Intellectual Curiosities and Provocations

August 2005

LitBits: Low Carb and Packed with Energy

Beat Generation,
News,
Tributes
Grab and go literary goodness for your busy lifestyle ...

-- Al Aronowitz, the man who introduced Bob Dylan to the Beatles and helped popularize Beat literature and culture with his series of articles in the NY Post has died.

-- In the Summer Reading 2005 feature on NPR, librarian Nancy Pearl offers up 10 memoirs that are worth a look. The list includes some beat-flavored picks, such as Joyce Johnson's Minor Characters and Hettie Jones' How I Became Hettie Jones.

To the Tick Tock Ya Don’t Stop

Internet Culture,
Litkicks,
News,
Poetry Readings
As Levi recently mentioned, a year ago around this time we were staying up all night because he had some crazy idea about a 24-hour poetry party. Since we all know the craziest ideas lead to the most fun and because sleep deprivation leads to selective memory nostalgia, Jamelah and I have decided we couldn't get through another summer without spending an entire 24-hour period online (not that it's really any different from what we do every day, but still).

Running With Lawyers

News,
Transgressive
This will be amusing for anybody who read Augusten Burroughs' memoir Running With Scissors, in which young Augusten is adopted by a flipped-out psychiatrist, Dr. Finch, a true patriarch of weirdness and by far the book's most memorable character. Now six relatives of the real-life doctor, who died in 2000, are speaking out against the book and taking the author and publisher to court for defamation of character.

Literary Meme-O-Gram: Either vs. Or #3

Memes
In this latest round of arbitrary either/or groupings, pick the word you like best out of each pair. That is all. Have fun!

1. Antepasta vs. Antediluvian
2. Untenable vs. Unruly
3. Schadenfreude vs. Freudian
4. Butter vs. Buttressed
5. Froward vs. Toward
6. Zany vs. Madcap
7. Carbohydrate vs. Carburetor
8. Scourge vs. Siege
9. Married vs. Dead
10. Nutmeat vs. Nutmeg
11. Hokey Pokey vs. Hocus Pocus
12. Pickle vs. Formaldehyde
13. Imprecise vs. Clockwork
14. Olfactory vs. Erogenous
15. Nymph vs. Lymph

What Are You Reading?

What Are You Reading
Do the "dog days" of summer lead to dog-eared books? Let us in on what you're reading and if you've made any headway on your summer reading list. The latest snazzy issue of Boldtype offers up some late summer reading suggestions, but what are your picks? Conversely, if you need some suggestions or are looking for something to shake up your literary routine, post a note here with your request for recommendations. Oh, won't you please, please tell us -- what are you reading?

This article is part of the What Are You Reading? series. The next post in the series is What Are You Reading?. The previous post in the series is What Are You Writing?.

American Life in Poetry: Discovered

Poetry
U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser has committed to a series of columns that highlight poetry and its importance in everyday life. From time to time we'll share the reprinted columns here, and provide you a chance to add your comments. This week's selection echoes the famous literary moment of Proust and his madeleines, but also reminds us that everyday objects and discoveries can hold a wealth of memory and emotion.

American Life in Poetry: Column 019
BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE

This article is part of the American Life In Poetry series. The next post in the series is American Life in Poetry: The Ashes. The previous post in the series is American Life in Poetry: Love Like Salt.

Take This Quill and Shove It

Awards,
News,
Publishing
In an effort not to be outdone by 50 Cent and Diddy and the various after parties at the MTV Video Music Awards, the folks at what's ominously known as Reed Business Information have announced the details and nominees for the first Quill Awards. You may be asking "What the hell is a Quill Award?" -- I know I sure did. Apparently the Quill Award is hyped to be the literary equivalent of the People's Choice Awards -- and like the People's Choice Awards where the nominees are chosen by editors of such fine publications as Entertainment Weekly, the Quill Awards nominees are selected by bookseller and librarian subscribers to Publisher's Weekly. (Did I mention that Reed Business Information is the parent company of Publisher's Weekly?) You can see the nominees in each category here and yes, my friends, there is a Bob Dylan nod. Some have said the choices are "interesting" or "bizarre". Frankly I find them predictable, safe and a little boring. Not the works themselves, naturally, but choosing them isn't exactly going out on a limb here. But, it is based on popularity, after all and is touted to be "a consumer driven celebration of the written word" -- hoo boy, indeed. I'm sure I'm being overly critical, but something just didn't set right with me after taking a look at their nominating criteria:

Really Though

Internet Culture,
Litkicks
Don't forget that two of your trusty and fun LitKicks editors will be blogging for an entire 24 hours all in the name of charity. It all begins at 9am ET on Saturday August 6. Rumor has it that there will be a prose factory, poetry on demand, several wardrobe changes, a webcam and even witticism. Yes! Witticism! It's the feel-good hit of the summer, believe you me. So if you'd like to provide moral support, inspiration or a charitable donation for literacy, please swing on by ... we'll leave the light on for ya.

