In the literary world, a couple of respected publications are being questioned for their choice of content. In both cases, the writing itself was far from exceptional. In the first incident the publication is Kenyon Review's KR Online, which featured two poems by John Smelcer, “Indian Blues” and “Smoke Signals.” I’d link to them but they have been taken down by editor David Lynn. This was after a stink was raised on social media about Smelcer's appropriating indigenous … [Read more...]
Much I don’t about Franzen
I give up. I spent the past few days trying to write a blog that was witty and timely. I wanted it to be smart like an essay by Roxane Gay. I hoped to get my thoughts together about the fuss over “Jonathan Franzen: What’s Wrong With the Modern World,” which appeared in The Guardian on Friday, September 13. The piece named names (Jennifer Weiner, Salman Rushdie, Jeff Bezos) and was as juicy as a reality TV show, with responses by Jennifer Weiner and Nathan … [Read more...]
Where’s the solace?
"Sometimes grief itself (what Jayant Kamicheril describes as 'that kaleidoscope of broken feelings') must be our source of solace. . . ." I wrote these words in the introduction to Solace in So Many Words mainly in reference to grief experienced after loss of a child or loved one. But recently I have been struggling to find the solace in the news relating to Steubenville, Ohio rape case. There is only grief. Usually in this blog I cite what I have been reading, and that's … [Read more...]