Books Acquired Recently
Beachy, Kirsten Eve, ed. Tongue Screws and Testimonies: Poems Stories, and Essays Inspired by the Martyrs Mirror. Scottdale: Herald, 2010.
I've been meaning to buy this for a while. The Martyrs Mirror is a compilation of Anabaptist martyr stories first published in 1660. It is traditionally given as a wedding or graduation gift by Mennonites as a way of passing down Mennonite values to younger generations. I received it as a Christmas present when I was 16 and read my way through it over several years (it is 1300 folio-sized pages long). I have always been fascinated by it; I think an anthology of literature inspired by people's interactions with it is an excellent idea, and I know several of the contributors, so I am very excited to read it.
Brandt, Di. Walking to Mojacar. Winnipeg: Turnstone, 2010.
Brandt is one of my favorite poets. Her language crackles with energy, and her poems are unashamedly activist while at the same time being beautifully crafted. Unfortunately, as a Canadian, she is not well-known in the U.S., which is a failing of the American English teaching community. There is generally not an institutional space for Canadian literature to get taught in the U.S. because most departments are too small to offer courses in it (and there might not be student interest, but it is our job as teachers/critics to build this interest), and Canadian writers tend to get ignored in postcolonial literature courses. As a result, it is virtually impossible for Canadian writers to gain any traction in the U.S. unless they are lucky enough to be published in high-profile venues such as the New Yorker, as is the case with Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro.
Schakel, Peter, and Jack Ridl, eds. 250 Poems: A Portable Anthology. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009.
I ordered this as a desk copy because I will be using it in my Introduction to Literature course this coming semester. It has a nice selection of poems from the Renaissance throught the twenty-first century, a range that is difficult to find. Incidentally, Jack Ridl gave a reading at my alma mater, Goshen College, my last year there. I enjoyed his work.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Manchester United and the European Cup
On Saturday, Manchester United plays Barcelona at Wembley in an attempt to win the European Cup (now called the Champions League, but the trophy itself is still the European Cup, which is what the competition was called until the 1994-95 season) for the fourth time. It will be the fifth time that United plays in a European Cup final, and though they have won three of the previous four, one could argue that they should have lost all of them, not just in 2009 to Barcelona.
In 1968 versus Benfica, also at Wembley, the match was drawn 1-1 in second-half stoppage time when Eusebio had a clear path to goal and should have scored for the Portuguese, but shot right at the goalkeeper instead. United went on to win 4-1 after extra time.
In 1999, United were losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich in the 91st minute and scored two goals off of corner kicks one after the other to win. Here is a link to video of the goals. I watch this whenever I feel depressed and it always cheers me up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Mf8SC_UASg
In 2008 against Chelsea, John Terry had a chance to win the penalty kick shootout after the match had ended 1-1, but missed the goal, and United went onto win when Ryan Giggs scored on his kick and Nicolas Anelka's kick was saved.
But that's why each of the 90 (or 120) minutes count equally. The trophy goes to the team that has scored more goals in that span, not to the team that has played more dominantly or "deserves" to win, because the fundamental basis of the game is that the team who scores more goals deserves to win. That's why Manchester United is the greatest football/soccer club in the world, because they score more goals than the other team much more often than not, and they never believe it is impossible to do so until the final whistle sounds. WE ARE UNITED, WE DO WHAT WE WANT!
In 1968 versus Benfica, also at Wembley, the match was drawn 1-1 in second-half stoppage time when Eusebio had a clear path to goal and should have scored for the Portuguese, but shot right at the goalkeeper instead. United went on to win 4-1 after extra time.
In 1999, United were losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich in the 91st minute and scored two goals off of corner kicks one after the other to win. Here is a link to video of the goals. I watch this whenever I feel depressed and it always cheers me up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Mf8SC_UASg
In 2008 against Chelsea, John Terry had a chance to win the penalty kick shootout after the match had ended 1-1, but missed the goal, and United went onto win when Ryan Giggs scored on his kick and Nicolas Anelka's kick was saved.
But that's why each of the 90 (or 120) minutes count equally. The trophy goes to the team that has scored more goals in that span, not to the team that has played more dominantly or "deserves" to win, because the fundamental basis of the game is that the team who scores more goals deserves to win. That's why Manchester United is the greatest football/soccer club in the world, because they score more goals than the other team much more often than not, and they never believe it is impossible to do so until the final whistle sounds. WE ARE UNITED, WE DO WHAT WE WANT!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Book Recently Acquired
Book Recently Acquired
Cooke, Joanne, Charlotte Bunch-Weeks, and Robin Morgan, eds. The New Women: An Anthology of Women's Liberation. 1970. Greenwich: Fawcett, 1971.
I picked this up used from the free book table at school. I love old anthologies like this (especially from the various liberation movements of the 1960s and 1970s) because of their value as historical texts. I like to see what people were thinking, who was thinking it, how many of the thinkers are still relevant (or, at least, have kept publishing their thoughts [a crasser way of putting this is "who have I heard of, and what are the reasons I haven't heard of the others?"]) today? I have only heard of a few of the authors--Cynthia Ozick, Diane Di Prima, Rita Mae Brown, and Robin Morgan--but the questions listed on the back cover that the anthology addresses are still relevant today: "Why are we intimidated by the fashion and beauty industries? Why do we have to get married? Why do we have to have children? Why are we paid lower wages for doing the same work as men?" and so on. It is always nice to be reminded of the concrete issues and demands raised by second-wave feminism every once in a while even though I am more of a third-wave thinker.
There is also an essay by W.I.T.C.H (Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell). I love the old collectives from those days and wish more activists/writers would adopt the model. I am a sucker for manifestos, and collectives are usually the best sources of them. I especially appreciate the effort to come up with an organizational name that results in a meaningful acronym.
Cooke, Joanne, Charlotte Bunch-Weeks, and Robin Morgan, eds. The New Women: An Anthology of Women's Liberation. 1970. Greenwich: Fawcett, 1971.
