In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

Category: The Cultural Canon

This is good news

Turkey has dropped charges against novelist Orhan Pamuk for insulting “Turkishness.”

Orhan Pamuk went on trial for telling a Swiss newspaper in February that Turkey is unwilling to deal with two of the most painful episodes in recent Turkish history: the massacre of Armenians during World War I, which Turkey insists was not a planned genocide, and recent guerrilla fighting in Turkey’s overwhelmingly Kurdish southeast.

“Thirty-thousand Kurds and 1 million Armenians were killed in these lands, and nobody but me dares to talk about it,” he said.

The controversy came at a particularly sensitive time for the overwhelmingly Muslim country. Turkey recently began membership talks with the European Union, which has harshly criticized the trial, questioning Turkey’s commitment to freedom of expression.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has passed sweeping reforms of Turkey’s legal code with the aim of joining the EU but nationalist prosecutors and judges still often interpret laws in a restrictive manner.

Pamuk is one of my favorite novelists in any language. I have read both My Name is Red and Snow. His writing is rich and beautiful, and he deals deftly with the tension between progressivism and regressivism, secularism and fundamentalism, questioning and certainty.

This might have turned out quite differently had Pamuk been less famous and had Turkey not been trying to get into the EU. Still, it’s encouraging, and hopefully it’s a sign that Turkey will begin to deal with its past and look to its future.

Von’s: Thar She Blows

Well, there goes the last great independent bookseller in town. Again.

Von’s, a campus staple, was known for its great selection of new and used books, CDs, and craft supplies. Locally owned and reasonably priced, it featured music from the popular to the obscure, and satisifed obscure label whores like me and mine. Recently the boyfriend talked to a friend in Olympia, the punk rock Mecca of the northwest, who lamented that there wasn’t a place like Von’s in her area. Originally from Lafayette, she was amazed that this town, of all places, had a cultural gem like this particular bookstore.

So without Von’s, what?

Books: Borders, Barnes & Noble, and if you’re feeling brave enough to venture into the crap mall, Waldenbooks. Used books? The last place in town with non-textbook used books closed this year.

CDs: Borders, Barnes & Noble, and the overpriced local retail stores that pale in comparison.

Crafts: Other than my fav yarn shop, JoAnn Fabrics, Hobby Lobby, and Michael’s.

Noticing a trend? We have, for the most part, lost the last independent, DIY cultural anchor in town. They rebuilt after a fire in 1995, but because this property has been targeted as a potential site for future univeristy projects, we speculate that the owners will take the money and retire from the business. Strictly conjecture.

Then again, if Harry’s Chocolate Shop (a nationally recognized historical bar) goes under, expect widespread student and alumni protest. God forbid we burn the alcohol, let the books go.

Read More…Read More…

I *Heart* Anderson Cooper

Seriously, what a babe. And now that he has his own column, I love him even more. I love him even despite his “Of course I’m straight!” posturing, like in this piece where he talks about what his mom (Gloria Vanderbilt), who just wrote her memoir, taught him about sex.

It’s taken me a while to adjust, but I think I’ve finally gotten used to the notion of my mom as a hottie.

When I suggested she take the whole cunnilingus thing out of the book, she just laughed and told me I should have a sense of humor about it.

She’s right, of course, and that’s the most embarrassing thing of all. I’m 37 and my mom is still able to teach me something about sex.

a) You’re 37. Don’t use the word “hottie.”
b) By writing about cunnilingus, your mom taught you something about sex? Anderson, please, drop the charade…
c) It’s ok. I love you anyway.

Perhaps my dear Mr. Cooper would enjoy some of this fine literature.

(Bad sex scenes in fiction via Amanda. Anderson’s commentary via Gawker).

Everyone I’ve Ever Loved

is at Cooper Union tonight. About five steps from where I’ll be studying in the library. I hate my life.

If you live in New York, go. If you don’t, or if you’re desperately trying not to fail out of law school, be sad like me, because here’s who you’re missing: Edward Albee, Sandra Cisneros, Don DeLillo, Dave Eggers, Heidi Julavits, Walter Mosley, Grace Paley, and Salman Rushdie, among others. It hurts, I know.

