The Two R's

Book Review: “Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: a New English Version” by Phillip Pullman

by Laura Posted on November 26, 2012

Fairy-Tales-from-the-Brothers-Grimm-A-New-English-Version-by-Philip-Pullman — by Philip Pullman

I won an ARC of this book via the awesome giveaway section of Goodreads, and I did a little happy dance because this whole process is so new to me and I actually WON something. So, please don’t shoot me (I’m specifically looking at you, sj) when I admit I don’t know much about Phillip Pullman. I don’t, um, actually know anything about him. After receiving the book, I did a quick search to see what else he’s written, and I’m outside his primarily fantasy demographic, having read maybe one fantasy book ever (I am definitely counting A Wrinkle in Time here).

What drew me to this book is my interest in oral and traditional stories that are constantly reworked, even still today. In that regard, the work does not disappoint. Pullman’s book is less a collection of fairy tales than it is a research project; most, but probably not all, of the individual stories readers will be familiar with, but Pullman’s end notes show the work he contributes in the form of categorization and authorial input. What the volume lacks in eloquence or originality it makes up for in research potential.

_62967754_grimmtaleshires — The English cover (which I prefer)

That said, reading the work was a special kind of blend of nostalgia and slight annoyance; I am not usually drawn to simplistic prose, and these tales are told in the kind of straightforward, accessible manner that I associate with very YA works. I could more easily see myself reading this to my children than I could rereading it alone, which has its own appeal. And with an impressive 50 stories included, my young kids and I could easily spend months going through all the stories. Taking a literary trip back to my childhood through these tales was enjoyable in its own right as well, so while I don’t foresee myself diving back in alone, Pullman’s work would be great for family reading (and potentially academic research, in the right context).

Posted in Academia, Book Reviews, Fiction, Short Story Collection, YA Fiction | Tagged book review, brothers grimm, children, collection, fairy tales, philip pullman, YA fiction | 6 Comments

A Poem for Your Thanksgiving Day

by Laura Posted on November 22, 2012

522442_10101067259754761_1520564400_n — Found in the woods

I have been in this weird sort of stress transition. My MA exam is over and passed, so now I have all these other things – a paper, an article, a conference presentation, a thesis – looming that I was kind of ignoring for months. I’m not less stressed, but just different stressed, I suppose. Where I live there is a beautiful hiking trail in the woods, and I’ve been going there in the cold mornings to hike and think things through. It’s been immensely helpful.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Into My Own by Robert Frost

One of my wishes is that those dark trees,
So old and firm they scarcely show the breeze,
Were not, as ’twere, the merest mask of gloom,
But stretched away unto the edge of doom.

I should not be withheld but that some day
Into their vastness I should steal away,
Fearless of ever finding open land,
Or highway where the slow wheel pours the sand.

I do not see why I should e’er turn back,
Or those should not set forth upon my track
To overtake me, who should miss me here
And long to know if still I held them dear.

They would not find me changed from him they knew–
Only more sure of all I thought was true.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged into the woods, poem, poetry, robert frost | Leave a comment

Book Review: “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros

by Laura Posted on November 18, 2012

After reading heavy texts for the dread MA exam, which I thankfully passed, I was in need of something different. A friend put The House on Mango Street in my hands, and I quickly read through Cisneros’s novella. And then I thought about it for a few days before I could figure out how I feel about the work.

mango1 — “The House on Mango Street” by Cisernos

What I’m left with is this peculiar divide. The work would seem to be directed at readers pretty much like me. The main character, Esperanza, analyzes the gender roles that play out in her community, exposing the limitations and weaknesses of those socially available for other women. Ultimately she finds herself through her writing ability, dismissing those roles (which is technically a fallacy, but it’s one that I find endearing here). Feminist bildungsroman? Um, yes please! Postmodern choppy vignettes with a layered postcolonial slant? Thank you, I WILL take one of those. Seriously, if someone described a feminist, postmodern coming-of-age work with postcolonial themes, I would probably snatch the book and go hide somewhere until I read the entire thing.