I picked this up used from the free book table at school. I love old anthologies like this (especially from the various liberation movements of the 1960s and 1970s) because of their value as historical texts. I like to see what people were thinking, who was thinking it, how many of the thinkers are still relevant (or, at least, have kept publishing their thoughts [a crasser way of putting this is "who have I heard of, and what are the reasons I haven't heard of the others?"]) today? I have only heard of a few of the authors--Cynthia Ozick, Diane Di Prima, Rita Mae Brown, and Robin Morgan--but the questions listed on the back cover that the anthology addresses are still relevant today: "Why are we intimidated by the fashion and beauty industries? Why do we have to get married? Why do we have to have children? Why are we paid lower wages for doing the same work as men?" and so on. It is always nice to be reminded of the concrete issues and demands raised by second-wave feminism every once in a while even though I am more of a third-wave thinker.
There is also an essay by W.I.T.C.H (Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell). I love the old collectives from those days and wish more activists/writers would adopt the model. I am a sucker for manifestos, and collectives are usually the best sources of them. I especially appreciate the effort to come up with an organizational name that results in a meaningful acronym.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
The Man in the High Castle
Yesterday evening I read Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle. It turned out to be the perfect text for me at the moment. The characters' shared questioning of human existence and their understanding that one can never truly know the right way for sure, but must do one's best to find direction and just enjoy the ride was a message I needed to hear. I would love to teach it in a Literature and Religion course.
On a more concrete level, I enjoyed the novel's depiction of collectors because I love to collect things (especially books!). It is the best fictional portrayal of collectors/of the feel of collecting--the passion, the obsession, the tactile joy of the experience--that I have read, better than Zadie Smith's The Autograph Man. I freely admit that I sometimes seek solace from life's difficulties in material culture, and the book does an excellent job of portraying collecting's function as a form of (sometimes necessary) escapism. I also loved the book's consideration of "place," both as a geographical entity and as an expression of one's status within society. Place is a desperately important concept, but too few people realize this. The book's metafictional aspects (it revolves around a novel that is its exact opposite) are also delightful, an early example of American postmodernism. Well done.
On a more concrete level, I enjoyed the novel's depiction of collectors because I love to collect things (especially books!). It is the best fictional portrayal of collectors/of the feel of collecting--the passion, the obsession, the tactile joy of the experience--that I have read, better than Zadie Smith's The Autograph Man. I freely admit that I sometimes seek solace from life's difficulties in material culture, and the book does an excellent job of portraying collecting's function as a form of (sometimes necessary) escapism. I also loved the book's consideration of "place," both as a geographical entity and as an expression of one's status within society. Place is a desperately important concept, but too few people realize this. The book's metafictional aspects (it revolves around a novel that is its exact opposite) are also delightful, an early example of American postmodernism. Well done.
Going West
I am excited about getting to see some of the American West this summer. I'll be flying to Hawai'i for my sister's wedding in July and then moving to Salt Lake City in August, which will include a road trip across two states I've never been in, Nebraska and Wyoming. I have always had an abstract desire to see more of America, but any time I have money to travel my first choice for where to go is New York City, so I did not know if I would ever get to see the West.
The entire experience of getting a job in Salt Lake City has really (re)affirmed for me the notion that one never knows where life will lead, and also that life is long enough for a lot to happen, which is something I often have difficulty remembering or conceiving of because I am only 31. It will be a good adventure.
The entire experience of getting a job in Salt Lake City has really (re)affirmed for me the notion that one never knows where life will lead, and also that life is long enough for a lot to happen, which is something I often have difficulty remembering or conceiving of because I am only 31. It will be a good adventure.
Monday, May 23, 2011
The Champions League Final on TV
Saturday afternoon Fox, not Fox Soccer Channel, will televise the UEFA Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona. This is a huge milestone in the history of soccer in the United States because it will be the first time ever (or at least in my lifetime, but I am pretty sure ever) that a non-American club match will be shown in English on free television. (The Spanish-language networks televise the Mexican league and have shown European finals in the past: I became a Manchester United fan after watching the 1991 Cup-Winners' Cup final between United and Barcelona when I was 11. I was rooting for United because I liked their uniforms better, and I was impressed that Mark Hughes scored both the goals.)
Paradoxically, although much more live soccer is shown in the U.S. than ever before, the amount of it on free television has decreased because ABC no longer shows the MLS Cup or the MLS All-Star game; they only televise World Cup matches. I am unaware of any other network showing any professional soccer since the NASL days. Thus it is huge that Fox is showing the UCL final, which will be the first match on free English-language television since the 2010 World Cup final. It shows a commitment to the sport from Fox that is encouraging. The fact that the final includes two of the world's most famous clubs, who are both popular in the U.S., is also helpful.
Paradoxically, although much more live soccer is shown in the U.S. than ever before, the amount of it on free television has decreased because ABC no longer shows the MLS Cup or the MLS All-Star game; they only televise World Cup matches. I am unaware of any other network showing any professional soccer since the NASL days. Thus it is huge that Fox is showing the UCL final, which will be the first match on free English-language television since the 2010 World Cup final. It shows a commitment to the sport from Fox that is encouraging. The fact that the final includes two of the world's most famous clubs, who are both popular in the U.S., is also helpful.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Saturday Night Live
Last night's episode of Saturday Night Live was just about perfect, as the season finale should be. The opening sketch about Europe's financial problems was well-done, highbrow and hilarious at the same time, and the show went from there. Generally this season I have disliked the opening monologue songs that have become an almost weekly occurrence, but Justin Timberlake's about how he wouldn't sing during the episode was spot-on.
I also enjoyed Lady Gaga's acting cameos, especially during the What's That Name? sketch. Every time I see her perform I am more impressed. The twist of having her actually know people's names was a refreshing revision to the sketch's usual pattern. She was good in the digital short, too (which was better than "Mother Lover," but not as good as "Dick in the Box"). Her performance in it was subtle, but it pulled the sketch together.
