Ava's Man by Rick Bragg
posted by Holli at 09:34 PM - Category: General
If you’re from northeast Alabama and you read Bragg’s book, you may feel like you’re reading about your own ancestry. At times, you may cringe at the actions of some of these ancestors, but deep down, you know they’re good people and you’re proud to call them family. I felt this way reading Ava’s Man, and it’s not just because Bragg’s grandmother, Ava, went to my hometown school. It’s because Bragg captures the essence of being a from-the-country, homegrown Alabamian. Just listen to Bragg’s description of his family’s meals:
“They lived mostly on beans and bread...On every stove, a pot of pintos simmered, a ham hock or a thick piece of fatback swimming in thick brown soup. In every stove, a golden cake of cornbread baked in an iron skillet…The women would put a pone of bread on a dinner plate and cover the top with another dinner plate, because that’s how it was done and always will be...And sometimes, for a change, people just crumbled up a little cornbread in a glass or a bowl and poured cold buttermilk or sweet milk over it, and ate it with a spoon. They chopped hot Spanish onions up in it, and that was a meal.” (49)
I’m not sure if everyone from northeast Alabama ate this way, but I know my family did and still does from time to time. While some of what Bragg writes may seem unbelievable, it’s passages like the one above that reek of authenticity to me. I love it.
Plus, he’s funny. I laughed out loud multiple times. One story that was particularly funny was about a guy who was seriously injured in a fight. Some of the men in Bragg’s family had a way of finding themselves in violent situations. One night, a man named Jeff was stabbed multiple times in a fight on Newt Morrison’s farm. By the time the bleeding stopped, the onlookers believed that nothing could be done to save Jeff because he’d lost so much blood. When asked if he needed to be taken to a doctor, even Jeff said, “No, I reckon I’ll just lay here and die.” Jeff “waited to die for a long, long time. Finally, after a few days, Newt told him that if he wasn’t going to die he sure did want his porch back, and Jeff got up and walked on down the road” (66). Unbelievable? Sure. Funny? Absolutely.
Bragg just has a way with words. I may be biased because I am Southern and I appreciate that he speaks my language. Whatever the reason, I really enjoyed this book. I laughed, cried, and made people listen as I read certain passages to them. To me, that’s the mark of a good book.
Sep 03, 2006
Aug 04, 2006
John Steinbeck's East of Eden
posted by Holli at 09:45 PM - Category: General
This is a book I would consider a modern-day classic. It was easy-to-read and compelling. That's not an easy task for a writer tackling a novel of this scope. If you're unfamiliar with the novel, according to the preface East of Eden is "an ambitious saga of the Salinas Valley (California) and [Steinbeck's] own family's history." It sounds like you'd be bored to tears, but you'd be wrong. I'm not sure how much is fabricated, but these characters led some mighty interesting lives. Plus, Steinbeck's prose is not hard to understand at all, but he's still a very powerful writer. The man could tell a story.
What I loved most are the meditations on life Steinbeck weaves throughout the novel. For example, before introducing the reader to a certain character, he discusses "monsters born in the world to human parents." He explains, "Some you can see, misshapen and horrible, with huge heads or tiny bodies." Then he asks, "And just as there are physical monsters, can there not be mental or psychic monsters born? The face and body may be perfect, but if a twisted gene or a malformed egg can produce physical monsters, may not the same process produce a malformed soul?" Such an observation seems so obvious, but not everyone can put it into words quite like that. That is what makes a novel great in my opinion. Any book that makes me nod my head in agreement, shake my head in wonder, cringe, laugh, cry, etc. is a great book.
Has anyone else read this? Any thoughts?
