrow.
Unlikely revival ...
... From Unread to in Demand, Thanks to ‘Utopia’ . (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
If the play gets people reading Fathers and Sons that will be a real bonus. And speaking of Russian thinkers, one of these days I have to get around to one of my all-time favorite thinkers, Nikolai Berdyaev. I've made mention of my Irish heritage, but I don't think I've mentioned that my mother was half Polish, and I have always felt the Slavic element was strong in my psychic makeup. All of which is neither here nor there. But Berdyaev is my kind of philosopher.
If the play gets people reading Fathers and Sons that will be a real bonus. And speaking of Russian thinkers, one of these days I have to get around to one of my all-time favorite thinkers, Nikolai Berdyaev. I've made mention of my Irish heritage, but I don't think I've mentioned that my mother was half Polish, and I have always felt the Slavic element was strong in my psychic makeup. All of which is neither here nor there. But Berdyaev is my kind of philosopher.
This is interesting ...
... Lanier on Hopkins. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I wouldn't have connected the two myself, but it's an intriguing idea.
I wouldn't have connected the two myself, but it's an intriguing idea.
I am sitting at my desk ...
... proudly sipping coffee from my Asinine Poetry mug, which I received yesterday - along with an Asinine Poetry t-shirt - for being one of the judges for their recent competiton. Thank you, Richie Narvaez.
Neither a borrower ...
... nor a lender be. In which case, don't be a writer. Glenn Reynolds has a great post about plagiarism.
The Toqueville business is interesting indeed, and do check this link.
The Toqueville business is interesting indeed, and do check this link.
Gettting to know ...
... TEV"s Mark Sarvas (who, I proudly note, reviews for The Inquirer). (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Thursday, January 25, 2007
But not before ...
... I note that on this date in 1874, one of my favorite authors, W. Somerset Maugham (I realize fully how middle-brow that makes me - believe me, I couldn't care less) was born.
Thursday is the longest day ...
... of the week for me and I still have much to do. So blogging will resume tomorrow.
Inexplicably ...
... I missed this: A Webcast on That Book . (Hat tip, Susan Balée.)
This is something I highly recommend. Rope off some time and watch it.
This is something I highly recommend. Rope off some time and watch it.
Now this is a good review ...
... Jonathan Adler's Don't Politicize Science (Unless You're on My Side). (Via InstaPundit.)
The Religious Left ...
... Like a Mighty Wind.
The "authors focus far less on personal moral behavior than on collective political action. Social policy eclipses individual conduct as the locus of Christian ethics. The inadvertent but inevitable consequence is the collapse of religion into politics. This conflation of the personal and the political helps explain why the Religious Left is, other things being equal, more political than the Religious Right."
The "authors focus far less on personal moral behavior than on collective political action. Social policy eclipses individual conduct as the locus of Christian ethics. The inadvertent but inevitable consequence is the collapse of religion into politics. This conflation of the personal and the political helps explain why the Religious Left is, other things being equal, more political than the Religious Right."
Why stop now?
... here's Sarah Weinman's review of David Hiltbrand's Dying to Be Famous: Caustic P.I. is back in another Hollywood whodunit.
Since I've been on ...
... a Philly-boosting kick, it seems only meet and just, right and availing unto salvation to submit for your approval (bet you've never seen those phrases conjoined) Rocky Stories: Tales of Love, Hope, and Happiness at America's Most Famous Steps by my colleagues Michael Vitez and Tom Gralish.
Here's a slide show to go with it.
Here's a slide show to go with it.
Limousine liberal ...
... Edith Wharton: Intolerable, unstoppable, indispensable. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
"Not merely was her unearned income sweated from the brows of her uncivilised countrymen, her earned income came out of their pockets."
"... perhaps she isn’t as deep and subtle as Henry James — but then nor is Henry James. He just hides it better."
"Not merely was her unearned income sweated from the brows of her uncivilised countrymen, her earned income came out of their pockets."
"... perhaps she isn’t as deep and subtle as Henry James — but then nor is Henry James. He just hides it better."
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
If you insist ...
... Don't tell me what's great. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
But I do beg to differ: Great works of art do not exist "only subjectively." Nothing does. If there is a subject, there must also be an object. "Existence," one might say, is grounded in the relation between the two. Moreover, I would say that the uplifting qualities attributed to, say, Bach's B-minor Mass are inherent in the work, precisely because it "was designed that way."
But I do beg to differ: Great works of art do not exist "only subjectively." Nothing does. If there is a subject, there must also be an object. "Existence," one might say, is grounded in the relation between the two. Moreover, I would say that the uplifting qualities attributed to, say, Bach's B-minor Mass are inherent in the work, precisely because it "was designed that way."
So there!
... Expressions. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Style can certainly get in the way of substance, as the new Martin Amis novel I believe demonstrates.
Style can certainly get in the way of substance, as the new Martin Amis novel I believe demonstrates.
"Orphans" and the court ...
... U.S. court upholds copyright law on "orphan works." (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
It's not easy ...
... being free: Long Love Affairs With Libertarianism. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Back in 1968, I gave a lecture on Albert Jay Nock at Rockford College. The lecture was attended by a number of Randians. They were indeed certain of their certainties.
Back in 1968, I gave a lecture on Albert Jay Nock at Rockford College. The lecture was attended by a number of Randians. They were indeed certain of their certainties.
Ryszard Kapuscinski (1932-2007) ...
... Polish Writer of Shimmering Allegories and News, Dies at 74. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Probably not ...
... Is Philosophy Progressive? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I like to think that philosophy has to do with wisdom, which is perennial, not progressive.
I like to think that philosophy has to do with wisdom, which is perennial, not progressive.
In today's Inquirer ...
... there are two book reviews.
