Debbie Lee Wesselmann's Blog

• The Private Torture of Writer's Block

  November 9, 2008

  • This week I showed my students Adaptation, written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze, a free-wheeling adaptation of Susan Orlean's nonfiction book The Orchid Thief. The metafictive film is as much about writing as it is about orchids, maybe even more so, and it occurred to me as I was watching it for the umpteenth time that most viewers would not identify with the agony the ...
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• Happy Birthday to Me and You

  July 26, 2008

  • Today is my birthday.  I've celebrated the anniversary of my birth so many times that I often forget how old I am or what day of the week July 26 falls on.  But since I love to celebrate any occasion, I'm embracing this day. Every year, friends and family ask what I want for my birthday.  Most years, I'm at a loss to come up with that dreaded birthday list.  This year I have the perfect gift ...
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• The Book Review Crisis

  July 25, 2008

  • Recently, a friend pointed me to a blog on Galley Cat that bemoaned the dwindling enthusiasm in the blogosphere to review books.  It seems that publishers are depending on online outlets to review their books, and bloggers are growing resentful of the stacks of books they receive and are expected to review for free.  Although the Galley Cat blogger was most concerned with the non-paid reviewing ...
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