I've just finished Pale Fire, and have a simple (ha!) question.
What do you think of the poem, as poetry? If you just ran across it without commentary or foreword in this or that poetry collection/magazine, would you like it? What would you think?
After all, the world is not a stage -- not to me:
nor a theatre: nor a show-house of any sort.
And art, especially novels, are not little theatres where the reader
sits aloft and watches... and sighs, commiserates, condones and smiles.
That's what you want a book to be: because it leaves you
so safe and superior, with your two-dollar ticket to the show.
And that's what my books are not and never will be.
Whoever reads me will be in the thick of the scrimmage,
and if he doesn't like it -- if he wants a safe seat in the audience --
let him read someone else.
~ D. H. Lawrence ~
Outside a dog, a book is man's best friend.
Inside a dog, it's too dark to read.
~Groucho Marx~
(comic courtesy of xkcd.com)
Monday, July 14, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Satanic Verses- background
Hi guys, although I know you can all use wikipedia I thought it might be fun to post some links to background info on this book... especially since there has been so much discussion of it for so many different (political/cultural/religious/philosophical) reasons. SO.... here are some alternatives to wikipedia:
I'm not so sure what the deal is with the host site for this article (and i haven't had time to do a more critical reading of their other materials...) but this seems to be a good and BRIEF summary of what the real Satanic Verses are, and why they are controversial:
I'm not so sure what the deal is with the host site for this article (and i haven't had time to do a more critical reading of their other materials...) but this seems to be a good and BRIEF summary of what the real Satanic Verses are, and why they are controversial:
http://www.answering-islam.org/Hahn/satanicverses.htm
The New York Times site for Salman Rushdie, including reveiws of his books and links to articles on the Fatwa situation:
http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/04/18/specials/rushdie.html
Study Guides can be really dangerous in that they can often really change the way you read a book... but given that there is so much going on in this book that we might not pick up on this might be interesting to look at once you're finished with your own reading... i've only glanced at the contents, but I googled the prof. and he looks legit. (its a pdf)
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/anglophone/satanic_verses/svnotes.pdf
Courtesy of YouTube... Salman Rushdie reads from the Satanic Verses.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=v20VvP19kCI
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