One by yours truly of Richard Powell's The Philadelphian: 1957 portrait of a society Philadelphian.
Another by John Freeman, of Paul Auster's Travels in the Scriptorium: The reader seeks answers for a man who has none.
One by yours truly of Richard Powell's The Philadelphian: 1957 portrait of a society Philadelphian.
Another by John Freeman, of Paul Auster's Travels in the Scriptorium: The reader seeks answers for a man who has none.
There is this, though ...
... which should hold your interest for a while: Gentle sex and free money.
Monday, January 22, 2007
This may help explain me ...
... since I am Jesuit-trained: Reason and Pop Atheism. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I am fan of Colin Wilson ...
... though I know I'm not supposed to be. Here's a chance for a few days to listen to Colin Wilson on Private Passions. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I told you ...
... I get a lot of books. Check this out - and check out the whole site.
I yammer away also: Literary memory.
I yammer away also: Literary memory.
Always merry and bright ...
... that's a phrase from Henry Miller, but apparently it applies to Wilfrid Sheed as well: An Upbeat Account of Down Times. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Sheed and I have something in common. We both spent a part of our childhood in Torresdale, incorrectly described here as "a town not unlike the setting for Pennsylvania Gothic." To begin with, it isn't a town. It's a section - the northeasternmost section - of Philadelphia. What the hell has in common with American Gothic I have no way of knowing. Sheed may well have found it lonely, especially since he arrived there nine years before I did. When we moved there, it was still pretty rural. Our house was in the middle of a wodds, the roads were gravel, and there were still some very small working farms. I loved it, but then I rarely feel lonely.
Sheed and I have something in common. We both spent a part of our childhood in Torresdale, incorrectly described here as "a town not unlike the setting for Pennsylvania Gothic." To begin with, it isn't a town. It's a section - the northeasternmost section - of Philadelphia. What the hell has in common with American Gothic I have no way of knowing. Sheed may well have found it lonely, especially since he arrived there nine years before I did. When we moved there, it was still pretty rural. Our house was in the middle of a wodds, the roads were gravel, and there were still some very small working farms. I loved it, but then I rarely feel lonely.
Speaking of Maxine ...
... she was right about Jane Eyre. Fine acting, fine production. Once upon a time, when I was much younger, a woman told me I reminded her of Mr. Rochester. Imagine that.
What's it all about ...
... blogger? Cassilis the Lost Blogger.
I'm not sure if it is all about traffic. For me, it's been about people. But for blogging, I would not know Maxine or Dave Lull ... or, in quite the same way, Bryan. Blogging brings a direct, human dimension to writing - and reading.
I'm not sure if it is all about traffic. For me, it's been about people. But for blogging, I would not know Maxine or Dave Lull ... or, in quite the same way, Bryan. Blogging brings a direct, human dimension to writing - and reading.
Just in case ...
... you're thinking about gouing to journalism school, consider this, about The Head of The Columbia Journalism School... What happened to those vaunted New Yorker fact checkers?
I suspect ...
... my grammar would be better if I'd been taught by someone like this: 'Grammar Girl' a quick and dirty success. (Hat tip, Scott Stein.)
Last week ...
... as I noted here, The Inquirer gave Chris Hedges a soapbox. This week it's Dinesh D'Souza's turn. Why? Well, why not? Viewpoints, even pernicious ones ones like Hedges' and D'Souza's - maybe even those especially - are best got out in the open. Anyway, you can read all about it here: A Wretched Stew.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
That's it for tonight ...
... folks. I want to finish Martin Amis's House of Meetings before I watch Jane Eyre.
I have to get around to this myself ...
... sometime: Belated 'three things' meme.
Notice this, though: "Three things I'm doing right now: drinking a cup of cold coffee, emptying the dryer, writing this post." Talk about multi-tasking!
Notice this, though: "Three things I'm doing right now: drinking a cup of cold coffee, emptying the dryer, writing this post." Talk about multi-tasking!
This sounds ...
... and looks interesting: Wow!
Here is Cavafy's poem Thermopylae, which gets across the universality of it.
Here is Cavafy's poem Thermopylae, which gets across the universality of it.
Well, I guess I favor this ...
... Saving Eric Hoffer from Althouse. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I don't, however, think that university campuses tend to be over-populated with "autonomous men" or women. And there do seem to be an awful lot of Hofferian true belivers around - and a lot of them populate university campuses.
I don't, however, think that university campuses tend to be over-populated with "autonomous men" or women. And there do seem to be an awful lot of Hofferian true belivers around - and a lot of them populate university campuses.
Bryan Appleyard wonders ...
... Could this be the final chapter in the life of the book. (Not suprisingly, Dave Lull also sent along a link to this.)
... it is the teachers who will have the final say. They will determine whether people will read for information, knowledge or, ultimately, wisdom. If they fail and their pupils read only for information, then we are in deep trouble. For the net doesn’t educate and the mind must be primed to deal with its informational deluge. On that priming depends the future of civilisation. How we handle the digitising of the libraries will determine who we are to become.
Well, we'd better get some good teachers.
In the meantime, Bryan also goes back to the moon: Mission possible.
... it is the teachers who will have the final say. They will determine whether people will read for information, knowledge or, ultimately, wisdom. If they fail and their pupils read only for information, then we are in deep trouble. For the net doesn’t educate and the mind must be primed to deal with its informational deluge. On that priming depends the future of civilisation. How we handle the digitising of the libraries will determine who we are to become.
Well, we'd better get some good teachers.
In the meantime, Bryan also goes back to the moon: Mission possible.
The certainly seems worthwhile ...
... New Code Of Ethics To Protect Net Users . (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)
I couldn't make it ...
... to the NBCC gathering in Manhattan last night, but here's the results: And the Finalists Are ...
Today's Inquirer reviews ...