But despite all the good things happening here, I failed to connect with the text. I don’t know if it’s my advanced age or the number of works I’ve read that handle these issues with more dexterity, but I felt like I was reading a little book of clichés, well-written as they may be. Technically this work isn’t young adult fiction, but I think it is better suited to teenagers and readers in their very early twenties. What’s worse is that I feel sorry for the book, also, which is perhaps the most pointless feeling one could have after reading a book. I want to like this work better, but…I don’t. It’s worth a read, especially since you’re only investing a couple hours tops of reading time, and when you’re done pass it on to the favorite teenage woman.

Posted in 20th Century, Book Reviews, Books by Women, Fiction, YA Fiction | Tagged book review, fiction, sandra cisneros, the house on mango street, YA fiction | 3 Comments

Some Tuesday Poetry

by Laura Posted on October 30, 2012

On Friday I take the dread MA exam, the one I’ve been studying for these past seven months or so. My brain is too full of those books to concentrate on any other reading until then, so in the meantime I thought I’d post some poems by Emily Dickinson. She is one of the many authors I’ll be tested on that I am familiar with, but haven’t formally studied. Reading her little snippets of poems was a welcome relief in the middle of Moby-Dick and Middlemarch. Below are a few that I especially enjoyed, and I hope you do too!

Tell all the Truth but tell it slant –
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth’s superb surprise

As Lightning to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind –

I always find literature approaching some great and eternal Truth to be heartwarmingly idealistic, even if I’m not completely sure there is a Truth like that out there.

Wild nights! Wild nights!
Were I with thee,
Wild nights should be
Our luxury!
Futile the winds
To a heart in port,
Done with the compass,
Done with the chart.

Rowing in Eden!
Ah! the sea!
Might I but moor
To-night in thee!

Who knew Miss Dickinson was so saucy, amiright?

I felt a funeral in my brain,
And mourners, to and fro,
Kept treading, treading, till it seemed
That sense was breaking through.
And when they all were seated,
A service like a drum
Kept beating, beating, till I thought
My mind was going numb.

And then I heard them lift a box,
And creak across my soul
With those same boots of lead,
Then space began to toll

As all the heavens were a bell,
And Being but an ear,
And I and silence some strange race,
Wrecked, solitary, here.

And then a plank in reason, broke,
And I dropped down and down–
And hit a world at every plunge,
And finished knowing–then–

Pretty terrifying, even if it’s mildly written.

If you want to read some more, check out Lilia Melani’s page at Brooklyn College. She has many Dickinson poems in their entirety, plus her analysis is especially interesting (and helpful, if you’re new to Dickinson).

Posted in Academia, News | Tagged academia, emily dickinson, poems, poetry | Leave a comment

The Process of Writing – Sounds

by Laura Posted on October 24, 2012

I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about how people write. Not just making pretty metaphors or 708 Shakespeare allusions so everyone knows how cool you are (wait, do people still do that, or is that just all the white dudes I’ve been reading for my MA exam?), but how people actually sit down to write. Amy, of Out of True fame, said in an interview that she can write with anything going on (jealous). How many of us can do that? Are there any stereotypical coffee shop writers left? Which, I have to say, I still think sounds fun, even if I hardly ever get to do that, let alone go to an actual coffee shop (I hate you, Dunkin’ Donuts).

So, what’s going on when you write? Are you in the dead quiet of home or a library? In a coffee shop or bookstore? The hallways of school? A park bench?

My process is defined by my life as a grad student and stay-at-home parent. So, I get to write on the three days a week no one else is here, usually in little snippet bursts between school readings. When I do write, I like to listen to classical music. For about 10 or 11 years in my youth, I took piano lessons and still lament not owning a piano. The music makes me think without pushing words into my ears, and I think it helps me set a mood. Below I’ve linked to my Top 5 favorite pieces to write to (right now, at any rate)!

I apologize for the ginormous videos; I have no idea why they’re that big or how to fix it!

1. ”Dreams of a Journey” by Michael Nyman – You might recognize this from the film The Piano or the documentary Man on Wire (both awesome, by the way)

2. ”Scales to America” by David Hirschfielder – from the film Shine (I guess there’s a pattern!), although this link has a super cool little video that has nothing to do with that movie.

3. ”Miroirs: Une Barque del Gracioso” by Maurice Ravel

4. ”O Fortuna” from Carmina Burana – Seriously, pretty emotional.