And, of course, I was thrilled by the Barry Gibb Talk Show sketch. I am inordinately fond of Jimmy Fallon. The theme song always makes me giggle.
The only way the episode could have been better was if Amy Poehler had made an appearance for "Really?!? With Seth and Amy." Seth Meyers did a nice job with it by himself, but it just wasn't the same. It's the season finale, have more guest stars!
I also enjoyed Lady Gaga's acting cameos, especially during the What's That Name? sketch. Every time I see her perform I am more impressed. The twist of having her actually know people's names was a refreshing revision to the sketch's usual pattern. She was good in the digital short, too (which was better than "Mother Lover," but not as good as "Dick in the Box"). Her performance in it was subtle, but it pulled the sketch together.
And, of course, I was thrilled by the Barry Gibb Talk Show sketch. I am inordinately fond of Jimmy Fallon. The theme song always makes me giggle.
The only way the episode could have been better was if Amy Poehler had made an appearance for "Really?!? With Seth and Amy." Seth Meyers did a nice job with it by himself, but it just wasn't the same. It's the season finale, have more guest stars!
Friday, May 20, 2011
The Flying Troutmans
I just finished reading Miriam Toews's novel The Flying Troutmans, and quite enjoyed it. The plot is not especially fascinating (it's a typical "road trip" narrative), but the characters are fantastic. The 11-year-old girl Phebes is especially good. She is a precocious child similar to Oskar in Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (her talents are artistic rather than scientific, though). Her adult-like persona is almost unrealistic at times, but Toews does a good job of mixing in enough childishness to make her believable. Phebes's brother Logan's single-minded devotion to basketball is also well-done, and is somewhat humorous because he's Canadian (Steve Nash notwithstanding).
The pastiche of pop culture references that Toews mixes in is also entertaining because of its highly eclectic nature. It includes Fight Club (109), the Bible (83), Sylvia Plath (167), Scrabble (63), David Bowie (125), the Beatles (83), and James Bond (116) among others. The novel has a postmodern feel despite its realist chronological narrative, in part because of its pastichiness and in part because of its continued emphasis that hoping for centers in human existence is futile: nothing is universal or infallible. It manages to convey this somber message in an enjoyable, often humorous way, though.
The pastiche of pop culture references that Toews mixes in is also entertaining because of its highly eclectic nature. It includes Fight Club (109), the Bible (83), Sylvia Plath (167), Scrabble (63), David Bowie (125), the Beatles (83), and James Bond (116) among others. The novel has a postmodern feel despite its realist chronological narrative, in part because of its pastichiness and in part because of its continued emphasis that hoping for centers in human existence is futile: nothing is universal or infallible. It manages to convey this somber message in an enjoyable, often humorous way, though.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Books Acquired Recently
Books Acquired Recently
I received a $50.00 giftcard to Barnes & Noble from a friend this past weekend and finally got a chance to spend it tonight. My philosophy in such situations is to spend the giftcard in the store rather than online (where I buy the large majority of my books [in part because DeKalb doesn't have any good bookstores]) in order to periodically get the satisfying experience of browsing in a bookstore without a specific goal for what I will purchase. Unfortunately, my library is extensive enough that it can be difficult to find desirable books that I don't already own at chain bookstores. I am happy with what I found this evening, but what I bought was all that I found--slim pickings.
Burroughs, William S. Naked Lunch: The Restored Text. Ed. James Grauerholz and Barry Miles. 1959. New York: Grove, 2001.
I've been meaning to read this for a while. It's a little embarrassing that I haven't gotten around to it yet. I looked for it every time I have been in a used bookstore for the past year or so and didn't find a copy, which could indicate that those who own it are loathe to part with it, a good sign (I had the same experience with Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club for about five years, and finally broke down and bought it new several months ago).
Dick, Philip K. The Man in the High Castle. 1962. New York: Vintage, 1992.
Dick is another author I've been meaning to read for a while. I have almost bought the Library of America's first collection of his work several times because their editions are so aesthetically pleasing, but haven't been able to find it for a good price ($35.00 is a bit steep for an author I've never read before and am not obligated to be familiar with for scholarly reasons). After reading the section on Dick in Thomas Disch's The Dreams Our Stuff is Made Of, I decided that The Man in the High Castle sounded fascinating, but the rest of his work did not, thus I decided to buy the single volume tonight rather than the collection.
When I had a vasectomy six years ago, the doctor knew that I studied literature, and he mentioned that he enjoyed reading Dick and then proceeded to make jokes about him throughout the procedure: "I love Dick," "I'm a big Dick fan," et cetera. One of the most bizarre experiences of my life.
Reed, Ishmael, ed. From Totems to Hip-Hop: A Multicultural Anthology of Poetry Across the Americas, 1900-2002. New York: Thunder's Mouth, 2003.
I am obsessed with poetry anthologies in part because of their role in canon formation and in part because they serve as intriguing historical documents once they get old because of all of the writers included in them who then fade away. This one looked exciting on the shelf: an editor whose work I love and parameters (both in terms of ethnicity/nationality and genre--I am a big supporter of the recent trend in studying music lyrics, especially rap lyrics, as poetry) that are not repeated by any of the other anthologies I own. I've been reading much more poetry in the last six months than I had for at least five years, really craving it again, which has been quite enjoyable.
I received a $50.00 giftcard to Barnes & Noble from a friend this past weekend and finally got a chance to spend it tonight. My philosophy in such situations is to spend the giftcard in the store rather than online (where I buy the large majority of my books [in part because DeKalb doesn't have any good bookstores]) in order to periodically get the satisfying experience of browsing in a bookstore without a specific goal for what I will purchase. Unfortunately, my library is extensive enough that it can be difficult to find desirable books that I don't already own at chain bookstores. I am happy with what I found this evening, but what I bought was all that I found--slim pickings.