Call for Abortion Stories

From an email I got today:

Are you a woman who has had an abortion?

You are not alone and your story is important.

We are editing a book about abortion and we want to hear your story.

BEYOND CHOICE: VOICES OF REAL WOMEN is not a political treatise and we do not have an agenda. We simply want the voices of real women who have had abortions to be heard. Beyond Choice will be published by a major U.S. publisher and will focus on the experience of abortion: what leads women to consider abortion, what it’s like to have one, and how it factors into real, lived lives. We are women united by only one act: we had an abortion. Beyond Choice will include voices of women who vote republican and democrat, women who are young and old, rich and poor, women who are married and single, gay and straight, women who are religious and secular, and women who condemn and are not ashamed of their experiences. You do not have to be a gifted writer to share your story. Send a 2-15 page essay told in your own words, along with your name or a fake name (if you’d prefer to remain anonymous) and an e-mail address to abortionanthology@hotmail.com by November 30, 2005. Everyone who submits an essay will be considered for inclusion in this important book.

It looks like it’ll be a good project. I’ll post more info if I get any.

August Wilson Dies at 60

The man who wrote the only play I’ve ever liked (“Fences”) has died at age 60 of liver cancer.

In his work, Mr. Wilson depicted the struggles of black Americans with uncommon lyrical richness, theatrical density and emotional heft, in plays that gave vivid voices to people on the frayed margins of life: cabdrivers and maids, garbagemen and side men and petty criminals. In bringing to the popular American stage the gritty specifics of the lives of his poor, trouble-plagued and sometimes powerfully embittered black characters, Mr. Wilson also described universal truths about the struggle for dignity, love, security and happiness in the face of often overwhelming obstacles.

In dialogue that married the complexity of jazz to the emotional power of the blues, he also argued eloquently for the importance of black Americans’ honoring the pain and passion in their history, not burying it to smooth the road to assimilation. For Mr. Wilson, it was imperative for black Americans to draw upon the moral and spiritual nobility of their ancestors’ struggles to inspire their own ongoing fight against the legacies of white racism.

See video commentary on his life’s work here.

A Fine Day for Book Nerds

Today in Bryant Park, the New York Times hosted an event featuring several fantastic authors doing readings and book signings. A partial list of the writers: Jonathan Safran Foer, Naomi Wolf, Nicole Krauss, Jill Nelson, Bob Herbert, Pete Hamill, Paul Krugman, Chuck Klosterman… the list goes on and on. I sadly over-slept and missed the 11am spot, which featured some of my favorites (Wolf, Nelson, Foer, Krauss), but made it in time to be first in line for Bob Herbert’s book signing. I love Bob Herbert, and was incredibly excited to meet him:

herbert

Yes, that is Paul Krugman in the background. Awesome.
(It was a Sunday afternoon, and I was hung over, tired, not wearing any make-up and had my wet hair pinned back. Be kind.)

Shannon, my lovely (and from the picture, one would think miniature) roommate bought her parents a copy of A Cook’s Tour for their anniversary, and got it signed by Anthony Bourdain:

shan

We then went to see Chuck Klosterman, but that little jerk left his tent early and we missed him. Oh well. I still love Bob.

Update: Speaking of books, I most ardently support Ignatious J. Reilly to head FEMA. via Hissy Cat.

For any other book nerd who’s interested in additional readings/signings in New York, below the fold is a list of a couple that I’ll probably be going to at local Barnes and Noble stores.

Read More…Read More…

Mind Pollution for Reading Rebels

Lindsay Beyerstein has started a Banned Books meme. Here are the books from the ALA’s Top 100 Challenged Books that I have used to dirty my delicate brain.

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry

16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker

19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak

26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry

32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier

37. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

40. What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison

43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard

46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar

51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)

55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell

59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
62. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox

67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday

73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King

78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
88. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy

96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Being a pre-service teacher and voracious reader with an interest in Young Adult Fiction makes this list an odd one. I count 68, but I’m tired.

Chuck’s list is complete with interesting commentary on challenged books.