literature
November 20, 2009
- What exactly is bad sex writing? Is it having bad sex while writing? Or is it bad to write about sex…cluck, cluck? Of course, all of you know about the Literary Review’s Bad Sex in Fiction Award. Many really good writers have ‘won’ it. No one has ever thought about giving a good sex in fiction award, it must therefore follow that it’s all just bad. The worse and the worst do not count. ...
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November 8, 2009
- Gothic Literature has a special place in my heart; I truly enjoy reading books filled with mystery and suspense with a touch of the macabre, foreboding castles and manors, and long buried secrets rising to the surface like a skeletal hand poking from its grave. Sleep, Pale Sister by Joanne Harris is an excellent example of said genre; she weaves a dark story using the ...
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November 2, 2009
- Hi, there!There are only two more weeks to sign up for my brand-spanking-new Intro to the Personal Essay class at The Writing Salon, and after an incredible, three-day weekend alone at a friend's palatial estate in Sonoma, doing nothing but researching, reading, and writing lesson plans (OK, maybe a little sunbathing on the deck)--as well as starting a new personal essay of my own--I am so ...
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November 1, 2009
- To those who have never attended a prep or boarding school, the thought of it may seem foreign and shrouded behind a veil of secrecy, while others who have attended may take it for granted, claiming it to be a natural part of their inner world. When I attended Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, a part of me felt I belonged there since I was and still am a lover of all things academia. Although some ...
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October 30, 2009
- The essence of childhood trudges through woods. Encumbered yet steadfast, she stumbles on bravely, resolutely scouting the darkness, encased within a ham, banging into trees. All children that ever were, she is. We ache for her and see ourselves and the best we can hope for is that our costumes have peripheral vision.
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October 29, 2009
- Moments ago I added an offering to my Beautiful Desolation blog that's a tip o' the hat to All Hallow's Eve and an acknowledgement of the crushing depression I've been experiencing over the past couple of days. Brain chemistry can be a bitch.I've taken an 18th century poem by Lord Byron and added music I created through Garageband. The end result is a chilling piece that ought to raise the ...
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October 27, 2009
- I believe that literature is defined by the presence of the writer within the work itself. His or her soul lights the nuances, sparks the paragraphs, is palpable in every word. When I speak of soul, I make no religious reference, but rather embrace that essence of each which marks us as truly ourselves. This is why a literary style or voice cannot be effectively mimicked. That ...
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October 24, 2009
- Patina saw the bear before the bear saw Patina. Oh, m’God. Do I back up or run? No, not run. Could never outrun it. Her brain itself was racing. Her feet had not moved, yet in her mind she was fleeing down the long driveway at Olympian speed. Where was the dog? She could back ...
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October 23, 2009
- Over the next several weeks, Backword Books members will be interviewing one another - which allows you to see them in two lights: interviewer and author.Last week, Henrby Baum was interviewed about his novel The American Book of the Dead, and readers were offered a chance to win a signed copy of his book.This week is a new interview. Visit Backword Books to read Threshold ...
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October 22, 2009
- Added a new story to RedRoom, in my view the best bit of prose I've composed this year. It's called "The Future" and you'll find it in the Articles and Stories section, in the column to the right of this posting.A bittersweet offering, with a coming-of-age angle. It's part of a short story cycle that's posted on my main blog, Beautiful Desolation, which is the exclusive venue for my ...
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