5. ”Morning Passages” by Philip Glass – from The Hours, so haunting and awesome (song and film)

Posted in News | Tagged music, video, writing | 2 Comments

Just Read This Poem

by Laura Posted on October 21, 2012

…because it’s awesome and it’s Sunday, and what else do you have going on?

so you want to be a writer

if it doesn’t come bursting out of you
in spite of everything,
don’t do it.
unless it comes unasked out of your
heart and your mind and your mouth
and your gut,
don’t do it.
if you have to sit for hours
staring at your computer screen
or hunched over your
typewriter
searching for words,
don’t do it.
if you’re doing it for money or
fame,
don’t do it.
if you’re doing it because you want
women in your bed,
don’t do it.
if you have to sit there and
rewrite it again and again,
don’t do it.
if it’s hard work just thinking about doing it,
don’t do it.
if you’re trying to write like somebody
else,
forget about it.

if you have to wait for it to roar out of
you,
then wait patiently.
if it never does roar out of you,
do something else.

if you first have to read it to your wife
or your girlfriend or your boyfriend
or your parents or to anybody at all,
you’re not ready.

don’t be like so many writers,
don’t be like so many thousands of
people who call themselves writers,
don’t be dull and boring and
pretentious, don’t be consumed with self-
love.
the libraries of the world have
yawned themselves to
sleep
over your kind.
don’t add to that.
don’t do it.
unless it comes out of
your soul like a rocket,
unless being still would
drive you to madness or
suicide or murder,
don’t do it.
unless the sun inside you is
burning your gut,
don’t do it.

when it is truly time,
and if you have been chosen,
it will do it by
itself and it will keep on doing it
until you die or it dies in you.

there is no other way.

and there never was.

- charles bukowski

Posted in Spread the Word | Tagged charles bukowski, poem, poetry, writing | 1 Comment

New Magazine on the Scene: Sundog Lit

by Laura Posted on October 14, 2012

I have been following Sundog Lit on twitter for a while now, anticipating the release of their first issue. I stumbled onto the magazine through random connections on twitter, and I’ve been enamored of the idea ever since. With a submission description that calls for “active, vibrant, earth-scorching literature,” how could I not be excited?

final-cover-1-copy — Sundog Lit, Issue One

The first issue dropped yesterday, and I’ve been reading through it in between work and family weekend craziness. By far, my favorite is “The Girl in the Woods” by Aaron Teel. This is the kind of twisty, but super short, fiction that I would describe as earth-scorching. So much intensity and change is packed into those few paragraphs that I’m in awe. Jenna Lynch’s poem “Caul” is full of a certain type of ancient, homespun imagery that I always find appealing, and the end is disturbing in the best of ways. And Helen McClory’s “What She Would Spend Her Money On” fully realizes the disturbing; I have reread the very short piece a few times now, hoping that I wouldn’t feel so creeped out and sad for this woman, but of course there’s no new information, so nothing changes. It’s immensely satisfying to be so unhinged by a small paragraph.

Go, read, be amazed! The entire issue is packed full of lovely little bits of work; I’ve described a few of my favorites, and there are more to be found in the issue’s pages. I am in love with Sundog Lit, and I’m already eagerly anticipating the work they will bring us in the future.

Posted in News, Uncategorized | Tagged flash fiction, literature, magazine, news, online, poetry | 2 Comments

Book Review: “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston

by Laura Posted on September 24, 2012

As I make my way through the dread MA exit exam reading list, I can’t help but hope for little gems. Earlier in the summer, before we moved, I treated myself by skipping around chronologically, successfully evading Moby-Dick until the very last possible moment. So I wouldn’t completely murderdeathkill myself at the end of the list, I kept three works I really liked – Hurston’s, A Raisin in the Sun, and Chaucer – to mix with ones I was not looking forward to reading - Moby-Dick and the upcoming Middlemarch. Having finished the White Whale last week, I happily dove into Their Eyes Were Watching God which, of course, I finished in two days compared to the weeks it took me to drag myself through Melville.

And it was a lovely little two reading days, let me tell you. Janie Mae Crawford is a relatable, likeable heroine whose walk through life is somehow both idealistic and tragic. Throughout the novel Janie searches for true love in her three marriages, eventually finding both love and tragedy, but never becoming jaded. More interesting, Hurston explores the gender dynamics of the time through Janie’s marriages and, to a lesser extent, male relationships. We rarely hear from Janie’s close friend Phoeby, although the story is ostensibly being told to her, and instead hear more about Jody’s good friend Hambo and the power relations being played out among the black male members of the community.

