Sunday, May 25, 2008
The Plague of Doves and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close...
...both have excellent covers. Oh, and also Maps and Legends.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
For a Lamb
For a Lamb
-Richard Eberhart
I saw on the slant hill a putrid lamb,
Propped with daisies. The sleep looked deep,
The face nudged in the green pillow
But the guts were out for crows to eat.
Where's the lamb? whose tender plaint
Said all for the mute breezes.
Say he's in the wind somewhere,
Say, there's a lamb in the daisies.
-Richard Eberhart
I saw on the slant hill a putrid lamb,
Propped with daisies. The sleep looked deep,
The face nudged in the green pillow
But the guts were out for crows to eat.
Where's the lamb? whose tender plaint
Said all for the mute breezes.
Say he's in the wind somewhere,
Say, there's a lamb in the daisies.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Prejudice and Literature
The cover design for J. Mitchell Morse's book, Prejudice and Literature (1979), is fantastic:
AYENBITE OF INWIT
An essay on intellectual timidity in our culture, and specifically in our schools, by J. Mitchell Morse, a lover of language. From the December 1977 issue of The Underground Grammarian:
The Sin of Clumsiness
Here is an excerpt from the beginning of one of Morse's books, Prejudice and Literature (1979):
"In my first year of teaching English my freshmen wrote one of their themes in response to a story entitled “The Petrified Giant,” which had to do with a large rock formation so named and its psychological effects on the people who lived near it. One girl wrote, “This story doesn’t make sense because a giant is bigger and stronger than anybody so why would he be petrified.” When we went over her paper in my office I asked her, “What does ‘petrified’ mean?” “‘Scared,’ “ she said. “You know—petrified. Like when you’re petrified.” That was my first experience of a person who knew the metaphorical meaning of a word but not the literal meaning."
Also excellent is the fourth essay in that issue of the Daily Grammarian, which ridicules someone, penned by Dr. Richard Mitchell, the publisher of the newsletter. An excerpt:
"You may remember Yeldell, the first writer to be quoted and discussed in this journal. Not having heard from him in about a year, we did have some misgivings, but here he is again, obviously undamaged, offering an Intersession course which he describes thus:
'The course will examine the major symptoms that influence the presence of organized crime and the role of the legal system in organized crime control. Moreover, said course will identify the political, sociological, and economical characteristics that have an impact emphasize such vice crimes of an organized nature; Gambling, Prostitution, Drug Traffic, Pornography, etc.'
We were baffled at first by "major symptoms that influence the presence," but a few minutes with a dictionary suggested:
. . . the more important of various signs or tokens tending to modify or determine the nature of the discernible existence in a certain location or set of circumstances . . ."
The Sin of Clumsiness
Here is an excerpt from the beginning of one of Morse's books, Prejudice and Literature (1979):
"In my first year of teaching English my freshmen wrote one of their themes in response to a story entitled “The Petrified Giant,” which had to do with a large rock formation so named and its psychological effects on the people who lived near it. One girl wrote, “This story doesn’t make sense because a giant is bigger and stronger than anybody so why would he be petrified.” When we went over her paper in my office I asked her, “What does ‘petrified’ mean?” “‘Scared,’ “ she said. “You know—petrified. Like when you’re petrified.” That was my first experience of a person who knew the metaphorical meaning of a word but not the literal meaning."
Also excellent is the fourth essay in that issue of the Daily Grammarian, which ridicules someone, penned by Dr. Richard Mitchell, the publisher of the newsletter. An excerpt:
"You may remember Yeldell, the first writer to be quoted and discussed in this journal. Not having heard from him in about a year, we did have some misgivings, but here he is again, obviously undamaged, offering an Intersession course which he describes thus:
'The course will examine the major symptoms that influence the presence of organized crime and the role of the legal system in organized crime control. Moreover, said course will identify the political, sociological, and economical characteristics that have an impact emphasize such vice crimes of an organized nature; Gambling, Prostitution, Drug Traffic, Pornography, etc.'
We were baffled at first by "major symptoms that influence the presence," but a few minutes with a dictionary suggested:
. . . the more important of various signs or tokens tending to modify or determine the nature of the discernible existence in a certain location or set of circumstances . . ."
The Underground Grammarian
A fascinating (and now defunct) newsletter called The Underground Grammarian, dedicated to scorning improper usage of the English language, published from 1976 to 1992 by Dr. Richard Mitchell while a professor of English at Glassboro State College in Glassboro, New Jersey.
The Underground Grammarian
The first issue of the newsletter declared: "RAPE OF THE MOTHER TONGUE WILL BE PUNISHED!" and explained: "The Underground Grammarian does not advocate violence; it advocates ridicule. Abusers of English are often pompous, and ridicule hurts them more than violence. In every edition we will bring you practical advice for ridiculing abusers of English." Mitchell later published a selection of articles from the newsletter as a book entitled, "The Leaning Tower of Babel".
The Underground Grammarian
The first issue of the newsletter declared: "RAPE OF THE MOTHER TONGUE WILL BE PUNISHED!" and explained: "The Underground Grammarian does not advocate violence; it advocates ridicule. Abusers of English are often pompous, and ridicule hurts them more than violence. In every edition we will bring you practical advice for ridiculing abusers of English." Mitchell later published a selection of articles from the newsletter as a book entitled, "The Leaning Tower of Babel".
Interesting Interview with Ice-T and Author and Filmmaker Nelson George
'Thank God hip-hop came along'
Excerpt:
Ice-T:
"What makes my music different from pretty much anybody else's is that I always try to show both sides of the game. I tell you about the fun at the beginning but there's pain in the end. Anybody who tells you about crime and doesn't tell you that there's pain, they're full of shit and they've never been there. Half of my crew is locked up. They tell me what's going on, and I listen. Sometimes you learn from your mistakes, sometimes through the mistakes of others. I felt like I was running down this road, this hustling road, where I thought it was going to be roses and money and all that good shit at the end. I got to the end of the road and I seen there's a cliff, over the edge of the cliff fires are burning. Now I'm running back up yelling at people not to go down that road."
Nelson George:
"There is a really weird dynamic with hip-hop culture. On one hand there's a feeling that music is so powerful that these guys can create violence. They're engaged in a dialogue about it, obviously, but they don't create it by any means. On the other hand these guys are all great actors."
Excerpt:
Ice-T:
"What makes my music different from pretty much anybody else's is that I always try to show both sides of the game. I tell you about the fun at the beginning but there's pain in the end. Anybody who tells you about crime and doesn't tell you that there's pain, they're full of shit and they've never been there. Half of my crew is locked up. They tell me what's going on, and I listen. Sometimes you learn from your mistakes, sometimes through the mistakes of others. I felt like I was running down this road, this hustling road, where I thought it was going to be roses and money and all that good shit at the end. I got to the end of the road and I seen there's a cliff, over the edge of the cliff fires are burning. Now I'm running back up yelling at people not to go down that road."
Nelson George:
"There is a really weird dynamic with hip-hop culture. On one hand there's a feeling that music is so powerful that these guys can create violence. They're engaged in a dialogue about it, obviously, but they don't create it by any means. On the other hand these guys are all great actors."
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