Next I'll be reading Ava's Man by Rick Bragg. I read All Over But the Shoutin' several years ago, and I really enjoyed it. We'll see how Ava's Man turns out.
posted by Holli at 09:45 PM - Category: General
This is a book I would consider a modern-day classic. It was easy-to-read and compelling. That's not an easy task for a writer tackling a novel of this scope. If you're unfamiliar with the novel, according to the preface East of Eden is "an ambitious saga of the Salinas Valley (California) and [Steinbeck's] own family's history." It sounds like you'd be bored to tears, but you'd be wrong. I'm not sure how much is fabricated, but these characters led some mighty interesting lives. Plus, Steinbeck's prose is not hard to understand at all, but he's still a very powerful writer. The man could tell a story.
What I loved most are the meditations on life Steinbeck weaves throughout the novel. For example, before introducing the reader to a certain character, he discusses "monsters born in the world to human parents." He explains, "Some you can see, misshapen and horrible, with huge heads or tiny bodies." Then he asks, "And just as there are physical monsters, can there not be mental or psychic monsters born? The face and body may be perfect, but if a twisted gene or a malformed egg can produce physical monsters, may not the same process produce a malformed soul?" Such an observation seems so obvious, but not everyone can put it into words quite like that. That is what makes a novel great in my opinion. Any book that makes me nod my head in agreement, shake my head in wonder, cringe, laugh, cry, etc. is a great book.
Has anyone else read this? Any thoughts?
Next I'll be reading Ava's Man by Rick Bragg. I read All Over But the Shoutin' several years ago, and I really enjoyed it. We'll see how Ava's Man turns out.
Jul 14, 2006
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
posted by Holli at 11:03 AM - Category: General
I don't get it. I know that as an English teacher I should get it, but I don't. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a Nobel Prize winner, for goodness' sake! Why can't I get into and love his novels?? Is it just me?
In college, I read his short novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, for a class. It was strange, but accessible. I could follow the events, and it kept my attention. It helped that I had a professor who introduced Marquez's "magical realism." That's basically where anything can happen regardless of the contraints of time and space. If a man flies into the sun and returns in time for supper, then you just have to believe it. I think it also helped that it was a short book. It seems I can only stick with Marquez for a short time before becoming completely frustrated.
Next, I tried with One Hundred Years of Solitude. I'd always heard of this work. Then, Oprah picked it for her book club, so I thought, "I have to read this book. It must be important to the literary world. I must be informed." The book's back cover declares that it is "probably [his] finest and most famous work" and is "a masterpiece of the art of fiction." So, I began with the hopes of experiencing to the fullest extent this masterpiece. I tried to understand it. I really tried to love it like I've been told I should. But I couldn't make it through the first third of the book! I just didn't get it.
I felt like a failure. I kept thinking, "This is a masterpiece of modern fiction, so why couldn't I love it? Is something wrong with me?" So, to make myself feel better, I tried another Marquez novel, Love in the Time of Cholera. I was intrigued by this book not only because it was by the Nobel Prize-winning Marquez, but also because this book is mentioned in a couple of John Cusack movies, High Fidelity and Serendipity. I like John Cusack, and I saw some connection between his movies and this book, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I must say, it is a MUCH easier read than One Hundred Years of Solitude, but I still don't get all the hype. This book at least deals with a love story. I can always handle a good love story. But it's a very frustrating love story. With Marquez, things just suddenly happen with absolutely no warning and no explanation. We're just meant to take things as they come. The "suspension of disbelief" comes into full force when reading Marquez. You just have to go with the flow. I haven't quite finished Love in the Time of Cholera yet, but I just had to know: Am I the only one who doesn't understand Marquez? Is there something I'm missing?
posted by Holli at 11:03 AM - Category: General
I don't get it. I know that as an English teacher I should get it, but I don't. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a Nobel Prize winner, for goodness' sake! Why can't I get into and love his novels?? Is it just me?
In college, I read his short novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, for a class. It was strange, but accessible. I could follow the events, and it kept my attention. It helped that I had a professor who introduced Marquez's "magical realism." That's basically where anything can happen regardless of the contraints of time and space. If a man flies into the sun and returns in time for supper, then you just have to believe it. I think it also helped that it was a short book. It seems I can only stick with Marquez for a short time before becoming completely frustrated.
