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Friday, January 26, 2007

Sundance Subversive And West Coast Dreaming

This last weekend, Anna and I went to the Sundance Film Festival with Justin and his wife Julee. I kicked myself for failing to remember to bring my camera. Believe me, there are a lot of reasons to bring a camera to Sundance. I suppose I should qualify “Sundance Film Festival” with the fact that we didn’t go see any films, but rather, we went to Park City and traipsed around. Perhaps the most entertaining aspect of Park City during Sundance is the people watching, hence the need to take a camera.

Also, I know that Justin was armed and prepared to commit subversive acts, but I don’t think he got around to it. It may have been a waste of time, but looking back on it, I wish we would’ve made a way to make it happen. Anyway, I’m thinking that while wandering up the West Coast this July there will be plenty of opportunities for subversive activity. 

Don’t you think?

Sunday, January 21, 2007

University Literature Departments Have It All Wrong

Brian Boyd writes this scathing yet interesting article concerning the current state of Western university literature departments.

We love stories, and we will continue to love them. But for more than 30 years, as Theory has established itself as “the new hegemony in literary studies” (to echo the title of Tony Hilfer’s cogent critique), university literature departments in the English-speaking world have often done their best to stifle this thoroughly human emotion.

He is especially hard on Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Harvard English professor, Louis Menand, whose idea of reform for university literature departments draws this reaction from Professor Boyd:

The position you represent has neither the intellectual nor the moral high ground you are so sure it occupies. Until literature departments take into account that humans are not just cultural or textual phenomena but something more complex, English and related disciplines will continue to be the laughingstock of the academic world that they have been for years because of their obscurantist dogmatism and their coddled and preening pseudo-radicalism. Until they listen to searching criticism of their doctrine, rather than dismissing it as the language of the devil, literature will continue to be betrayed in academe, and academic literary departments will continue to lose students and to isolate themselves from the intellectual advances of our time.

Ouch.

I suppose his basic argument is that the literary elite believe that culture is separate from our biology; that somehow, human culture is beyond our natural, biological selves. They believe that empirical thinking somehow inhibits culture and creativity. It’s a common notion of anti-foundationalism. Boyd argues that culture is a product of our biology; nature if you will. That the empirical approach has enhanced culture and the humanities.

I, like others who think that humans need to be understood as more than cultural or textual entities, do not wish to affirm the status quo. But in the four decades since Menand’s “greatest generation,” science and technology have altered the status quo far more radically than anything literature professors have managed. By increasing the world’s food output dramatically, scientists have saved hundreds of millions of people from hunger.

Their labor-saving devices have freed scores of millions from domestic drudgery and allowed countless women into the paid work force. They have raised life expectancy around the world. And if knowledge is indeed power, as Michel Foucault says, then through the Internet, scientists have made possible the greatest democratization of power ever.

He’s right. In fact I’d go so far as to say that the current state of humanities could not exist without the empirical process; foundationalism if you will. Hell, you can believe all you want, but everything that we are, the universe in fact, does not operate on belief. How can one expect to fully realize and benefit from the life we live without an empirical approach? Those who espouse anti foundationalism are, in my opinion, simpletons who lack the imagination needed to view the world as it really is. Think about it, how silly and banal is I think, therefore I am? Yo, René, smoke another one ...

What strikes me is the sheer arrogance of some of the so-called culture elites.

Menand is sure that: (1) the “greatest generation” secured for its “disciples” (these are his terms) the intellectual and moral high ground; (2) the insights of anti-foundationalism would be accepted by all other disciplines, if only they would listen; and (3) the crusade made possible by an understanding of “difference” must continue.

Now, what kind of happy horse pucky is that?

And, alas, here is the money line:

The idea that there is no universal truth runs into crippling difficulties straightaway, since it claims to be a universal truth.