... include something new - Katie Haegele's DigitaLit column: The word on technology: A new column on online literature.
Also:
Norman Mailer takes on Hitler. Carlin Romano referees: Who needs another book on Hitler? Even one by Mailer?
Anecdotal Evidence 's Patrick Kurp looks at the Guy Davenport/James Laughlin correspondence: Letters that keep teaching.
Vikram Johri of patrakaar2b is largely impressed by Vikram Chandra's large Sacred Games: A policeman and his prey, a Bombay gangster.
Liz Lopatto of The Kenyon Review visits some lesser-known parts of the City of Light: Paris' 'dangerous classes' and their hobbies.
Martha Woodall found herself much taken with Greg Downs's Spit Baths: Realizing the past can never be escaped.
And the very busy Katie Haegele also likes a graphic YA novel: Young Adult Reader Illustrations charm, and plot offers true teen moments, too.
During the past week:
Dan De Luca very much liked Dave Eggers's latest: Sudanese survivor's tale.
Len Boasberg found Noni Darwish's memoir quite interesting: Muslim girl's metamorphosis into a woman of the West.
Jen Miller was charmed by Ian Sansom's The Case of the Missing Books: No murder; mystery is one for the books.
John Freeman found the Paris Review interviews fascinating: Paris Review interviews that brought authors to life.
Jen Miller also considered the extent to which publishing seems to be going to the dogs: Dogs taking publishing for a good brisk walk.
I promised a while back that I would try to refrain from tooting my own horn, but I think it worth noting that this selection indicates three things about book coverage in The Inquirer: interest in short fiction, interest in the technological changes affecting writing and publishing. and interest in blogs and bloggers.
Also:
Norman Mailer takes on Hitler. Carlin Romano referees: Who needs another book on Hitler? Even one by Mailer?
Anecdotal Evidence 's Patrick Kurp looks at the Guy Davenport/James Laughlin correspondence: Letters that keep teaching.
Vikram Johri of patrakaar2b is largely impressed by Vikram Chandra's large Sacred Games: A policeman and his prey, a Bombay gangster.
Liz Lopatto of The Kenyon Review visits some lesser-known parts of the City of Light: Paris' 'dangerous classes' and their hobbies.
Martha Woodall found herself much taken with Greg Downs's Spit Baths: Realizing the past can never be escaped.
And the very busy Katie Haegele also likes a graphic YA novel: Young Adult Reader Illustrations charm, and plot offers true teen moments, too.
During the past week:
Dan De Luca very much liked Dave Eggers's latest: Sudanese survivor's tale.
Len Boasberg found Noni Darwish's memoir quite interesting: Muslim girl's metamorphosis into a woman of the West.
Jen Miller was charmed by Ian Sansom's The Case of the Missing Books: No murder; mystery is one for the books.
John Freeman found the Paris Review interviews fascinating: Paris Review interviews that brought authors to life.
Jen Miller also considered the extent to which publishing seems to be going to the dogs: Dogs taking publishing for a good brisk walk.
I promised a while back that I would try to refrain from tooting my own horn, but I think it worth noting that this selection indicates three things about book coverage in The Inquirer: interest in short fiction, interest in the technological changes affecting writing and publishing. and interest in blogs and bloggers.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Although I've posted ...
... a few items today, my intention has been not to blog on Saturdays, because I need at least one day to let my brain clear. Still, an item now and then won't do any harm. Back again tomorrow.
I'm afraid Bryan is right ...
... The Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome.
By the bye, has anyone thought that Plato's myth of the cave has proved wonderfully predictive of the age of reality TV?
Those of an age will recall a fellow named Newton Minnow, who denounced U.S. television in the 1950s as "a vast wasteland." Given that at the time U.S. TV boasted such things as Playhouse 90 Requiem for a Heavyweight), Omnibus (with Alistair Cooke - I remember watching several episodes that had Peter Ustinov portraying Dr. Johnson), and even top-flight commercial shows like Peter Gunn, it seems safe to say that Newt didn't know a wasteland wheh he didn't see one.
By the bye, has anyone thought that Plato's myth of the cave has proved wonderfully predictive of the age of reality TV?
Friday, January 19, 2007
Jane Eyre alert ...
... Maxine sends along this regarding a TV adaptation of Jane Eyre. Readers of this blog will recall that it was Maxine who alerted us to the fine adaptation of Bleak House that was on TV last year. Check your local PBS listings. Here in Philly it will be on Channel 12 at 9 Sunday night. Part I, that is. It concludes the following Sunday. Thank you, Maxine!
When the Blogfaddah ...
... got snarky: Some comments on sacrifice. (You have to scroll down a bit.)
I am just getting over ...
... a round of penicillin, which for some reason made me feel fatigued. That's one reason I took the day off. I may blog a bit later on, but Debbie and I have decided to take in a movie and then stop by our favorite Japanese restaurant.
Call Heidi Cullen ...
... Getting closer to the cosmic connection to climate. Please note that this involved an actual experiment. Here's some more: Cosmic rays linked to global warming.
As for Ms. Cullen, who yesterday wanted those who disagreed with her climate views to be decertified, well today she sheds crocodile tears over A very political climate. Jeez.
As for Ms. Cullen, who yesterday wanted those who disagreed with her climate views to be decertified, well today she sheds crocodile tears over A very political climate. Jeez.
Meanwhile, another meteorologist laments The Weather Channel Mess.
Speaking of Maxine ...
... and of Dave Lull, have I brought to your attention another of Maxine's blogs? It's Librarian’s place.
Maxine takes a look ...
... at Metacritic's book choice. God knows it's a better list than the UK Bookseller's Top 10, but I confess to some reservations. Ed Champion, reviewing the Murakami for The Inquirer, found it underwhelming, and I am one of those who thinks Cormac McCarthy is a pretentious gas bag. Actually, about the only one I'd go out of my way to read is the Pelecanos.