Next, I tried with One Hundred Years of Solitude. I'd always heard of this work. Then, Oprah picked it for her book club, so I thought, "I have to read this book. It must be important to the literary world. I must be informed." The book's back cover declares that it is "probably [his] finest and most famous work" and is "a masterpiece of the art of fiction." So, I began with the hopes of experiencing to the fullest extent this masterpiece. I tried to understand it. I really tried to love it like I've been told I should. But I couldn't make it through the first third of the book! I just didn't get it.
I felt like a failure. I kept thinking, "This is a masterpiece of modern fiction, so why couldn't I love it? Is something wrong with me?" So, to make myself feel better, I tried another Marquez novel, Love in the Time of Cholera. I was intrigued by this book not only because it was by the Nobel Prize-winning Marquez, but also because this book is mentioned in a couple of John Cusack movies, High Fidelity and Serendipity. I like John Cusack, and I saw some connection between his movies and this book, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I must say, it is a MUCH easier read than One Hundred Years of Solitude, but I still don't get all the hype. This book at least deals with a love story. I can always handle a good love story. But it's a very frustrating love story. With Marquez, things just suddenly happen with absolutely no warning and no explanation. We're just meant to take things as they come. The "suspension of disbelief" comes into full force when reading Marquez. You just have to go with the flow. I haven't quite finished Love in the Time of Cholera yet, but I just had to know: Am I the only one who doesn't understand Marquez? Is there something I'm missing?
Jan 10, 2006
Official Transcript of the 2005 Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
posted by Pierre at 07:14 PM - Category: General
Straight from NobelPrize.org is the transcript of Harold Pinter?s speech in its entirety. Due to his health conditions he was unable to give the speech in person, but rather still insistent he sent along a video recording of himself giving the speech which was played at the prize ceremony. There are two Poems referred to and included in the text; one by Pablo Neruda, and one by Mr. Pinter.
Nobel Prize Speech:
posted by Pierre at 07:14 PM - Category: General
Straight from NobelPrize.org is the transcript of Harold Pinter?s speech in its entirety. Due to his health conditions he was unable to give the speech in person, but rather still insistent he sent along a video recording of himself giving the speech which was played at the prize ceremony. There are two Poems referred to and included in the text; one by Pablo Neruda, and one by Mr. Pinter.
Nobel Prize Speech:
Oct 12, 2005
It's all in the Worldliness of One's Reading
posted by Pierre at 09:47 AM - Category: General
Test your wits; your lingual abilities, ladies and gentlemen. Ever wonder why authors throw in French (exp.) phrases and idioms from around the world when they write primarily in English to begin with? It?s because of tests like these?well, and muggers. (email me). The Guardian now has a multiple choice test with foreign words that I insist you look at. Go on, click the link:
Foreign Language Quiz:
posted by Pierre at 09:47 AM - Category: General
Test your wits; your lingual abilities, ladies and gentlemen. Ever wonder why authors throw in French (exp.) phrases and idioms from around the world when they write primarily in English to begin with? It?s because of tests like these?well, and muggers. (email me). The Guardian now has a multiple choice test with foreign words that I insist you look at. Go on, click the link:
Foreign Language Quiz:
Oct 11, 2005
100 Notable Books Of 2005 From the NYT
posted by Pierre at 12:06 PM - Category: General
The New York Times has published a list of the 100 most notable books of 2005. Each book mentioned comes complete with a review (and its summary in a sentence like a little bow tie.). Here are the top three:
ALOFT. By Chang-rae Lee. (Riverhead, $24.95.) The developments of Long Island are the setting for a tale of a self-made American on the rise.
THE AMATEUR MARRIAGE. By Anne Tyler. (Knopf, $24.95.) An ambitious exploration of domestic dislocation, ranging over 60 years of American experience.