What is particularly genius is that Hurston sets us up for a novel about race relations. For all that the novel is set at the turn of the 20th century, with all African-American characters who speak in a phonetically spelled vernacular, often about being black, the novel has very little to do with the racial dynamics between black and white people. Instead, the novel is very much concerned with race relations inside the black community in which Janie lives. Hurston deftly ties this directly to the strictly defined gender roles played out in the novel, and the result is a fantastic experience of a black proto-feminist wrapped up in a love story. What else could a reader ask for?

This novel was not universally accepted by the contemporary black community, either; several of the most prominent black male authors, especially Richard Wright, outright condemned the novel as insincere and frivolous. Hurston eventually died years later in a welfare hospital, a mostly forgotten novelist and anthropologist, not the author of one of America’s most important works. Alice Waters thankfully rediscovered Hurston and her work in the 1970s, thus giving back to us this important novelist and her masterwork Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Posted in 20th Century, American, Book Reviews, Books by Women, Fiction | Tagged 20th century, african-american, book review, books by women, modernism, zora neale hurston | 2 Comments

Book Review: In Which I Read “Moby-Dick”

by Laura Posted on September 17, 2012

I love a good, dirty, book chat. Get me together with another book-lover and we can go on and on about reading those fantastic, amazing books that change your life. Two of my favorite questions, though, have nothing to do with those books. First, I want to know the books and characters you hate. Then, and this one is always funny, which books have you never read that would surprise anyone who thinks you’ve read everything (any other English majors get that a lot?).

Recently, I read a book that fulfills both these categories (lucky me). I had never before read Moby-Dick, because it sounded pretty uninteresting to me, and after reading it I can file it away in the whole “books I hate” part of my brain.

Admittedly, I did not want to like this book. It’s on the list for my MA exit exam, and so I have to read and study it for November. What I wanted was to read it and understand why so many people think it’s one of the best examples of American literature ever, and I think I do; it covers so many issues, foremost religion, man and his relationship to the natural world, and (if you ask me) male relationships, among so many others, but it still is just extremely, ridiculously BORING. Do you remember that television commercial where a dramatic male voiceover asked, “Do you want to read a book about violence? Wars? Sex? Murder? The Bible has it all.” Moby-Dick is very much like that; if you list the stuff that happens in the novel it sounds adventurous and fast-paced, but if you read it all the drama is hidden in layers upon layers of pedantic boringness. Melville tells us that these things happened, but in such a flat, straightforward way that never allows the reader to suss out these things for herself.

Also, the sperm references were a little much. Sperm, spermaceti, descriptions of plunging his hands in barrels of sperm (meaning whale oil, here) and squeezing the crystallized globs until they burst in glorious silky streams…I swear I am not making this up. I’m no prude, but the number of sperm references in conjunction with the scanty, universally negative portrayal of women/femininity was just such a hard thing to read. My eyes are a little sore from all the rolling they did.

moby-dick — The White Whale is freaking out.

I do have to say that there are some interesting aspects of the novel, buried as they are in tedious detail, and at the front for me is Melville’s stance on religion. Without getting too bogged down in scholarship, it seems that Melville looked down on religious doctrines in favor of a universal god, and he shows this through pretty awesome pagan characters (Queequeg) and not so awesome Christian characters (Ahab, I think, fits here). This theme plays in variation throughout the novel and provides an interesting break from long descriptions of every single part of a whaling ship.

Next on my reading list is Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes were Watching God, which should be a welcome break in between this novel and another of my never-have-read, don’t-think-I’ll-like-it works – Middlemarch.

Posted in 19th Century, American | Tagged american, book review, herman melville, moby-dick | 5 Comments

Insatiable. Booksluts. That’s Right.

by Laura Posted on September 15, 2012

I’ve been invited to guest post about the classics over at Insatiable Booksluts! I can’t tell you how cool I feel to be associated with that group of awesome people. You can read all my thoughts on Eliot’s “The Waste Land” right here; please go read, leave me a comment, tell me your favorite classics!

Posted in News | Tagged insatiable booksluts | 2 Comments