Getting acquainted ...
... Mark Sarvas chats with John Freeman on the NBCC Award. (Hat tip, Dave Lull, who is not even down, let alone out.)
I am proud to note that John and Mark both review for The Inquirer. I think John has done a fabulous job as NBCC president.
I am proud to note that John and Mark both review for The Inquirer. I think John has done a fabulous job as NBCC president.
Out of the shadows ...
... On the pleasures of teaching noir, an underdog genre. (Hat tip, Dave Lull - whose car got rear-ended yesterday, but who is - thank God - all right. Car needs a bit a work, though. Let's all wish Dave well.)
Thursday, January 18, 2007
I've just noticed this ...
... and will return to it later, but it seems very important: Memo from Cassandra.
Locus classicus ...
... Seamus Heaney and Latin.
A few years ago, I attended at performance opf Heaney's Antigone at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. I was not impressed. He took something timeless and made it shallowly topical. A far, far better modern treatment is Jean Anouilh's.
A few years ago, I attended at performance opf Heaney's Antigone at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. I was not impressed. He took something timeless and made it shallowly topical. A far, far better modern treatment is Jean Anouilh's.
Another free thought skeptic ...
... sounds off: Weather Channel Climate Expert Calls for Decertifying Global Warming Skeptics. I find it hard to take seriously the position of anyone who advocates censorsip of those who disagree with that position.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
This is a surprise to me ...
... Which Science Fiction Writer Are You?
 | I am: E.E. "Doc" SmithThe inventor of space opera. His purple space war tales remain well-read generations later. |
Something very worthwhile ...
... Remembering Edwin Muir. (Hat tip, Dave Lull. Thanks, Dave. Muir is one of my favorite poets. His autobiography is a masterpiece.)
The trouble with newspapers (cont'd.) ...
... ProJo squashes kids' spelling bee. Yeah, they're really trying to attract younger readers.
Actually, there's another must-read ...
... Shilpa Shetty: Reality Bites Back . Specifically, it is the article of his that Bryan links to: Reality TV.
"It was subversive," Watson has said of Sylvania Waters. "But if you're afilm-maker, you're meant to be subversive."
Really? Why? I don't want my plumber to be subversive. What's so special about film-makers? And, if we always know he's going to be subversive, why bother watching his films?
Really? Why? I don't want my plumber to be subversive. What's so special about film-makers? And, if we always know he's going to be subversive, why bother watching his films?
So hypnotised are we by theconventions of television that the fly-on-the-wallers can get away with theireasy trickery. Childishly we believe that, because we are seeing something, itmust, in some sense, be true. This is depravity because it means we have lostfaith in the ability of argument and explanation to lead us to the truth.
Amen, brother!
Today's must-read ...
.... Christopher Benfey's look at that "terrifying poet," Robert Frost: Dark Darker Darkest . (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
There's certianly nothing cracker-barrel about this, from Frost's notebooks:
There's certianly nothing cracker-barrel about this, from Frost's notebooks:
Here where we are life wells up as a strong spring perpetually piling water on water with the dancing high lights upon it. But it flows away on all sides as into a marsh of its own making. It flows away into poverty into insanity into crime. Now like all other great things poverty has its bad side and so has insanity and so has crime. The good side must not be lost sight of. Poverty inspiring ambition. Poverty has done so much good in the world I should be the last to want to see it abolished entirely. Only insanity can lift ability into genius. Crime is that smoldering defiance of law that at times bursts forth enobled into rebellion and revolution. But there is a bad side to all three poverty insanity and crime and this a dark truth and it is undeniably a dark truth.
But dark as it is there is darker still. For we haven't enough to us to govern life and keep it from its worst manifestations. We haven't fingers and toes enough to tend to all the stops. Life is always breaking at too many points at once. Government is concerned to reduce the badness but it must fail to get rid of it. There is a residue of extreme sorrow that nothing can be done about and over it poetry lingers to brood with sympathy. I have heard poetry charged with having a vested interest in sorrow.
Dark darker darkest.
Dark as it is that there are these sorrows and darker still that we can do so little to be rid of them the darkest is still to come. The darkest is that perhaps we ought not to want to get rid of them. They be the fulfillment of exertion. What life craves most is signs of life. A cat can entertain itself only briefly with a block of wood. It can deceive itself longer with a spool or a ball. But give it a mouse for consummation. Response response. The certainty of a source outside of self--original response whether love or hate or fear.
But dark as it is there is darker still. For we haven't enough to us to govern life and keep it from its worst manifestations. We haven't fingers and toes enough to tend to all the stops. Life is always breaking at too many points at once. Government is concerned to reduce the badness but it must fail to get rid of it. There is a residue of extreme sorrow that nothing can be done about and over it poetry lingers to brood with sympathy. I have heard poetry charged with having a vested interest in sorrow.
Dark darker darkest.
Dark as it is that there are these sorrows and darker still that we can do so little to be rid of them the darkest is still to come. The darkest is that perhaps we ought not to want to get rid of them. They be the fulfillment of exertion. What life craves most is signs of life. A cat can entertain itself only briefly with a block of wood. It can deceive itself longer with a spool or a ball. But give it a mouse for consummation. Response response. The certainty of a source outside of self--original response whether love or hate or fear.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Great headline on this post ...
... which of course is characteristically insightful: Not returning, but plodding. (I trust everyone gets the allusion.)
So you like lists ...
... well, here's your chance to get into the act. First, here's a piece in Time about Peder Zane's The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books: The 10 Greatest Books of All Time .
Now, you can go to Peder's Top Ten Web site and, among other things, post your own Top 10.
Now, you can go to Peder's Top Ten Web site and, among other things, post your own Top 10.
