Readability is No Test for Literature?

. . .  There are plenty of entertaining reads that are part of the enjoyment of life. That doesn't make them literature. There is a simple test: "Does this writer's capacity for language expand my capacity to think and to feel?"

Subject matter is not the point. It might be socially relevant, or it might not. It might be historical, science fiction, a love story, a crime novel, a meditation in fragments. There is no point judging a novel by its subject matter; what is in vogue now will be out of date soon. Nobody reads Jane Austen because we want her advice on marriage. And we don't care that she lived right through the Napoleonic wars and never mentioned them once. Who cares about the Napoleonic wars now?  continue reading . . . 

31 Days of Frankenstein . . .

Kind of fun blog posting on various filmed versions of Mary Shelley's iconic and always relevant Frankenstein . . .

Hemingway's Letters

From Vanity Fair: read some of Hemingway's intimate correspondence.

What Did You "Really" Read This Summer?

Salon posed this question to a number of authors and critics -- an ode to the often wildly optimistic, even intimidating reading lists we often create at the beginning of summer "vacation" (for those of us lucky enough to find the summer months vacationing ones). Regardless, here are their responses.

I didn't really create a reading list myself, particularly as I was teaching summer session, but I did manage to squeeze in the novels The History of Love, The Help, American Appetites, and The Road.

You?

Panel at Books and Books to Examine 9/11's Effect on Literature

 The events of 9/11 changed the world, the way we live, our sense of ourselves in the greater scheme of things. But did they change fiction -- or an artist's responsibility to write about the important events in our past?

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.