Burroughs, William S. Naked Lunch: The Restored Text. Ed. James Grauerholz and Barry Miles. 1959. New York: Grove, 2001.
I've been meaning to read this for a while. It's a little embarrassing that I haven't gotten around to it yet. I looked for it every time I have been in a used bookstore for the past year or so and didn't find a copy, which could indicate that those who own it are loathe to part with it, a good sign (I had the same experience with Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club for about five years, and finally broke down and bought it new several months ago).
Dick, Philip K. The Man in the High Castle. 1962. New York: Vintage, 1992.
Dick is another author I've been meaning to read for a while. I have almost bought the Library of America's first collection of his work several times because their editions are so aesthetically pleasing, but haven't been able to find it for a good price ($35.00 is a bit steep for an author I've never read before and am not obligated to be familiar with for scholarly reasons). After reading the section on Dick in Thomas Disch's The Dreams Our Stuff is Made Of, I decided that The Man in the High Castle sounded fascinating, but the rest of his work did not, thus I decided to buy the single volume tonight rather than the collection.
When I had a vasectomy six years ago, the doctor knew that I studied literature, and he mentioned that he enjoyed reading Dick and then proceeded to make jokes about him throughout the procedure: "I love Dick," "I'm a big Dick fan," et cetera. One of the most bizarre experiences of my life.
Reed, Ishmael, ed. From Totems to Hip-Hop: A Multicultural Anthology of Poetry Across the Americas, 1900-2002. New York: Thunder's Mouth, 2003.
I am obsessed with poetry anthologies in part because of their role in canon formation and in part because they serve as intriguing historical documents once they get old because of all of the writers included in them who then fade away. This one looked exciting on the shelf: an editor whose work I love and parameters (both in terms of ethnicity/nationality and genre--I am a big supporter of the recent trend in studying music lyrics, especially rap lyrics, as poetry) that are not repeated by any of the other anthologies I own. I've been reading much more poetry in the last six months than I had for at least five years, really craving it again, which has been quite enjoyable.
Cool links
Here's a really neat blog about what people would save if their house was on fire:
http://the-burning-house.com/
And here's the excellent Uni Watch blog where I got the link from:
http://www.uniwatchblog.com/
Uni Watch is great! It focuses on the aesthetics of sports uniforms, but also includes a lot of non sports-related design content.
http://the-burning-house.com/
And here's the excellent Uni Watch blog where I got the link from:
http://www.uniwatchblog.com/
Uni Watch is great! It focuses on the aesthetics of sports uniforms, but also includes a lot of non sports-related design content.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Roth's The Humbling
I just finished reading Philip Roth's The Humbling. Generally I have enjoyed his recent fiction (especially Exit Ghost) and been impressed with the continuing high quality of his work in his 70s, but even so I was surprised with how good The Humbling is both in terms of aesthetic quality and plot (i.e., the enjoyable quality of the story--it's a good yarn). The protagonist Simon's story ends up being the traditional Roth plot of a megalomaniacal man who is incapable of seeing other peoples' actions as anything other than slights against him (though this time he's not a self-hating Jew), but with the twist (for Roth) thrown in that the woman he desires and seduces is a lesbian.
This is where the book becomes problematic. Virtually all of Roth's protagonists are horribly misogynist, but their idiocy is clear to readers: their anti-women feelings are so intense that the characters become caricatures (as Roth intends) and we know to disagree with them. However, The Humbling's treatment of lesbianism (not to mention its flat, stereotypical, oppressive treatment of transgendered persons) is much more muddied. Simon's love interest, Pegeen, has just been jilted by her lover and now views lesbianism as a "seventeen-year mistake" (61). So of course she follows the stereotypical questioning lesbian narrative of "let's find a penis to help me through my problems; being heteronormative is obviously what I need to help me through my life issues." (This narrative is also evident most recently in Julianne Moore's character from the film The Kids Are All Right.) When she and Simon first have sex, she tells him that his penis "fills you up [...] the way dildos and fingers don't" (92). At this point the dialogue resembles badly written pornography for straight men.
Pegeen leaves Simon at the end of the book, which would seem to reject her previous rejection of lesbianism, but we are not told what happens to her once she leaves. She might go back to women or she might not. Roth has, of course, made a career of writing troubling texts that readers are nevertheless unable to put down, and The Humbling is no different in this regard. But this is the first time that I have been unable to simply laugh it off afterward, and I am still trying to figure out how I feel about that.
This is where the book becomes problematic. Virtually all of Roth's protagonists are horribly misogynist, but their idiocy is clear to readers: their anti-women feelings are so intense that the characters become caricatures (as Roth intends) and we know to disagree with them. However, The Humbling's treatment of lesbianism (not to mention its flat, stereotypical, oppressive treatment of transgendered persons) is much more muddied. Simon's love interest, Pegeen, has just been jilted by her lover and now views lesbianism as a "seventeen-year mistake" (61). So of course she follows the stereotypical questioning lesbian narrative of "let's find a penis to help me through my problems; being heteronormative is obviously what I need to help me through my life issues." (This narrative is also evident most recently in Julianne Moore's character from the film The Kids Are All Right.) When she and Simon first have sex, she tells him that his penis "fills you up [...] the way dildos and fingers don't" (92). At this point the dialogue resembles badly written pornography for straight men.
Pegeen leaves Simon at the end of the book, which would seem to reject her previous rejection of lesbianism, but we are not told what happens to her once she leaves. She might go back to women or she might not. Roth has, of course, made a career of writing troubling texts that readers are nevertheless unable to put down, and The Humbling is no different in this regard. But this is the first time that I have been unable to simply laugh it off afterward, and I am still trying to figure out how I feel about that.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
A Miscellany
The combination of blogger.com being down for a few days last week and a very busy weekend hosting family has led to me not posting for nearly a week, so today's entry is wide-ranging.