Dave Lull inquires ...
... "A Canutist would be a good candidate for the FIS, don't you think?" Michael Gilleland thinks "The Canutist would be a good name for a reactionary's blog." But maybe not. Canute didn't actually try to order the tide not to come in. He did what he did in order to demonstrate to his vassals that there were limits to his power. In other words, he was an early advocate for limited government.
As something of a Canutist myself, therefore, I would say that Dave is right. But of course I leave all final decisions in the matter to Bryan.
Marking an anniversary ...
... for "the most underrated novelist of the century" - the 20th century, that is. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Now for something ...
... completely different: A Rifle in Every Pot. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I have a number of objections to gun control legislation, not the least of which is the primary importance it assumes for the instrument over the agent, but mostly because, in the days when I had many friends in low places, I became aware of how any criminal can get a firearm in a matter of hours on the street - not surpsisingly, they don't concern themselves with licenses or registration. Guess that's why they're known as outlaws.
Bryan Appleyard on ...
... In Praise of John Ashbery. A good selection of Ashbery's poems can be found here.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Today's must read ...
... Allen Barra's heartwarming evaluation of Gore Vidal's latest: Too much Gore. (Via Critical Mass.)
A couple of modest proposals ...
... from Terry Teachout: Bigger than life.
Since I'm not a working art critic, I will complain about people reading and listening about what they ought to be looking at. Really, folks, get acquainted with a painting on your own first, then see what others have to say. Then ask yourself if you agree - and don't be intimidated if you don't.
Since I'm not a working art critic, I will complain about people reading and listening about what they ought to be looking at. Really, folks, get acquainted with a painting on your own first, then see what others have to say. Then ask yourself if you agree - and don't be intimidated if you don't.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Also check out ...
... the GOB's Friday fun. In particular, check out what Lynne Scanlon has to say about independent bookstores: Mystery Entrepreneur Offers Advice to Independent Bookstore Owners: Future Boils Down to ONE Question!
This is a bit complicated ...
... Dave Lull sends along this link: Thoughts About Essays...Well, Sort Of, which links to this: Best American Essays 2006--I Don't Think So - and which also tells a story about one of the essayists cited, Sam Pickering.
The post about the essays seems about right to me. But regarding the Pickering tale, Dave alerts me that Pickering himself doesn't remember saying quite what he is quoted as saying. So,as Dave puts it, caveat lector.
The post about the essays seems about right to me. But regarding the Pickering tale, Dave alerts me that Pickering himself doesn't remember saying quite what he is quoted as saying. So,as Dave puts it, caveat lector.
I notice ...
... that The Inquirer gave Chris Hedges, author of American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America, a soapbox from which to preach: Extremism: Radical preachers offer a magical world for battered believers.
I happen to be one of those people who takes umbrage at casual playing of the fascist card. Especially when, as Jon Wiener points out in this L.A. Times review, Hedges himself "endorses the view that 'any movement preaching intolerance places itself outside the law,' and therefore we should treat 'incitement to intolerance and persecution as criminal.' Thus he rejects the 1st Amendment protections for freedom of speech and religion, and court rulings that permit prosecution for speech only if there is an imminent threat to particular individuals."
How much you want to bet that Hedges would not say this about radical Muslims? Of course, Hedges himself would seem to be advocating intolerance and persecution. Perhaps he should turn himself in.
I happen to be one of those people who takes umbrage at casual playing of the fascist card. Especially when, as Jon Wiener points out in this L.A. Times review, Hedges himself "endorses the view that 'any movement preaching intolerance places itself outside the law,' and therefore we should treat 'incitement to intolerance and persecution as criminal.' Thus he rejects the 1st Amendment protections for freedom of speech and religion, and court rulings that permit prosecution for speech only if there is an imminent threat to particular individuals."
How much you want to bet that Hedges would not say this about radical Muslims? Of course, Hedges himself would seem to be advocating intolerance and persecution. Perhaps he should turn himself in.
Also on this date ...
... though in 1804, William Blake wrote this Letter to William Hayley. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
This seems to be a very interesting site.
This seems to be a very interesting site.
On this date ...
... in 1896, John Dos Passos was born: Modernist Recorder of the American Scene. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
There is much in what he says ...
... Newspapers...and After? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
This is certainly true: "If there has been a model of American newspaper innovation in the past three decades, it's this: Never do something bold, edgy or intelligent when there is a predictable and useless gimmick into which energy and resources can be dumped for a few years."
This is certainly true: "If there has been a model of American newspaper innovation in the past three decades, it's this: Never do something bold, edgy or intelligent when there is a predictable and useless gimmick into which energy and resources can be dumped for a few years."
Well, this seems problematic ...
... Rod Liddle wonders, Has fiction lost its power? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
This kind of bracingly contrarian:
I realised all this the other day when, finally, exasperated, I threw aside my copy of John Updike’s latest novel, Terrorist, and decided instead to watch Deal or No Deal on Channel 4. I had read just 64 pages, and it had been a struggle to get that far. Not because of its “difficulty”, but because of its bovine stupidity, its desperation to explore a burning issue at the expense of its hopeless, one-dimensional characters. Believe me — and please excuse the language — Terrorist is a f***ing awful book. I can think of no better description for it. And it dawned on me, as Noel Edmonds asked some halfwit which box he wanted to open, that it wasn’t just Updike — I hadn’t actually finished a novel, any novel, for some considerable time. I couldn’t even remember the name of the last new novel I’d finished. Somehow, fiction had lost its power to enthral or inform.
Bu then there's this: ... it was primarily Updike, Henry Miller, Saul Bellow, Philip Roth, Upton Sinclair — along with the lesser lights of Burroughs and Kerouac and Bukowski — who educated me in what it must be like to be an American, to think like an American. Far more so than those beautiful novels of, effectively, imaginative reportage by Sinclair Lewis, Jack London and John Steinbeck.