Def Poetry: August 5 2005

Spoken Word
What I liked about last night's Def Poetry show:

I appreciated Suhier Hammid's opener, "Mike Check", about an airport security guard named Mike and the dumb things he says as he goes through the poet's bags. Hammid is a solid performer and she knows how to construct a piece that really gets a point across (I also get racially profiled every time I go anywhere near an airplane, for some reason, so I know what she's talking about).

This article is part of the Def Poetry Jam series. The next post in the series is Def Poetry: August 12 2005. The previous post in the series is Def Poetry: July 29 2005.

Reviewing the Review: August 7 2005

I have no problem with the New York Times Book Review stamping an individual staff editor's vision all over one particular issue. But I am not crazy with the results achieved in today's Book Review, brought to you by Rachel Donadio.

I think it's cool to have one staffer compose the editor's note, the back page essay and a significant article. Unfortunately, I think Donadio serves up three duds in a row.

This article is part of the Reviewing the New York Times Book Review series. The next post in the series is Reviewing the Review: August 14 2005. The previous post in the series is Reviewing the Review: July 31, 2005.

Six Degrees of John Irving’s Latest Stinker

Fiction,
Lit-Crit,
News
Let's face it, no one seems to know quite how to put it delicately about John Irving's newest novel, Until I Find You. The fact that it's so damn long is apparently only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what's wrong with this heavily panned book. Irving can't even catch a break from his fatwa-inducing good friend's ex-wife who reviewed the novel as a "mass of lazy, unrefined writing." Ouch.

Ripples

Economics,
Internet Culture,
Music,
News,
Technology
A lot of things happened ten years ago today.

Not many people were paying attention to the new phenomenon known as the World Wide Web on the morning of August 9, 1995. A young computer programmer at the University of Urbana-Champaign in Illinois, Marc Andreesen, had invented the web browser (called "Mosaic") a couple of years before. Some venture capitalists partnered with Andreesen to create a company based on web technology (which was considered a wacky idea at the time). They initially called the company Mosaic Communications, but Mosaic was already well-known as the name of the free, open-source browser, so the company changed its name to Netscape. Ten years ago today, this company went public on the stock market. It was the first internet IPO, and a big financial success. The dot-com craze was born.

Frigid Mountain

Fiction,
Film,
Southern
Well, as I promised recently, I finished watching the DVD of Cold Mountain, a film based on one of my favorite books in the world.

This is not one of my favorite movies in the world.

I know I'm about two years late to the trashing party for this movie, so I don't think I should bother going into much detail. The fact that this film is a disappointment is not news. I'm not sure if I have any original complaints to add, but maybe I can at least vent a little of my personal fury by making a couple of points about this film:

First, the performances were as bad as everybody told me they would be. Nicole Kidman and Jude Law didn't come across as actors so much as dress-up dolls reading lines from a script. Renee Zellweiger managed to have some fun with the role of Ruby, but beyond that every performer was stiff and artificial. I was particularly disappointed in Donald Sutherland, who was supposed to be playing Ada's father, Monroe, but was instead apparently playing Martin Sheen playing Robert E. Lee playing Monroe. Ever hear of method acting, Sutherland? What the hell is your motivation?

For Sale: The Origin of Jellicles

News,
Poetry
A collection of almost 50 letters written by T.S. Eliot to his godson are to be auctioned off next month. The letters contain drawings and early poems which many believe to be the prototype for Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, published in 1939. In total, over one hundred letters, a first-edition inscribed copy of The Waste Land and other artifacts will be sold by Bonhams, a London auction house.

Any bidders?

Def Poetry: August 12 2005

Spoken Word
After a few good episodes of Def Poetry in a row, last night's show was pretty mundane.

There were some good points. Denizen Kane's chant for unknown soldiers was evocative, and Sekou Sundiata's thoughtful piece on modern life was moving and well-performed.

This article is part of the Def Poetry Jam series. The next post in the series is Def Poetry Season Wrap-Up. The previous post in the series is Def Poetry: August 5 2005.

Hammer Time: Authors Auction Off a Chance to Appear in Their Work

Being A Writer,
News
I read this article over the weekend about the charity auction for the First Amendment Project. If you haven't heard about this, the deal is that 16 authors (ranging from Stephen King to ZZ Packer) will be auctioning off the chance to appear in an upcoming book, in a variety of ways. The auctions will take place September 1-25. The offerings range from lukewarm to somewhat interesting. Like this bit from Stephen King:

Re-Reading On the Road

Beat Generation,
Fiction,
Reading
OK, so I threw my dog-eared paperback copy into the backseat of my car, late last night. I had wolfed this book down this hot summer back in July for the umpteenth time and at first, it made me laugh, full of joy again and I was in awe and exhilirated.

I have read this damn thing many times in sweet escapist joy but this second time in a month I re-read last week, well, it was different the last time around. Across the miles and moils of years, this time the second rush of ending summer seemed more painful than before. I wept. Dean was a rat, and Sal retaliated, and I bummed.

Lunar Park: Weird Happenings on Elsinore Lane

Breakfast Club,
Fiction,
News,
Postmodernism,
Reviews,
Transgressive


Bret Easton Ellis's Lunar Park is more fun than any novel he's written before, and it's easy to see why it's become one of the hot books of the summer.

A satirical pseudo-autobiography as well as a creepy paranoid thriller, the book glides like a fast dream and keeps you in suspense, even though you won't care a bit about the well-being of any of its endangered characters. Everything still all adds up to less than zero in Ellis's world, and that's the way it's supposed to be.

Def Poetry Season Wrap-Up

Spoken Word,
Television
The fifth season of Def Poetry is over, and here are our summary awards:

Three Best Performers of the Season: First, Sista Queen, an unknown young poet from Atlanta who won't be unknown much longer after tearing up the stage in episode 7. Second, Big Poppa E, who illustrated his poignant and personal words with a deft physical performance that was a pleasure to watch; and Mike McGhee, who was just plain freaky, funny and real.

This article is part of the Def Poetry Jam series. The previous post in the series is Def Poetry: August 12 2005.

Reviewing the Review: August 21 2005

I haven't yet read Chris Cleave's new novel about modern terrorism in London, Incendiary, mainly because I haven't yet heard a review enthusiastic enough to make me want to. The book gets another mediocre review from Ian Samson in the New York Times Book Review today, and Samson repeats the fact you'll hear in every article about Incendiary: it was published on the day four bombs actually blew up in the London tube.

This article is part of the Reviewing the New York Times Book Review series. The next post in the series is Reviewing the Review: August 28 2005. The previous post in the series is Reviewing the Review: August 14 2005.

Jamelah Reads the Classics: Canzoniere

Classics,
Language,
Poetry,
Reviews
"Italian is a song," my professor said (entirely in Italian) on the very first day of class. "High, low, high, low. We don't talk, we sing."

There are other pieces to this story, but I won't get into them, because this post isn't about the joys of learning what is, hands down, the sexiest language on earth. No, it's about Petrarch's Songbook (Canzoniere), which is more formally known as Rerum Vulgarium Fragmenta, a collection of poetry. I figured that whole "Italian is a song" thing would be a fitting introduction.

This article is part of the Jamelah Reads The Classics series. The next post in the series is Jamelah Reads the Classics: Troilus and Cressida. The previous post in the series is Jamelah Reads the Classics: Inferno.

Amazon Enters the Shorts Business

Internet Culture,
News,
Publishing
I like the idea of Amazon Shorts, the new literary offering by Amazon in which stories and short essays are offered, MP3-like, for 49 cents each.

This format clearly has potential. My only complaint is that Amazon's press releases for this service are emphasizing the literary appeal, but only one of program's six categories actually involves literary fiction.

Do you think you might download a story or essay from this service? Let us know if you do ...

Thom Pain (Based on Nothing)

Drama,
Existential
Last week I attended a performance of Thom Pain (Based on Nothing), a critically-acclaimed new off-Broadway play written by Will Eno. Thom Pain is causing a sensation because of its minimalist intensity. It features exactly four elements: one stage, one light, one performer, and one mic.

The performer is James Urbaniuk, who played cartoonist Robert Crumb in the film American Splendor and exhibits some of the same gleefully perverse unpredictability here. He greets us sardonically after the room goes dark, pretending to struggle to get a match lit, and then he starts telling us a story. A young boy witnesses the accidental death of his beloved dog, and then, in an odd reaction the boy himself doesn't understand, loses himself in the fascination of swirling a stick in a rain puddle. This sets the mood for the longer story to follow (which turns out to be the oldest story in the world): the boy grows up, he falls in love, and the person he loves does not love him back. This painful truth is finally revealed, and the curtain falls.

Where Does This Language Come From

Being A Writer,
Language
I sit here stunned and need a place to put it. This morning I found a diary (that's what the author calls it anyway) hidden in the bed of one of the boys with HIV/AIDS I care for. Dylan is eight. Apparently, he's quite a writer. I had no idea. Do I feel guilty for scrounging around this diary. Not really. I would seriously like to know where this talent for language comes from.

His parents were junkies. Both dead.

Dylan is on the computer a lot (I refuse to believe this is from the computer) and it's hard for me to get him to even crack a book. His favorite books are the Harry Potter books, but Dylan's writing leaves Rowling in the dust. Most of the diary is poetry. Some narrative. I thought you had to LEARN (accompanied by sweat) how to do this. Dylan does not attend school. His HIV has prevented it. Anything "literary" that he's learned, he's learned on his own.

How I Learned To Write

Being A Writer
Follow-up to Nasdijj's post below:

My dad said I can tell my own story. I will. He said I do not need anyone to tell it but me.

I do not need him to do it. So here I am. I am Dylan. I am 8. I had a birthday. I do not go to school.

It is not true I do not read. I read in secret at night. It was my secret. I learned to read with a flashlight. I read at night under my covers. I like to read this way because it is my own world.

Clare to Writers: Stop Cutting in on My Turf

Being A Writer,
Publishing
Today at The Guardian, columnist Tim Clare proclaims "Everyone does not have a novel inside them." However, if that's the case, then what's this mysterious bump on my ribcage? And more to the point, is the market saturated with too many people trying to shop their story? If so, is this necessarily a bad thing and who cares? Ironically enough, Tim Clare apparently had a novel inside him at some point, as it came out as a sci-fi venture, Joshu Replied. What do you think?

American Life in Poetry: The Ashes

Poetry
(U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser is writing a series of columns that highlights poetry and its importance in everyday life. From time to time we'll share the reprinted columns here, and provide you a chance to add your comments. I'm a bit behind in posting this, as it was actually last week's selection, however I thought it was appropriate in light of our coverage of Hunter S. Thompson's recent sendoff.

This article is part of the American Life In Poetry series. The next post in the series is American Life in Poetry: In My Mother’s House. The previous post in the series is American Life in Poetry: Discovered.

Reviewing the Review: August 28 2005

I don't know if young author Chelsea Cain is ready to write for the NY Times Book Review yet. "He peppers his colorful tale with words like 'rigmarole' and 'mawkish'", she tells us in reviewing Jeffrey Ford's The Girl in the Glass. Golly gee! This type of uncharacteristic lameness pervades several pieces in today's Book Review, which seems to have been produced by a backup crew while the regular editors gather for one last week in the Hamptons.

This article is part of the Reviewing the New York Times Book Review series. The next post in the series is Reviewing the Review: Sept 4 2005. The previous post in the series is Reviewing the Review: August 21 2005.

A Poet Goes To Crawford

History,
News,
Politics
Long Island poet and friend of LitKicks George Wallace recently travelled to Crawford, Texas to hand a poem to antiwar protestor Cindy Sheehan. He sent us this report of his journey:

1. HOLDING DOWN THE FORT

It sneaked up on me really.

I do think that what a person does in life is a complex package of political statements, but I'm not a particularly active person politically speaking. During the Vietnam War I protested some. The usual stuff, really - when Nixon

Jamelah Reads the Classics: Troilus and Cressida

Classics,
Reviews
My quest to read the classics continues, this time with everybody's favorite literary enigma. That's right, I'm talking about Shakespeare, the writer people like to say wasn't Shakespeare at all, but rather, a blind, lyre-playing Greek who -- wait, now I'm getting confused with Homer.

This article is part of the Jamelah Reads The Classics series. The next post in the series is Jamelah Reads the Classics: Samson Agonistes. The previous post in the series is Jamelah Reads the Classics: Canzoniere.

Down In The Flood

News
As the cities of the Gulf Coast struggle to recover from Hurricane Katrina, it's worth a few moments to think of the literary legacies now floating in the floodwaters.

In New Orleans, Stanley Kowalski, Stella Kowalski and Blance DuBois are all in the same boat, but Blanche's paper lanterns don't stand a chance. They may or may not run into John Kennedy Toole's Ignatius Reilly, who is most likely huddling with his mom in the SuperDome, complaining about the confederacy of dunces.

What Are You Reading?

What Are You Reading
It's back to school time for many and the required reading lists are out in full force. Whether you've been handed a list or have one of your own creation, we'd like to hear what you've been reading lately, how you feel about it and what you're planning to pick up next. (If you need some recommendations, this is the place to get those as well.) Jamelah's reading the classics, but what are you reading?

This article is part of the What Are You Reading? series. The next post in the series is What Are You Reading?. The previous post in the series is What Are You Reading?.