As an elucidation of an under-acknowledged, and yet culturally salient, American archetype, Frederick Seidel’s work is invaluable. However, the relevance and potential force of his narrator’s voice is historically tenuous, and there are some luxuries Mr. Seidel’s dapper sinisterio cannot afford.
There’s something striking, and potentially even new, about the constant oscillation between third-person and first-person narration—between the qualifiedly omniscient “he” and the tentative, monological “I”—running through Stephen Dixon’s “Talk”. For example: “The classical music radio station was on when I … Continued
A spectre is haunting “Telegraph Avenue”—the spectre of, in Mr. Chabon’s own phrase, “uncool white people everywhere when they tried to be cool.”
Racter was a computer program designed in 1983 to randomly generate prose and poetry. It was created by William Chamberlain and Thomas Etter. Selected writings of Racter were published in the book The Policeman’s Beard is Half Constructed. Senior Editor Cat Richardson does a … Continued
Corruption I am about to recite a psalm that I know. Before I begin, my expectation extends over the entire psalm. Once I have begun the words I have said remove themselves from expectation & are now held in memory … Continued
“Fanfiction” is flexibly defined as amateur fiction created by fans in response to, and borrowing from, popular media works or series. Two recent events have thrust it into the spotlight: the phenomenal success of E.L. James’ racy romance series Fifty Shades … Continued
Atque in perpetuum, frater, ave atque vale. — Catullus We’ve been writing about loss for millennia, and about the loss of brothers in particular for almost as long. Catullus wrote his famous 101st poem, ending with the … Continued
Poetry is always batting back and forth the issue of sincerity. Is it acceptable for a poem to be direct with what it’s saying? Personally, I want to read poems that have a true emotional entity behind them, but … Continued
An epigraph, likely chosen with care, though it is not impossible that it is the product of a last-minute Google search; a place setting and an empty chair; the expectation of an explanation, somewhere down the line. —A Name, Possibly Prominent. … Continued