Well, I am an American and while I think Henry Miller and Bellow give you a sense of what it means to be an American, so do Jack London and John Steinbeck, much more so, I think, than Updike or Roth and certainly Upton Sinclair. (Kerouac and Bukowski give you something of it, too, but from an acute angle. )
This kind of bracingly contrarian:
I realised all this the other day when, finally, exasperated, I threw aside my copy of John Updike’s latest novel, Terrorist, and decided instead to watch Deal or No Deal on Channel 4. I had read just 64 pages, and it had been a struggle to get that far. Not because of its “difficulty”, but because of its bovine stupidity, its desperation to explore a burning issue at the expense of its hopeless, one-dimensional characters. Believe me — and please excuse the language — Terrorist is a f***ing awful book. I can think of no better description for it. And it dawned on me, as Noel Edmonds asked some halfwit which box he wanted to open, that it wasn’t just Updike — I hadn’t actually finished a novel, any novel, for some considerable time. I couldn’t even remember the name of the last new novel I’d finished. Somehow, fiction had lost its power to enthral or inform.
Bu then there's this: ... it was primarily Updike, Henry Miller, Saul Bellow, Philip Roth, Upton Sinclair — along with the lesser lights of Burroughs and Kerouac and Bukowski — who educated me in what it must be like to be an American, to think like an American. Far more so than those beautiful novels of, effectively, imaginative reportage by Sinclair Lewis, Jack London and John Steinbeck.
Well, I am an American and while I think Henry Miller and Bellow give you a sense of what it means to be an American, so do Jack London and John Steinbeck, much more so, I think, than Updike or Roth and certainly Upton Sinclair. (Kerouac and Bukowski give you something of it, too, but from an acute angle. )
Time to pay attention ...
... to A little-known 'literary feast' in Long Beach. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Stabs at the future ...
... Some web predictions.
I am reminded of something Krishnamurti once said, to the effect that what is happening right now has actually never happened before, which is why we call it "new."
I am reminded of something Krishnamurti once said, to the effect that what is happening right now has actually never happened before, which is why we call it "new."
I'm definitely glad I ordered ...
... Bryan's new book: Me and Immortality.
Postscript: Oddly, as I get older, I almost look forward to shuffling off the old mortal coil. Not that I'm in any hurry, mind you. I figure, if I'm lucky, I have maybe two decades left (my mother and grandmother both made it well into their 80s, and though my father died before 60, given the way he lived, that was a miracle of longevity). As for taking care of myself, I walk a lot. Good for the body and good for the soul. I no longer drink, but in the years when I did I consumed enough for three lifetimes.
In today's Inquirer reviews ...
... Gregory Feeley extols the virtues of Paul Muldoon: Multitude of rhyme, depth of impact.
Carlin Romano finds that Daniel Kehlmann's novel about Alexander vn Humboldt and Carl Freidrich Gausss, Measuring the World, does indeed measure up: Two intellects, two humans.
David Walton finds Richard Posner's The Little Book of Plagiarism brief and enlightening: A judge looks at issues of plagiarism.
Kevin Grauke sees Roddy Doyle returning to form with Paula Spencer: Irish storyteller spins some of his best.
Katherine Bailey is impressed with Claire Tomalin's Thomas Hardy: Putting a literary giant in his place.
David Motgomery is enthusiastic about John Lescroart's The Suspect: It's murder and it looks like he dunit.
Sandy Bauers loves the way Calvin Trillin reads: Trillin gracefully carries off 'About Alice,' his adored wife.
During the past week:
Jack Fischel was very impressedw ith Daniel Mendelsohn's The Lost: Holocaust horror on a personal level.
And John Luckacs has high praise for Hugh Sebag-Montefiore's Dunkirk: Dunkirk, beyond the epic rescue.
And in case you missed it, here again is David Hiltbrand's account of Goodiscon: Honoring a master of Philly noir.
I promised I wouldn't comment on the mix. So I won't.
Carlin Romano finds that Daniel Kehlmann's novel about Alexander vn Humboldt and Carl Freidrich Gausss, Measuring the World, does indeed measure up: Two intellects, two humans.
David Walton finds Richard Posner's The Little Book of Plagiarism brief and enlightening: A judge looks at issues of plagiarism.
Kevin Grauke sees Roddy Doyle returning to form with Paula Spencer: Irish storyteller spins some of his best.
Katherine Bailey is impressed with Claire Tomalin's Thomas Hardy: Putting a literary giant in his place.
David Motgomery is enthusiastic about John Lescroart's The Suspect: It's murder and it looks like he dunit.
Sandy Bauers loves the way Calvin Trillin reads: Trillin gracefully carries off 'About Alice,' his adored wife.
During the past week:
Jack Fischel was very impressedw ith Daniel Mendelsohn's The Lost: Holocaust horror on a personal level.
And John Luckacs has high praise for Hugh Sebag-Montefiore's Dunkirk: Dunkirk, beyond the epic rescue.
And in case you missed it, here again is David Hiltbrand's account of Goodiscon: Honoring a master of Philly noir.
I promised I wouldn't comment on the mix. So I won't.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
In praise of ...
... Enjoying Persuasion.
Why is the book reviewed? Not because it has just been published, or a new edition has come out, or the author has been accused of plagiarism, or has been paid a vast sum of money to go and live in Los Angeles. No, just because the reviewer, Elaine, has re-read the book, loves it, and wanted to write about it.
The best reason of all for writing about it.
Why is the book reviewed? Not because it has just been published, or a new edition has come out, or the author has been accused of plagiarism, or has been paid a vast sum of money to go and live in Los Angeles. No, just because the reviewer, Elaine, has re-read the book, loves it, and wanted to write about it.
