Category Archives: LITERATURE

LITERATURE: Ivan Denisovich – Metaphor

This is the first time I actually read the introduction to a book, possibly because I felt–and was right–that the backstory and setting that held the needed information would be here, rather than interwoven in the narrative.  Doing so immediately … Continue reading Continue reading

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LITERATURE: Glimmertrain No. 52 – A Winner

Finished Confrontations (a very good issue that was, too) and moved onto this Glimmertrain.  I’m a third of the way through and have come upon a real winner–of the Very Short Fiction Award.  Now I’m usually woefully lost as to … Continue reading Continue reading

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LITERATURE: Next Up – One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Couldn’t stay away from the pile. This will likely be a more meditative read, though it is short; it will take longer.  I won’t devour it to the exclusion of all else, and will be able, I hope, to still … Continue reading Continue reading

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LITERATURE: S/Z – Sarrasine

Honore de Balzac’s Sarrasine is quite the story.  A petulant, passionate young sculptor is taken with the beauty of the singer, La Zambinella only to find that she is a he, and he is killed by her/his protectors.  But this … Continue reading Continue reading

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LITERATURE: Confrontation No. 86/87 – Style and Reader’s Rights

There is one story in this issue, Losing the Dog’s Paddle by Miah Arnold, that deserves some thought on style.  It is a nine and a half-page sentence.  The story is told in 2nd person pov, but of course, because … Continue reading Continue reading

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LITERATURE: Confrontation No. 86/87 – A Few Goodies

This particular issue is blessed with twenty stories, and a few are really worth remarking: On Impulse by Bill Lamp is third person pov but is so deep into the character’s head that a day or two after reading it … Continue reading Continue reading

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LITERATURE, WRITING: & WLLIE

Dang good thing I saw the Willie special on tv now once before.  Reading, writing, and preparing for another danged legal meetin’ tomorrow. Read Sarrasine by Honore de Balzac today and will have a separate posting on it in conjunction … Continue reading Continue reading

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LITERATURE: S/Z – Manner of Reading

Got through the first part of this essay by Roland Barthes, losing my way many times; but then, that’s what Barthes is saying, no?  It is reading in my own manner, my own (in)experience that brings out the meaning.  But … Continue reading Continue reading

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LITERATURE: Confrontation – No. 86/87

This issue is actually Spring/Summer 2004, but I was too embarrassed to put that fact in the post title.  I know that I’d started this way back then–there are a couple of bookmarking slips of paper within the pages, which … Continue reading Continue reading

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LITERATURE: Prairie Schooner – Summer 2006 Finale

Good reading, but nothing very unusual.  One thing that is unusual is that four out of the six stories are written in first person pov, something that many readers simply do not like.  I don’t mind them and enjoy the … Continue reading Continue reading

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LITERATURE: Prairie Schooner – Summer 2006

Well, that didn’t work. The plan was to catch up on some of my backlog of lit journals since a) I tend to read all the short stories–there’s usually six of ’em max, and b) the novels I’ve been reading … Continue reading Continue reading

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LITERATURE: Beloved – Finale

Despite my argument with the four chapters we spend in the heads of Sethe, Denver and Beloved, I greatly admire Morrison’s writing and am pleased to say that it rises above even the subject matter in its presentation.  By that … Continue reading Continue reading

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LITERATURE: Beloved – Stream of Consciousness

I was going to put some Faulkner in here because I suspect that that is why I’m disappointed in Morrison’s use of it.  It just doesn’t appear to further story, nor provide useful insight into the characters, even with this … Continue reading Continue reading

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LITERATURE: Beloved – More on Narrative Structure

Hmmm.  The very next section is from the pov of Denver, Sethe’s daughter.  It tells us nothing new, not really.  It seems that Morrison is now indeed repeating the story, calling up things we’ve been told in the rolling out … Continue reading Continue reading

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LITERATURE: Beloved – Narrative Structure

Morrison has played nicely with time, getting in backstory through the 3rd person multiple pov and flowing from related incidents seamlessly while jumping around in time.  However, I’ve come to a point in the story where I’m not really comfortable … Continue reading Continue reading

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