I was listening a bit to the Rolling Stones the other day and was struck by the oddness of "Mother's Little Helper." What possessed Mick Jagger to write this song? Why did he, the epitome of (packaged, mainstream) nonconformity and a heavy drug user, feel the need to sing about the dangers of housewives abusing drugs and the rise of pre-packaged food products? It's bizarre.
Manchester United's clinching of their 19th league championship (12 in the Premiership and seven in the old First Division) on Saturday was incredibly satisfying. I fancy their chances of winning the Champions League final against Barcelona more than most (and not just because I am a United fan). All of the pressure will be on Barcelona, and the final is at Wembley! Don't underestimate the "home" advantage for United, as well as all of the ghosts from their 1968 European Cup win, also at Wembley. Plus the revenge factor from losing to Barcelona in the 2009 final. United have all of the intangibles on their side, and they have shown throughout Sir Alex Ferguson's tenure that they know how to use intangibles to their utmost advantage.
I just finished reading Nnedi Okorafor's novel Who Fears Death, a science fiction/fantasy narrative that is a pastiche of themes from Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Dave Eggers's What is the What. It does not explicitly acknowledge that it is an allegory of the genocide in Sudan until the very end, though this correlation is obvious from the very beginning. It was a fun read, not especially accomplished technically, but interesting as a fictionalized response to real-world catastrophe, which is an area of scholarly interest for me.
Books Acquired Recently
Dlugos, Tim. A Fast Life: The Collected Poems of Tim Dlugos. Ed. David Trinidad. Callicoon: Nightboat, 2011.
I wrote last month about how I enjoy Dlugos because of his similarity to Frank O'Hara, and sure enough, the first blurb on the back of the book is Ted Berrigan calling Dlugos "the Frank O'Hara of his generation." The back cover also claims that Dlugos is "a major American poet," which at this point is just wishful thinking, but it is a statement that deserves to be true. It also calls him the "seminal poet of the AIDS epidemic," ha ha.
Toews, Miriam. The Flying Troutmans. Berkeley: Counterpoint, 2008.
I've been meaning to read this for a while. I really enjoyed Toews's previous novel, A Complicated Kindness, and am interested to see what she does with characters that (as far as I can tell from reading about the book) are not Mennonite. Toews is also excellent as Esther in the film Silent Light, which is probably the best movie about Mennonites/Amish, beating both Witness and Hazel's People.
I was listening a bit to the Rolling Stones the other day and was struck by the oddness of "Mother's Little Helper." What possessed Mick Jagger to write this song? Why did he, the epitome of (packaged, mainstream) nonconformity and a heavy drug user, feel the need to sing about the dangers of housewives abusing drugs and the rise of pre-packaged food products? It's bizarre.
Manchester United's clinching of their 19th league championship (12 in the Premiership and seven in the old First Division) on Saturday was incredibly satisfying. I fancy their chances of winning the Champions League final against Barcelona more than most (and not just because I am a United fan). All of the pressure will be on Barcelona, and the final is at Wembley! Don't underestimate the "home" advantage for United, as well as all of the ghosts from their 1968 European Cup win, also at Wembley. Plus the revenge factor from losing to Barcelona in the 2009 final. United have all of the intangibles on their side, and they have shown throughout Sir Alex Ferguson's tenure that they know how to use intangibles to their utmost advantage.
I just finished reading Nnedi Okorafor's novel Who Fears Death, a science fiction/fantasy narrative that is a pastiche of themes from Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Dave Eggers's What is the What. It does not explicitly acknowledge that it is an allegory of the genocide in Sudan until the very end, though this correlation is obvious from the very beginning. It was a fun read, not especially accomplished technically, but interesting as a fictionalized response to real-world catastrophe, which is an area of scholarly interest for me.
Books Acquired Recently
Dlugos, Tim. A Fast Life: The Collected Poems of Tim Dlugos. Ed. David Trinidad. Callicoon: Nightboat, 2011.
I wrote last month about how I enjoy Dlugos because of his similarity to Frank O'Hara, and sure enough, the first blurb on the back of the book is Ted Berrigan calling Dlugos "the Frank O'Hara of his generation." The back cover also claims that Dlugos is "a major American poet," which at this point is just wishful thinking, but it is a statement that deserves to be true. It also calls him the "seminal poet of the AIDS epidemic," ha ha.
Toews, Miriam. The Flying Troutmans. Berkeley: Counterpoint, 2008.
I've been meaning to read this for a while. I really enjoyed Toews's previous novel, A Complicated Kindness, and am interested to see what she does with characters that (as far as I can tell from reading about the book) are not Mennonite. Toews is also excellent as Esther in the film Silent Light, which is probably the best movie about Mennonites/Amish, beating both Witness and Hazel's People.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Season of the Witch
I just finished reading Jean Marie (Hank) Stine's Season of the Witch (Stine was male when the novel was written, but has since undergone a sex change). It is a piece of erotic science fiction that was originally published by Essex House, which published literary erotica in the mid-to-late 1960s.
The basic plot is that the protagonist Andre rapes and kills a woman while high, and his punishment is to have his brain transplanted into her body. The majority of the book is devoted to his struggle to come to terms with his new femininity and a description of the ways women are mistreated by men. Its depiction of women ranges from horribly stereotypical to incisive (and somewhat feminist) back to stereotypical as Andre learns to accept his prescribed gender role as a giving woman whose primary concern is the happiness of others. He/she even gets happily pregnant at the end.
The reprint includes an afterword by Stine in which she admits to the retrograde nature of some of the book's ideas. What is especially disturbing to me about the book is that it is just another example of a trend in the depiction of transsexuals in literature (which takes place almost exclusively in science fiction to the best of my knowledge): it is always a male-to-female transition, and it is enacted as either a form of punishment or masochism, for instance, in Angela Carter's The Passion of New Eve or Samuel R. Delany's Trouble on Triton. Perhaps Ursula LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness or Joanna Russ's The Female Man could be considered exceptions, though they are more about intersex characters rather than transsexuals. The overarching problem is that there is too little transsexual fiction, and what does exist is not well-known, so it is difficult to find positive portrayals of transsexuals. It's the old Well of Loneliness problem all over again--the only portrayals available require the death of the subversive character, or something akin to it.