AMERICAN SMOOTH: Poems. By Rita Dove. (Norton, $22.95.) In this collection, dance is an implicit parallel to poetry, each an expression of grace performed within limits.
100 Notable Books of the Year:
posted by Pierre at 12:06 PM - Category: General
The New York Times has published a list of the 100 most notable books of 2005. Each book mentioned comes complete with a review (and its summary in a sentence like a little bow tie.). Here are the top three:
ALOFT. By Chang-rae Lee. (Riverhead, $24.95.) The developments of Long Island are the setting for a tale of a self-made American on the rise.
THE AMATEUR MARRIAGE. By Anne Tyler. (Knopf, $24.95.) An ambitious exploration of domestic dislocation, ranging over 60 years of American experience.
AMERICAN SMOOTH: Poems. By Rita Dove. (Norton, $22.95.) In this collection, dance is an implicit parallel to poetry, each an expression of grace performed within limits.
100 Notable Books of the Year:
Sep 29, 2005
Some final quotes from the Gonzo:
posted by Pierre at 03:06 PM - Category: General
I had the recent fortune of getting my hands on an article in an archived Rolling Stone magazine dated to their September 22 issue in which the historian Douglas Brinkley writes from a ghostly poetic voice, bringing the events of Hunter Thompson?s funeral to the levels of a natural phenomenon such as the northern lights. There have been many articles but this one in particular caught the shotgun toting, mint julep drinking, bluegrass eulogies of a crowd that attended and stood as the ashes of their good friend broke out of a shell into the atmosphere and then fell like snow upon them proving that in the end he really was bullet proof (so to speak). Anyway there where two significant quotes in the article; one is Hunter S. Thompson?s suicide note:
No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more that I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun?for anybody. 67. Your getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax?This won?t hurt. H.S.T.
The second quote heads the article:
Myths and legends die hard in America. We love them for the extra dimension they provide, the illusion of near-infinite possibility to erase the narrow confines of most men?s reality. Weird heroes and mold-breaking champions exist as living proof to those who need it that the tyranny of ?the rat race? is not yet final. H.S.T.
The article is titled Football Season is Over, written by Douglas Brinkley and it appears in the September 22 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine.
Goodbye Mr. Thompson.
posted by Pierre at 03:06 PM - Category: General
I had the recent fortune of getting my hands on an article in an archived Rolling Stone magazine dated to their September 22 issue in which the historian Douglas Brinkley writes from a ghostly poetic voice, bringing the events of Hunter Thompson?s funeral to the levels of a natural phenomenon such as the northern lights. There have been many articles but this one in particular caught the shotgun toting, mint julep drinking, bluegrass eulogies of a crowd that attended and stood as the ashes of their good friend broke out of a shell into the atmosphere and then fell like snow upon them proving that in the end he really was bullet proof (so to speak). Anyway there where two significant quotes in the article; one is Hunter S. Thompson?s suicide note:
No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more that I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun?for anybody. 67. Your getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax?This won?t hurt. H.S.T.
The second quote heads the article:
Myths and legends die hard in America. We love them for the extra dimension they provide, the illusion of near-infinite possibility to erase the narrow confines of most men?s reality. Weird heroes and mold-breaking champions exist as living proof to those who need it that the tyranny of ?the rat race? is not yet final. H.S.T.
The article is titled Football Season is Over, written by Douglas Brinkley and it appears in the September 22 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine.
Goodbye Mr. Thompson.
Sep 02, 2005
The Beat is Back
posted by Pierre at 12:17 AM - Category: General
Francis Ford Coppola has approved a script for a film version of Jack Kerouac?s ?On The Road? which he himself will see though production. After about fifty years since its initial publication, this movie could make Sal Paradise? and Dean?s legacy inherent in youth culture again and maybe bring out a new wave of outlaw writers. We need them these days. And I Quote:
"And this was really the way the way that my whole road experience began, and the things that were to come are too fantastic not to tell.