The best reason of all for writing about it.
The newspaper of record ...
... gets a going over by Bryan Appleyard: What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage.
'As I wash dishes at the kitchen sink, my husband paces behind me, irritated. "Have you seen my keys?" he snarls, then huffs out a loud sigh and stomps from the room with our dog, Dixie, at his heels, anxious over her favorite human's upset.' My knuckles are now white with the effort of not commenting on this. I shall content myself with a silent scream.
It doesn't get better than that.
'As I wash dishes at the kitchen sink, my husband paces behind me, irritated. "Have you seen my keys?" he snarls, then huffs out a loud sigh and stomps from the room with our dog, Dixie, at his heels, anxious over her favorite human's upset.' My knuckles are now white with the effort of not commenting on this. I shall content myself with a silent scream.
It doesn't get better than that.
Taking a tip from Samuel Beckett ...
... Zadie Smith ponders how writers can Fail better. (I found this on my own, but notice that Rus Bowden also sent me the link.)
Friday, January 12, 2007
I'm with Belinksy ...
... an awfully attractive character, by the way: Tom Stoppard on Literary Criticism.
The best critics are those who simply like to read and look at pictures and listen to music - and can write convincingly about the experience.
The best critics are those who simply like to read and look at pictures and listen to music - and can write convincingly about the experience.
We interrupt our hiatus ...
... to bring you word of the Gather.com First Chapters Writing Competition . (Hat tip, Roger Miller.)
Something has to give ...
... and for the time it's going to be blogging. I have an immense amout of catching up to do. So I may not be posting again until tomorrow - though I might be able to do some tonight. Later.
When I started college ...
... T.S. Eliot was thought to be the greatest living poet and his influence was immense inside and outside the classroom. It wasn't always salutary. I remember seeing a lot of imitation Eliot among the works of my fellow apprentice poets. Of course, the problem with imitating Eliot is that what you get is just bad Eliot. That probably explains why, for all his influence, there is no Eliot school - as there is a confessional school, or a New York school. The point - or so it has always seemed to me - of Eliot's attention to tradition is that only by mastering tradition does one have a chance of emerging with an authentic voice.
All of this is by way introduction to this link to Patrick Kurp's post On Eliot (hat tip, Dave Lull). Like Patrick, I first came to know Eliot's work in my teens and, also like Patrick, it was the atmosphere that attracted me to them. Philadelphia was then still a gray industrial metropolis. City Hall, like all the other buildings in Center City, was black, encrusted with decades of soot. To this day, Eliot's "Preludes" is not only one of my favorite poems, it is one of the few works that can take me back to a specific time of my life, when I roamed the city and delighted in the melancholy of its often dark and rainy alleys, the clatter of the El, "the grimy scraps of withered leaves." Patrick's post caused me, in fact, to experience a rare and, I suppose, rather odd moment of nostalgia.
Speaking of best-seller lists ...
... here's a roundup: Nielsen Issues Most Popular Lists for 2006. (Hat tip, Dave Lull, who draws my attention to the No. 1 nonfictions best-seller - 1 MARLEY & ME GROGAN, JOHN 11/1/2005 1,307,000. Congratulations, John!)
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Well, here's an idea ...
... a cross between reality TV and book TV: Why have any editors choosing books at all?
Good advice ...
... Vocational Counseling. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
There's much of interest here. For instance: "We have yet to shake off the Romantic notion of writing as a calling, an indulgence in lyrical subjectivity having nothing to do with 'vocational skills' and the interests of 'the marketplace.' "
There's also this: "... the realization that a poet is a person who writes poetry has shaken him mightily. Of course, this hasn’t stopped Billy Collins ..." Ouch.
On a personal note, a few days before Prince Charles and the former Camilla Parker-Bowles were married, my editor at the time, Jeff Weinstein, suggested I write a poem on the subject. Hack that I am, I delivered one the next day and it appeared the day after that in the paper. Here, for your delectation, it is (along with the prefatory explanation that Jeff penned):
Perhaps the most important task of a British poet laureate is to celebrate royal weddings with an epithalamium, a poem in honor of the bride and groom to be.
Of course, this particular nuptial has been downscaled, postponed - and the Prince has been asked by the Church of England to apologize to his beloved’s former husband.
But poet laureate Andrew Motion has put off his task for other reasons. He was extremely fond of the previous royal bride, and it’s been reported that he’s having trouble coming up with adequate rhymes for "Camilla. "
So, in his place, our resident laureate offers the couple his poetic gift (having tried and rejected "vanilla," "chinchilla," "sarsaparilla" and, in an American vein, "bridezilla").
Royal Couplets
Of marriage, matron, prince, and bard I sing,
And of delays the fates seem bent to fling
Into the way of true love’s unsmooth course.
Who wouldn’t swap his kingdom for a horse
When called upon to first acknowledge sin
To gain the church’s pardon, just to win
A Town Hall wedding scheduled on the day
That Papal obsequies get in the way?
And now, the charge to praise love’s true devotion
Has England’s Laureate in a commotion.
The scribe dear late Diana’s charms inspired
Has found his rhyming muse is sick, and tired.
What’s to be done, but take our pen in hand,
Declaring even messy love is grand?
All vain and pompous circumstance aside
It’s just another hopeful groom and bride.
Therefore we wish poor Charles and his Camilla
Full wedded bliss, down to the last scintilla.
There's much of interest here. For instance: "We have yet to shake off the Romantic notion of writing as a calling, an indulgence in lyrical subjectivity having nothing to do with 'vocational skills' and the interests of 'the marketplace.' "
There's also this: "... the realization that a poet is a person who writes poetry has shaken him mightily. Of course, this hasn’t stopped Billy Collins ..." Ouch.
On a personal note, a few days before Prince Charles and the former Camilla Parker-Bowles were married, my editor at the time, Jeff Weinstein, suggested I write a poem on the subject. Hack that I am, I delivered one the next day and it appeared the day after that in the paper. Here, for your delectation, it is (along with the prefatory explanation that Jeff penned):
Perhaps the most important task of a British poet laureate is to celebrate royal weddings with an epithalamium, a poem in honor of the bride and groom to be.
Of course, this particular nuptial has been downscaled, postponed - and the Prince has been asked by the Church of England to apologize to his beloved’s former husband.
But poet laureate Andrew Motion has put off his task for other reasons. He was extremely fond of the previous royal bride, and it’s been reported that he’s having trouble coming up with adequate rhymes for "Camilla. "
So, in his place, our resident laureate offers the couple his poetic gift (having tried and rejected "vanilla," "chinchilla," "sarsaparilla" and, in an American vein, "bridezilla").
Royal Couplets
Of marriage, matron, prince, and bard I sing,
And of delays the fates seem bent to fling
Into the way of true love’s unsmooth course.
Who wouldn’t swap his kingdom for a horse
When called upon to first acknowledge sin
To gain the church’s pardon, just to win
A Town Hall wedding scheduled on the day
That Papal obsequies get in the way?
And now, the charge to praise love’s true devotion
Has England’s Laureate in a commotion.
The scribe dear late Diana’s charms inspired
Has found his rhyming muse is sick, and tired.
What’s to be done, but take our pen in hand,
Declaring even messy love is grand?
All vain and pompous circumstance aside
It’s just another hopeful groom and bride.
Therefore we wish poor Charles and his Camilla
Full wedded bliss, down to the last scintilla.
Proof that things do change ...
... and for the better: A Bit of Women’s History. Even I have a domestic streak.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Brave stuff ...
... "Half-Belief;" Brief History of the Illness . Boy, do I like that crow on the right.
A nice post ...
... Move Over Muffin... I also think Jessica is right: A.S. Byatt is better than Virginia Woolf.
This is, to say the least ...
... embarrassing: Walk, don't walk.
The next time Peter comes to the U.S. he should make a point of coming to Philadelphia, where you can walk pretty much to your heart's content (unlike, for instance, Los Angeles). I didn't get a driver's license until quite late in life and quickly discovered I detested driving. So I never drive. And I walk to work (it's 2.2 miles).
The next time Peter comes to the U.S. he should make a point of coming to Philadelphia, where you can walk pretty much to your heart's content (unlike, for instance, Los Angeles). I didn't get a driver's license until quite late in life and quickly discovered I detested driving. So I never drive. And I walk to work (it's 2.2 miles).
Ladies and gentlemen ...
... place your bets: An interview with James Connor, author of Pascal's Wager. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
Take a look at this ...
... one facet of Maxine's day job: authors & referees.
Update: Maxine explains further here: Birth announcement.
Update: Maxine explains further here: Birth announcement.
Another sympathetic look ...
... at Andrew Klavan's Damnation Street. I reviewed the book in October: Thriller with literary flair, moral depth.
Problems, problems, problems ...
... Notes on the Intractability of Philosophical Problems. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
I'm starting to miss things ...
... or maybe I'm just starting to notice that I'm starting to miss things. Anyway, Maxine has put together another blog that is very much worth visiting: Web writer. I shall have more to say about this in the near future.
Another good question ...
... Is anyone borrowing my books? (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)
And while we're at it, here's some for just about all of us Westerners: On not knowing Arabic.
And while we're at it, here's some for just about all of us Westerners: On not knowing Arabic.
Thinking about ...
... a college or university? You might want to consider John Stuart Mill's idea of a university versus the prevailing one today: Liberal Education, Then and Now.
Victor Davis Hanson has relared thoughts: Cry the Once Beloved University . (Via InstaPundit.)
Victor Davis Hanson has relared thoughts: Cry the Once Beloved University . (Via InstaPundit.)
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Pondering ...
... Science fiction and conservatism. Glenn Reynolds comments.
I think the discussion demonstrates the increasing irrelevance of traditional political taxonomy (it is their attachment to such taxonomy that renders much media irrelevant).
I think the discussion demonstrates the increasing irrelevance of traditional political taxonomy (it is their attachment to such taxonomy that renders much media irrelevant).
I just listened ...
... to Mark Long's Sermon for Epiphany.
Here, incidentally, is something on Joyce's Epiphany. There is more Catholic substance to Joyce than is often ackowledged.
Here, incidentally, is something on Joyce's Epiphany. There is more Catholic substance to Joyce than is often ackowledged.
Before we leave Maxine ...
... I should draw your attention to Thrillerfest and the story behind the New banner for Petrona.
I don't know ...
... about those "conformist 1950s" - after all, they produced me - but this spounds worth keeping an eye out for: Ellen Baker on Keeping the House.
Well, this seems to work ...
... What American Accent Do You Have?
Here's my results (the odd thing is, most people do not think I have a Philadelphia accent. Some years ago, in Chicago, people thought Debbie was from Philly, but not me):
Here's my results (the odd thing is, most people do not think I have a Philadelphia accent. Some years ago, in Chicago, people thought Debbie was from Philly, but not me):
| What American accent do you have? Your Result: Philadelphia Your accent is as Philadelphian as a cheesesteak! If you're not from Philadelphia, then you're from someplace near there like south Jersey, Baltimore, or Wilmington. if you've ever journeyed to some far off place where people don't know that Philly has an accent, someone may have thought you talked a little weird even though they didn't have a clue what accent it was they heard. | |
| The Northeast | |
| The Midland | |
| The Inland North | |
| The South | |
| Boston | |
| The West | |
| North Central | |
| What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz | |
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