The basic plot is that the protagonist Andre rapes and kills a woman while high, and his punishment is to have his brain transplanted into her body. The majority of the book is devoted to his struggle to come to terms with his new femininity and a description of the ways women are mistreated by men. Its depiction of women ranges from horribly stereotypical to incisive (and somewhat feminist) back to stereotypical as Andre learns to accept his prescribed gender role as a giving woman whose primary concern is the happiness of others. He/she even gets happily pregnant at the end.
The reprint includes an afterword by Stine in which she admits to the retrograde nature of some of the book's ideas. What is especially disturbing to me about the book is that it is just another example of a trend in the depiction of transsexuals in literature (which takes place almost exclusively in science fiction to the best of my knowledge): it is always a male-to-female transition, and it is enacted as either a form of punishment or masochism, for instance, in Angela Carter's The Passion of New Eve or Samuel R. Delany's Trouble on Triton. Perhaps Ursula LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness or Joanna Russ's The Female Man could be considered exceptions, though they are more about intersex characters rather than transsexuals. The overarching problem is that there is too little transsexual fiction, and what does exist is not well-known, so it is difficult to find positive portrayals of transsexuals. It's the old Well of Loneliness problem all over again--the only portrayals available require the death of the subversive character, or something akin to it.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Abbey Road Revisited
I just listened to the Beatles' Abbey Road for the first time in several years. Here are some random thoughts:
What is up with "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"? This was one of my favorite Beatles song as a kid, and I have always had a fondness for it as a result, but listening to it now it sounds much more sinister than playful. Especially the women in the courtroom "screaming 'Maxwell must go free'." Very Charles Manson-esque.
Anyway, the entire album is darker than I used to give it credit for. For instance, while the ending medley (side two on the cassette I had as a kid [this is a separate issue--due to individual song downloads, young people these days have no sense of what an album is, of the cohesiveness that makes all of the songs better, let alone any sense of how a single side has to work together within the structure of a full album]) is fun, and according to George Harrison in the Beatles documentary that was on ABC in the mid-1990s (1994 or '95, when they released "Free As A Bird"), it was meant to be funny, the last two songs of the medley, "Carry That Weight" and "The End," are just depressing in light of the band's breakup shortly thereafter. They also had special resonance for me tonight since I am completing my last week of graduate school.
Also, while "Octopus's Garden" is a happy kind of song, one has to wonder what Ringo was going through to feel the need to express his desire for "hiding [...where] we can't be found"? The song's vision is happy, but the catalyst for that vision is not.
What is up with "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"? This was one of my favorite Beatles song as a kid, and I have always had a fondness for it as a result, but listening to it now it sounds much more sinister than playful. Especially the women in the courtroom "screaming 'Maxwell must go free'." Very Charles Manson-esque.
Anyway, the entire album is darker than I used to give it credit for. For instance, while the ending medley (side two on the cassette I had as a kid [this is a separate issue--due to individual song downloads, young people these days have no sense of what an album is, of the cohesiveness that makes all of the songs better, let alone any sense of how a single side has to work together within the structure of a full album]) is fun, and according to George Harrison in the Beatles documentary that was on ABC in the mid-1990s (1994 or '95, when they released "Free As A Bird"), it was meant to be funny, the last two songs of the medley, "Carry That Weight" and "The End," are just depressing in light of the band's breakup shortly thereafter. They also had special resonance for me tonight since I am completing my last week of graduate school.
Also, while "Octopus's Garden" is a happy kind of song, one has to wonder what Ringo was going through to feel the need to express his desire for "hiding [...where] we can't be found"? The song's vision is happy, but the catalyst for that vision is not.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Saturday Night Live
A good-but-not-great episode of Saturday Night Live last night. Host Tina Fey did well in her sketches, but was underutilized, I suppose because of her pregnancy. My favorite sketch was the Little Mermaid parody where Bin Laden's body falls into "Ariel's" underwater community. Fred Armisen as the skeptical "manta drinking Fanta" was hilarious! The other excellent sketch was the hippie birthing video with Fey and Maya Rudolph. Very well done, and it made me happy that Rudolph was wearing a huge merkin. Fey's turn as Sarah Palin at the "undeclared Republican presidential candidate debate" was pretty good, but Bill Hader stole the sketch.
I was a little disappointed that Fey didn't have any role in Weekend Update. Weekend Update was disappointing overall, as Hader's Stefon sketch (who is now one of my favorite characters) didn't build enough before its climax to be satisfying. His inevitable crack-up, which is now an expected part of the sketch, came too early.
One last word on the musical guest, Ellie Golding (? Most of the time I've never heard of the musical guest before their SNL appearance because I don't listen to the radio). Her second song was a decent cover of Elton John's "Your Song." However, YOU ARE ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE! WHY ARE YOU NOT SINGING YOUR OWN SONGS??? It makes no sense.
I was a little disappointed that Fey didn't have any role in Weekend Update. Weekend Update was disappointing overall, as Hader's Stefon sketch (who is now one of my favorite characters) didn't build enough before its climax to be satisfying. His inevitable crack-up, which is now an expected part of the sketch, came too early.
One last word on the musical guest, Ellie Golding (? Most of the time I've never heard of the musical guest before their SNL appearance because I don't listen to the radio). Her second song was a decent cover of Elton John's "Your Song." However, YOU ARE ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE! WHY ARE YOU NOT SINGING YOUR OWN SONGS??? It makes no sense.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Books Acquired Recently (continued)
As I was writing the previous post this morning, the mailman (gendered term used intentionally because it actually was a man today) delivered three more book packages that I didn't have time to open until this evening:
Fox, Robert Elliot. Conscientious Sorcerers: The Black Postmodernist Fiction of LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka, Ishmael Reed, and Samuel R. Delany. Westport: Greenwood, 1987.