Yes, and it wasn?t only because I was a writer and needed new experiences that I wanted to know Dean more, and because my life hanging around the campus had reached the completion of its cycle and was stultified, but because, somehow in spite our difference in character, he reminded of some long-lost brother; the sight of suffering bony face with the long sideburns and his straining muscular sweating neck make me remember my boyhood in those dye-dumps and swim-holes and riversides of Paterson and Passaic. His dirty workclothes clung to him so gracefully, as though you couldn?t buy a better fit from a custom tailor but only earn it from the Natural Tailor of Natural Joy, as Dean had, in his stresses. And in his excited way of speaking I heard again the voices of old companions and brothers worked in the mills. All my other current friends were ?intellectuals??Chad the Nietzschean anthropologist, Carlo Marx and his nutty surrealist low-voiced serious staring talk, Old Bull Lee and his critical anti-everything drawl?or else they were slinking criminals like Elmer Hassel, with that hip sneer; Jane Lee the same, sprawled on the Oriental cover of her couch, sniffing an the New Yorker. But Dean?s intelligence was every bit as formal and shining and complete, without the tedious intellectualness. And his ?criminality? was not something that sulked and sneered; it was a wild yea-saying overburst of American Joy; it was Western, the west wind, an ode from the Plains, something new, long prophesied, long a-coming (he only stole cars for joy rides)?
?Somewhere along the line the line I knew there?d be girls, visions, everything; somewhere along the line the pearl would be handed to me."
On The Road:
posted by Pierre at 12:17 AM - Category: General
Francis Ford Coppola has approved a script for a film version of Jack Kerouac?s ?On The Road? which he himself will see though production. After about fifty years since its initial publication, this movie could make Sal Paradise? and Dean?s legacy inherent in youth culture again and maybe bring out a new wave of outlaw writers. We need them these days. And I Quote:
"And this was really the way the way that my whole road experience began, and the things that were to come are too fantastic not to tell.
Yes, and it wasn?t only because I was a writer and needed new experiences that I wanted to know Dean more, and because my life hanging around the campus had reached the completion of its cycle and was stultified, but because, somehow in spite our difference in character, he reminded of some long-lost brother; the sight of suffering bony face with the long sideburns and his straining muscular sweating neck make me remember my boyhood in those dye-dumps and swim-holes and riversides of Paterson and Passaic. His dirty workclothes clung to him so gracefully, as though you couldn?t buy a better fit from a custom tailor but only earn it from the Natural Tailor of Natural Joy, as Dean had, in his stresses. And in his excited way of speaking I heard again the voices of old companions and brothers worked in the mills. All my other current friends were ?intellectuals??Chad the Nietzschean anthropologist, Carlo Marx and his nutty surrealist low-voiced serious staring talk, Old Bull Lee and his critical anti-everything drawl?or else they were slinking criminals like Elmer Hassel, with that hip sneer; Jane Lee the same, sprawled on the Oriental cover of her couch, sniffing an the New Yorker. But Dean?s intelligence was every bit as formal and shining and complete, without the tedious intellectualness. And his ?criminality? was not something that sulked and sneered; it was a wild yea-saying overburst of American Joy; it was Western, the west wind, an ode from the Plains, something new, long prophesied, long a-coming (he only stole cars for joy rides)?
?Somewhere along the line the line I knew there?d be girls, visions, everything; somewhere along the line the pearl would be handed to me."
On The Road:
Aug 23, 2005
Short stories tyring to make a come back
posted by Chrispian at 09:45 AM - Category: General
Short stories have been making some news lately. Amazon.com has introduced the new "Amazon Shorts" section in which you can pick up short stories from authors for just 49 cents. Now it seems that Edinburgh Book Festival is trying to help the short story out. They are offering ?15,000 to the winner and ?3,000 for the runner-up in their summer contest and hoping to make it an annual event. Lets hope they succeed. I love a good short story.
