Posted in Writing & Reading on Jul 15th, 2009 1 Comment »
In the past half century, the gap between the study of literature and the practice of writing literature has broadened. Knowing how to write no longer implies that one knows how to read (and vice versa). This fragmentation, although subtle in the modernist period, boastfully crescendoed in the postmodern period. That’s right. Past tense: [...]
Posted in Writing & Reading on Jun 5th, 2009 No Comments »
Read Like a Graduate Student
Read Prose Like Those Who Read Poetry Do
Read Poetry Like Those Who Eschew Pillow Talk
Read a Book With A New Reader Ethic
Read Like an E-Book Connoisseur, As If You’re Simply Online
Read As a Friend
Read Like the Socially Ambitious
Read Like the Literary Bloggers
Read Like an Editor
Read As Those Who Speed Do
Posted in Pop Culture, Writing & Reading on Apr 13th, 2009 3 Comments »
Twitter is a mixed bag. You have to applaud the way in which it shrewdly draws on Facebook, SMS, and social networking. If you have ever yearned to feel connected to the actions and thoughts of others at any or all moments in time, your prayer has been heard. Through Twitter’s interface, communication has simultaneously become more personal, concise, [...]
Posted in Writing & Reading on Apr 7th, 2009 1 Comment »
‘Sign the screen and push enter.’ The DMV employee barked the order without even looking up. I complied only to catch a scowl as the signature flashed onto the woman’s monitor screen. With a snort, she pointed to the stylus. ‘I said sign it. Give me your signature.’
My confusion increased. ‘But that is my signature.’
‘You [...]
Posted in Pop Culture, Writing & Reading on Mar 20th, 2009 4 Comments »
I have to bite my tongue whenever someone argues that fiction is inherently harmful. Often, he or she employs a sprinkling of anecdotes to argue that literature, television, and movies weaken humanity’s collective “grasp” on reality or that readers rely on these forms of fiction for escape from reality. That isn’t to say that discussing [...]