Yeah, this is a real shooting-war between science and the humanities.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Of Hemingway

Last night I read Ernest Hemingway’s story A Clean, Well-Lighted Place and was taken aback by this beautiful passage:

They sat together at a table that was close against the wall near the door of the café and looked at the terrace where the tables were all empty except where the old man sat in the shadow of the leaves of the tree that moved slightly in the wind. A girl and a soldier went by in the street. The street light shone on the brass number on his collar. The girl wore no head covering and hurried beside him.

Reading this made me smile. It’s not often you see such contrast as Hemingway was capable of producing. He starts out with this long run-on sentence that would make most writing gurus faint and then follows it up with three shorter—almost staccato—sentences that shift the focus of the scene, allowing for a smooth transition back to the two waiters having a conversation inside of the café.

“The guard will pick him up,” one waiter said.
“What does it matter if he gets what he’s after?”

To me, it’s dramatically cinematic in a modern sense, which is ironic in that the story was written over 70 years ago. 

Sundance Dreaming

My wife and I have managed to make to the Sundance Film Festival every year for the past five years or so. This year will be no exception and, as usual, I’m very much looking forward to it. We’ll meet at my house, Justin?

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Catching Up and 1018 Press

I’ve brought out some older projects and started revising them with a fresh set of eyes so to speak. One thing that I’ve been having trouble with is the location of markets appropriate for much of the material I have. This is my fault because I have not spent the time needed in searching the markets out.

On an unrelated note, I’m beginning to realize that the online writing community is amazingly robust and, for the most part, quite open and friendly. The one thing that I have heard (and I’m beginning to see it for myself) is that online forums can be problematic. I think that is the case with most online forums no matter what their subject matter is. One thing that is intolerable, though, is when those that run/moderate the forums resort to intellectually dishonest, ego-driven tactics. This is precisely why I’ve withdrawn my participation in the forum over at 1018 Press. I’ve received a number of e-mails from forum participants expressing their dismay at the editor’s behavior which leads me to wonder if the editor is aware of the beating his integrity is taking because of his own actions. Either way, I wish 1018 Press the best.

Friday, January 05, 2007

Here Is What Happened

I sent in a piece to an editor. He stated that he wouldn’t be able to read anything for the upcoming zine for several weeks. That’s ok. On an online forum, a discussion was taking place in which said editor made a goofy statement. I corrected him because, after all, I am the type that I just can’t let nonsense go unabated. It was akin to stating that 2+2=6 and being corrected. Keep in mind that I wasn’t rude about it. In fact, I was downright civil. He replied with a snide, childish remark fueled by ego rather than common sense, and within three minutes, yes three minutes I got an e-mail rejection for the piece I had sent in.

Coincidence? Perhaps. In fact, I’m going to go on the record with it was coincidence.

But, if I had a crystal ball that told me that had I not replied on the forum my story would be accepted, I’d still do it all exactly the same.

Therein is the beauty of doing this simply because you love it.

Genre Identity Crisis

It’s been some time since I last posted here. You know, the Holidays and such. Although I’ve not posted here, I have still been writing my guts out. I finished two short stories and I’ve also been opening up some old screenplays as well.

Looking over some of the stories I have been working on, I have attempted to find some kind of pattern concerning genre. I simply cannot find it. I’m jumping all over the place. One story is a western (try finding a market for that), one is a contemporary—for lack of a better word—literary piece, and another idea I have been kicking around is a small murder-mystery.

As far as screenplays are concerned, I have a post apocalyptic/plague (plawg for some of us) story, a 1920’s era western, and a contemporary small town drama.

The only consistent factor in all of these stories is that they all contain strong women. For some reason, strong women always find themselves in my stories, even if they are not the main protagonist. I suppose I would have to dig somewhere deep into my personal psyche to figure that one out. I’d rather not.

I started writing this one piece as a sort of screenwriting exercise in pacing and character development and I found myself really getting to like this character. She’s a gun-toting, scrappy, loan survivor in a world decimated by a plague—plawg? (inside joke) that has wiped out most of humanity. Hardly an original idea, but she’s just a cool character. I’m going to dabble with it and see if I can come up with a decent story.

I guess the gist of this is that I apparently have a genre identity crisis going on.