Source: Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind
posted by Chrispian at 09:45 AM - Category: General
Short stories have been making some news lately. Amazon.com has introduced the new "Amazon Shorts" section in which you can pick up short stories from authors for just 49 cents. Now it seems that Edinburgh Book Festival is trying to help the short story out. They are offering ?15,000 to the winner and ?3,000 for the runner-up in their summer contest and hoping to make it an annual event. Lets hope they succeed. I love a good short story.
Source: Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind
Aug 06, 2005
First Lines In Literature--Read Them All Over Again
posted by Pierre at 08:22 PM - Category: General
Michael Berube hosts a collection of Professor Charlie Harris?s new project which is itself a collection of great moments in literature (this being a spin off of the American Film Institutes great movie lines). I found the sample enough to leave the reader abused by absence, engaged by merriment, simpatico by beauty, and encouraged by that first image. I think it?s a good idea to go back and read the first sentence of a book once it?s complete. Especially when it has that quality that sticks to the gut. My favorite was from One Hundred Years of Solitude:
"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buend?a was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice."
First Lines:
Link From Book Ninja:
posted by Pierre at 08:22 PM - Category: General
Michael Berube hosts a collection of Professor Charlie Harris?s new project which is itself a collection of great moments in literature (this being a spin off of the American Film Institutes great movie lines). I found the sample enough to leave the reader abused by absence, engaged by merriment, simpatico by beauty, and encouraged by that first image. I think it?s a good idea to go back and read the first sentence of a book once it?s complete. Especially when it has that quality that sticks to the gut. My favorite was from One Hundred Years of Solitude:
"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buend?a was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice."
First Lines:
Link From Book Ninja:
Jul 17, 2005
Poetry Sound-Off
posted by Pierre at 11:18 PM - Category: General
The Guardian takes a look at poet Gary Snyder and his accomplishments over the past 75 years of his life. And yes they?ve quoted him numerously! The article covers his biography as well as his mix up with the beats but also looks deeply at his poetry from his own insights as well as guest writers such as Seamus Heaney.
Gary Snyder:
This week in the Washington Post, Robert Pinsky features a poem by poet Walter de la Mare. In his own words:
?The best writers do not write "for children" from a superior position, speaking down from the heights of "understanding poetry" to those who do not understand it. Dr. Seuss, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edward Lear and Walter de la Mare made the kinds of poems they themselves would like to read. I admire these poets because they strive to give pleasure not merely to children but to readers of any age.?
Walter de la Mare:
posted by Pierre at 11:18 PM - Category: General
The Guardian takes a look at poet Gary Snyder and his accomplishments over the past 75 years of his life. And yes they?ve quoted him numerously! The article covers his biography as well as his mix up with the beats but also looks deeply at his poetry from his own insights as well as guest writers such as Seamus Heaney.
Gary Snyder:
This week in the Washington Post, Robert Pinsky features a poem by poet Walter de la Mare. In his own words:
?The best writers do not write "for children" from a superior position, speaking down from the heights of "understanding poetry" to those who do not understand it. Dr. Seuss, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edward Lear and Walter de la Mare made the kinds of poems they themselves would like to read. I admire these poets because they strive to give pleasure not merely to children but to readers of any age.?
Walter de la Mare:
Dracula Unearthed in NC
posted by Pierre at 10:24 PM - Category: General
Elizabeth Kostova?s new vampire novel ?The Historian? came to her 11 years ago in a vision as she hiked with her husband (along a dark and winding) mountain side in North Carolina. So what was her vision?
?a father telling a daughter Dracula stories on a mountaintop - as her own father had done with her years earlier on trips to Europe. But this time, she imagined, Dracula himself is listening?
