The Greatest Books That Never Were . . .

Literature is full of imaginary books. Given the choice, which one would you read? 

"Imaginary books seem to be nearly as numerous as the real ones, and that's even when you don't count all those bestselling thrillers people believe they'll write someday if only they can find the time to write the damn thing down. Nonexistent books certainly have some devoted fans, such as the proprietor of the ever-diverting Beachcomber's Bizarre History Blog, who is making bold moves to expand the collection known as the Invisible Library."

 

 

Billy Collins

Tomorrow we'll listen to Robert Oren Butler discuss (briefly!) the "thrumming" of literature he believes is primary to one's experience of literature while criticism and analysis should be secondary. In fact, he suggests the student of literature "forget" the academic investigation of literature upon completing a course in order to preserve said thrumming.

Interested in hearing/reading some of Butler's own fiction? Check out this page. He writes (a lot) about sex from a uniquely contemporary point of view.

In the meantime, we'll be taking a look at Billy Collins's poem "Introduction to Poetry", which echoes, albeit more subtly, Butler's point of view. While it may seem counterintuitive, I've written an analysis of the poem that suggests students avoid tearing literary works apart in hopes of figuring out what they "really" mean. This analysis will be posted in BB if you find you're interested.

Welcome!!

I’ll be using this blog as a supplement to the discussion board in BB, which is itself a rather visually unexciting media platform (though it does get the job done). I will be posting various links, news stories of interest, interviews, full texts that you might find of interest, interviews, full texts that you might find interesting, and commentary of my own. Don’t know how often I will update it, but if you follow the blog, you’ll know! I will not provide pertinent course information to the blog since it’s supplemental, but I may just comment on/analyze/discuss certain works we’re studying . . . you never know.  You, too, will be able to post to the blog and comment on others’ posting. I’m experimenting with various feeds and points of connectivity, so stay tuned. In the meantime . . . here’s a bit of random pop-culture lit news:

Will "Twilight" spark interest in literature? NSU hopes so . . . 

Will the Kardashian Sister's Novel Dollhouse Save Literature?  

Oh, boy. Chances are . . . no. I shudder, as evidently does the author of this article. Nonetheless, "Dollhouse" is as an apt a title as one might expect. A snippet: "What can we expect? A Picaresque satire? Existential fiction in the style of Sartre? No matter what genre the novel winds up being, we can safely say that it will change the face of literature as we know it. And here are five reasons why: . . ."

"Overrated: Authors, critics and editors on "great books" that aren't all that great"

This is a fun one . . . any classics on your secret list of not so "great" books? Mine? Catcher in the Rye. Most of Faulkner's novels. Thomas Pynchon for sure. You?