I used this book a lot during my dissertation and decided to buy my own copy because Fox is one of the few critics to examine Delany's The Tides of Lust in-depth, which is one of the novels that I will study in my next book.
Sallis, James, ed. Ash of Stars: On the Writing of Samuel R. Delany. Jackson: UP of Mississippi, 1996.
Another book that was helpful for the Delany chapter of my dissertation and will also come in handy for my next project.
Weedman, Jane Branham. Samuel R. Delany. Mercer Island: Starmont, 1982.
Rounding out my collection of Delany criticism.
Fox, Robert Elliot. Conscientious Sorcerers: The Black Postmodernist Fiction of LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka, Ishmael Reed, and Samuel R. Delany. Westport: Greenwood, 1987.
I used this book a lot during my dissertation and decided to buy my own copy because Fox is one of the few critics to examine Delany's The Tides of Lust in-depth, which is one of the novels that I will study in my next book.
Sallis, James, ed. Ash of Stars: On the Writing of Samuel R. Delany. Jackson: UP of Mississippi, 1996.
Another book that was helpful for the Delany chapter of my dissertation and will also come in handy for my next project.
Weedman, Jane Branham. Samuel R. Delany. Mercer Island: Starmont, 1982.
Rounding out my collection of Delany criticism.
Books Acquired Recently
Books Acquired Recently:
I've gone a little crazy buying books in the past few weeks. Not all of them have even arrived yet! These are the ones I've received so far.
Brooks, Gwendolyn. The Essential Gwendolyn Brooks. Ed. Elizabeth Alexander. New York: Library of America, 2005.
I would love to teach Brooks extensively sometime rather than just a few poems from an anthology, but her Selected Poems does not include any of her work from the Black Arts Movement, which is what I am most interested in, so I ordered this collection to see if it would be suitable to use instead because it covers her entire career.
Germano, William. From Dissertation to Book. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2005.
My big writing project this summer is to revise my dissertation into book form so that I can begin submitting book proposals to publishers. I read Germano's book last night and it was quite helpful in giving me a map for going about my revisions.
Johnson, E. Patrick, and Mae G. Henderson, eds. Black Queer Studies: A Critical Anthology. Durham: Duke UP, 2005.
Amazon recommended this to me, and it looks interesting. African American literature and LGBT studies are my two scholarly foci these days, so this should be a helpful resource.
Koch, Kenneth. Kenneth Koch: Selected Poems. Ed. Ron Padgett. New York: Library of America, 2007.
I've been meaning to read Koch for years because of his close friendship with my favorite poet, Frank O'Hara. There have been numerous times in the past few years when I've almost bought this collection, but then didn't. Labyrinth Books had it on sale for $6.00 new, so I decided now was the time.
McEvoy, Seth. Samuel R. Delany. New York: Ungar, 1984.
My next book project is on Delany, so last week I ordered copies of all of the books on him that I didn't already own. Delany says in About Writing that McEvoy's book is the worst one about his work, so I won't use it much (if at all), but I like to be throrough. There is little enough criticism on Delany that one can't be choosy.
Moore, Honor, ed. Poems From the Women's Movement. New York: Library of America, 2009.
This looked really interesting when I saw it in the Labyrinth Books catalogue, and it was only $6.00. It might be fun to teach in a Rhetoric course. I am a total sucker for Library of America books because they are so aesthetically pleasing.
Puar, Jasbir K. Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalism in Queer Times. Durham: Duke UP, 2007.
Amazon recommended this to me after I ordered Johnson and Henderson's anthology. I am very much interested in the literature of terrorism and more broadly the continuing after-effects of 9/11, so Puar's book sounds very interesting to me, though I probably won't have time to read it for a while.
Stine, Jean Marie. Season of the Witch. 1968. San Francisco: Eros, 2011.
I read about Stine's book in Thomas Disch's The Dreams our Stuff is Made Of, and it sounded interesting. I am constantly looking for examples of transgender fiction, and they are few and far between, so Stine helps fill the gap.
I've gone a little crazy buying books in the past few weeks. Not all of them have even arrived yet! These are the ones I've received so far.
Brooks, Gwendolyn. The Essential Gwendolyn Brooks. Ed. Elizabeth Alexander. New York: Library of America, 2005.
I would love to teach Brooks extensively sometime rather than just a few poems from an anthology, but her Selected Poems does not include any of her work from the Black Arts Movement, which is what I am most interested in, so I ordered this collection to see if it would be suitable to use instead because it covers her entire career.
Germano, William. From Dissertation to Book. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2005.
My big writing project this summer is to revise my dissertation into book form so that I can begin submitting book proposals to publishers. I read Germano's book last night and it was quite helpful in giving me a map for going about my revisions.
Johnson, E. Patrick, and Mae G. Henderson, eds. Black Queer Studies: A Critical Anthology. Durham: Duke UP, 2005.
Amazon recommended this to me, and it looks interesting. African American literature and LGBT studies are my two scholarly foci these days, so this should be a helpful resource.
Koch, Kenneth. Kenneth Koch: Selected Poems. Ed. Ron Padgett. New York: Library of America, 2007.
I've been meaning to read Koch for years because of his close friendship with my favorite poet, Frank O'Hara. There have been numerous times in the past few years when I've almost bought this collection, but then didn't. Labyrinth Books had it on sale for $6.00 new, so I decided now was the time.
McEvoy, Seth. Samuel R. Delany. New York: Ungar, 1984.
My next book project is on Delany, so last week I ordered copies of all of the books on him that I didn't already own. Delany says in About Writing that McEvoy's book is the worst one about his work, so I won't use it much (if at all), but I like to be throrough. There is little enough criticism on Delany that one can't be choosy.
Moore, Honor, ed. Poems From the Women's Movement. New York: Library of America, 2009.
This looked really interesting when I saw it in the Labyrinth Books catalogue, and it was only $6.00. It might be fun to teach in a Rhetoric course. I am a total sucker for Library of America books because they are so aesthetically pleasing.
Puar, Jasbir K. Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalism in Queer Times. Durham: Duke UP, 2007.
Amazon recommended this to me after I ordered Johnson and Henderson's anthology. I am very much interested in the literature of terrorism and more broadly the continuing after-effects of 9/11, so Puar's book sounds very interesting to me, though I probably won't have time to read it for a while.
Stine, Jean Marie. Season of the Witch. 1968. San Francisco: Eros, 2011.
I read about Stine's book in Thomas Disch's The Dreams our Stuff is Made Of, and it sounded interesting. I am constantly looking for examples of transgender fiction, and they are few and far between, so Stine helps fill the gap.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Planning
I am thinking about my syllabi for next semester. I have two sections of Introduction to Literature and one of Composition and Research. Both reading lists are basically set (especially the Intro to Lit), but until I actually send in the book order there is always a wonderful feeling of excitement, of promise, of potential knowing that I could teach ANYTHING within the parameters of the course (which, in the case of Intro to Lit, is almost literally anything). It's always a little sad once a course gets set in stone, even when I like the reading list and am looking forward to teaching it, because that potential disappears until the next semester.
This is an issue that I have been thinking about a lot lately as far as my own life goes. I am 31 now, and the many potential lives that were available to live when I graduated college at 22 are quickly dwindling. I graduate with my Ph.D. in a little more than a week and have my first full-time teaching job set up, so my (first?) career is moving full steam ahead. I am really excited to finally be a professional scholar rather than a student, but at the same time it is terribly scary that a large part of my identity is set, and that if for some reason it does not go well I will be stuck. Getting old is a constantly perplexing process even when it is enjoyable.
This is an issue that I have been thinking about a lot lately as far as my own life goes. I am 31 now, and the many potential lives that were available to live when I graduated college at 22 are quickly dwindling. I graduate with my Ph.D. in a little more than a week and have my first full-time teaching job set up, so my (first?) career is moving full steam ahead. I am really excited to finally be a professional scholar rather than a student, but at the same time it is terribly scary that a large part of my identity is set, and that if for some reason it does not go well I will be stuck. Getting old is a constantly perplexing process even when it is enjoyable.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Thoughts on Osama's Death
It was stunning last night to hear the news of Osama Bin Laden's death. Frankly, it had been so long that I assumed he would never be captured, in part because it was very possible that he was already dead. My first thought was "Wow, I'd really hate to be Pakistan right about now" because now there is proof that the government wasn't doing near enough to make terrorists within its borders feel uncomfortable. India is in the driver's seat as far as relations between the two countries go with Pakistan now having zero credibility. This could be a very bad situation, one that India might conceivably use to justify a nuclear attack if any further terrorist actions originating in Pakistan were forthcoming.
Today I am torn about how I feel. The pacifist part of me feels that it is never appropriate to celebrate someone's death no matter how evil they are (and certainly I am not celebrating Osama's death, but I don't really feel sad about it, either), but in reading more about the operation to find/attack Osama, and especially reading about how the crowd spontaneously started chanting "U-S-A! U-S-A!" at the Mets game last night, I find myself getting choked up and feeling a little "America! Fuck Yeah!" action going on. It is an unexpected split.
Today I am torn about how I feel. The pacifist part of me feels that it is never appropriate to celebrate someone's death no matter how evil they are (and certainly I am not celebrating Osama's death, but I don't really feel sad about it, either), but in reading more about the operation to find/attack Osama, and especially reading about how the crowd spontaneously started chanting "U-S-A! U-S-A!" at the Mets game last night, I find myself getting choked up and feeling a little "America! Fuck Yeah!" action going on. It is an unexpected split.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Starboard Wine and Samuel R. Delany's Canonicity
I've spent the last hour or so online looking to buy a copy of Samuel R. Delany's Starboard Wine (1984). It is the only volume of his nonfiction that I do not own. My search has thus far been unsuccessful, as it was when I undertook it at the end of December. I am so used to finding whatever book I want on amazon.com (and almost always for reasonable prices) that it is a disconcerting feeling when this process fails. I had seen a copy in fair condition for around $55.00 on amazon last summer and decided not to get it then because I didn't need it for my research at the time and thought I would wait until I had some extra money around, but now I am kicking myself for passing up the chance.
I did find that apparently Wesleyan University Press, which has published/re-printed most of Delany's nonfiction and several of his novels, was planning on issuing a new edition back in 1997, but it never came to fruition. It scares me that Delany has such a difficult time keeping his work in print (and had a tough time finding a publisher for his new novel, which is finally coming out in October after its original publisher, Alyson Books, went bankrupt earlier this year) because he is a tremendously important author, not only for the queer and African American communities, but for America in general. I focus on him in my criticism in order to keep him on the canonical radar, where he is already on the margins at best. He is too important to let fade into obscurity after his death (he turns 70 next year, so who knows how much time he has left?).
I did find that apparently Wesleyan University Press, which has published/re-printed most of Delany's nonfiction and several of his novels, was planning on issuing a new edition back in 1997, but it never came to fruition. It scares me that Delany has such a difficult time keeping his work in print (and had a tough time finding a publisher for his new novel, which is finally coming out in October after its original publisher, Alyson Books, went bankrupt earlier this year) because he is a tremendously important author, not only for the queer and African American communities, but for America in general. I focus on him in my criticism in order to keep him on the canonical radar, where he is already on the margins at best. He is too important to let fade into obscurity after his death (he turns 70 next year, so who knows how much time he has left?).
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