After a bidding war Kostova walked away with a 2 million advance an annoying group of reviewers comparing her book to one of Dan Browns (Da Vinci). In the Baltimore Sun there is a glimpse of the story as well as Kostova?s reaction to these Dan Brown accusations. (I would also like to mention the role that history plays in Kostova's novel and that this concept is explained in the article):
Vampire Novel ?The Historian?:
posted by Pierre at 10:24 PM - Category: General
Elizabeth Kostova?s new vampire novel ?The Historian? came to her 11 years ago in a vision as she hiked with her husband (along a dark and winding) mountain side in North Carolina. So what was her vision?
?a father telling a daughter Dracula stories on a mountaintop - as her own father had done with her years earlier on trips to Europe. But this time, she imagined, Dracula himself is listening?
After a bidding war Kostova walked away with a 2 million advance an annoying group of reviewers comparing her book to one of Dan Browns (Da Vinci). In the Baltimore Sun there is a glimpse of the story as well as Kostova?s reaction to these Dan Brown accusations. (I would also like to mention the role that history plays in Kostova's novel and that this concept is explained in the article):
Vampire Novel ?The Historian?:
Jul 08, 2005
Dumbledore's Demise Decided?
posted by Pierre at 01:56 PM - Category: General
Harry Potter fans have been given the opportunity of a lifetime to play the grim reaper of narration. At the Guardian, submissions have been being sent in by fans who have plotted out the great Dumbledore?s death. According to J.K. Rowling?s hints (however we still don?t know how much of a tease she is) some of the major characters are not going to make it to the final pages of the 6th installment of the Harry potter series. Needless to say, this leak is what brought on the project. By following the second link, you can read some of what the Guardian refers to as the ?better? submissions.
Dumbledore's Death Project:
Entries:
posted by Pierre at 01:56 PM - Category: General
Harry Potter fans have been given the opportunity of a lifetime to play the grim reaper of narration. At the Guardian, submissions have been being sent in by fans who have plotted out the great Dumbledore?s death. According to J.K. Rowling?s hints (however we still don?t know how much of a tease she is) some of the major characters are not going to make it to the final pages of the 6th installment of the Harry potter series. Needless to say, this leak is what brought on the project. By following the second link, you can read some of what the Guardian refers to as the ?better? submissions.
Dumbledore's Death Project:
Entries:
Jun 28, 2005
Poetry Sound-Off
posted by Pierre at 08:11 AM - Category: General
Robert Pinsky?s comments on poetry are a relief during this heat wave where I perish. After reading his serenade on boredom and play in verse, Wallace Stevens comes along and instantaneously lifts me out of my humidity injecting seat. Great read, check it out.
Yet at the same time it feels at home in the street, the kitchen, the playground and the tavern. It likes a good time, and it sometimes mocks or parodies solemnity. These two historic elements of the art persist -- and frequently combine. Here is a good example
Wallace Stevens:
posted by Pierre at 08:11 AM - Category: General
Robert Pinsky?s comments on poetry are a relief during this heat wave where I perish. After reading his serenade on boredom and play in verse, Wallace Stevens comes along and instantaneously lifts me out of my humidity injecting seat. Great read, check it out.
Yet at the same time it feels at home in the street, the kitchen, the playground and the tavern. It likes a good time, and it sometimes mocks or parodies solemnity. These two historic elements of the art persist -- and frequently combine. Here is a good example
Wallace Stevens:
Jun 03, 2005
Conservative Non-Book Club
posted by Pierre at 07:44 AM - Category: General
15 Conservatives met in one of the various secret chambers within the library of congress and have decided that a certain10 books are undoubtedly the most harmful books to ever be written. A list that has no surprises but a few twists.
10 most harmful books:
posted by Pierre at 07:44 AM - Category: General
15 Conservatives met in one of the various secret chambers within the library of congress and have decided that a certain10 books are undoubtedly the most harmful books to ever be written. A list that has no surprises but a few twists.
10 most harmful books: