tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post4914876164719110304..comments2024-03-27T22:39:08.396-04:00Comments on Sweet Freedom: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: Katha Pollitt: LEARNING TO DRIVE (2007); Erica Jong: SEDUCING THE DEMON (2006)Todd Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-38228272741594912572010-10-15T13:03:31.643-04:002010-10-15T13:03:31.643-04:00"Snark" comes across with connotations o..."Snark" comes across with connotations of triviality, to me, though...she's not often trival.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-3293898285358874962010-10-15T10:50:25.420-04:002010-10-15T10:50:25.420-04:00STRANGE ENNUI sounds like something H. P. Lovecraf...STRANGE ENNUI sounds like something H. P. Lovecraft would come up with. No, Mencken was not snarky. He came out snarling. But, Pollitt can be snarky especially if the target is impinging women's rights.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04546161337366365635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-70464219996810111222010-10-14T11:42:16.823-04:002010-10-14T11:42:16.823-04:00Or at least Jong came up with the term that oblite...Or at least Jong came up with the term that obliterated a lot of zippers. I haven't read any of her novels yet...just her nonfiction of various sorts.<br /><br />It might just be that Something Had To Be Done in Italy...maybe just something personal but crucial. But I'll believe it was an unfun experience organizationally on your end.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-15596306976064127992010-10-14T10:18:16.303-04:002010-10-14T10:18:16.303-04:00Katha Pollitt agreed to be our keynote speaker at ...Katha Pollitt agreed to be our keynote speaker at the college's Women's Studies conference, then backed out to go to Italy with her husband (apparently the country would cease to exist or something if she didn't go <i>right then</i>), so she's always a fave of mine. I've never been much of a fan of Jong, though she certainly opened a lot of doors, so I appreciate that. I'm not sure I could work up the interest to read either book, although that likely speaks more to my hectic life than anything else.C. Margery Kempehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15910282257993793334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-3139338111860837812010-10-11T10:27:33.929-04:002010-10-11T10:27:33.929-04:00Or even Hitchens's...Or even Hitchens's...Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-24176776615572484692010-10-11T10:26:48.108-04:002010-10-11T10:26:48.108-04:00Probably couldn't hurt, though I think she'...Probably couldn't hurt, though I think she's pretty satisfied with her own literary career, at least (not altogether deservedly)--she has an essay in Christopher Hitchen's new volume of BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS, after all. However, what excuses the NYTBR has are unlikely to be sufficient.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-67788709966067290952010-10-09T21:57:47.123-04:002010-10-09T21:57:47.123-04:00Sounds like Toni Bentley needs to get a life. Anyo...Sounds like Toni Bentley needs to get a life. <i>Anyone's</i> other than her own.Evan Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07620731784654779358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-92077597535055083512010-10-08T13:53:02.557-04:002010-10-08T13:53:02.557-04:00Overwhelming events, such as even a move to better...Overwhelming events, such as even a move to better digs, have a way of flattening the emotions...I suspect I've not done a sufficient job of explicating why these books, particularly the Pollitt, are interesting. Certainly her adventures with Bee-Line Books put her in touch with some fantastic-fiction and crime-fiction writers. "Strange Ennui" certainly sounds like an Ellington or Artie Shaw recording...Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-61111552837566963702010-10-08T13:27:33.656-04:002010-10-08T13:27:33.656-04:00Strange Ennui" might make a good book title.Strange Ennui" might make a good book title.Richard R.http://brokenbullhorn.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-68962467182798953252010-10-08T13:26:44.275-04:002010-10-08T13:26:44.275-04:00Just sort of checking in to say "howdy" ...Just sort of checking in to say "howdy" since I have not read and - sadly - have no interest in these. I think I'm becoming overwhelmed by the move, and a strange ennui is setting in. I can't explain it, but you probably can, Todd.Richard R.http://brokenbullhorn.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-35244333371263118312010-10-08T12:36:35.832-04:002010-10-08T12:36:35.832-04:00Nope, I'm wrong...two of the essays in LEARNIN...Nope, I'm wrong...two of the essays in LEARNING TO DRIVE had been in THE NEW YORKER, which only infrequently read.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-75702308284988308142010-10-08T12:31:46.298-04:002010-10-08T12:31:46.298-04:00I've been meaning to pick up VIRGINITY OR DEAT...I've been meaning to pick up VIRGINITY OR DEATH! for a while, now, though I've read some of its contents here and there, whereas (not having the book at hand) I think all of LEARNING TO DRIVE was original to the book's publication. I think "snarky" is a bit unfair...not a word you'd use for H. L. Mencken, is it? <br /><br />BV, I suspect we've had our moments, but I've certain met, grown annoyed or continued to be delighted with, and slept with fewer famous people than Jong, too.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-53104944083595354472010-10-08T12:23:06.308-04:002010-10-08T12:23:06.308-04:00As someone who started her literary life out as a ...As someone who started her literary life out as a poet (of sorts), it's always interesting to read about how career poets/authors led such interesting lives in pursuit of their craft and life in general. Of course, I'm afraid my own memoir would have been pretty boring by comparison...BV Lawsonhttp://inreferencetomurder.typepad.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-18506476225816479502010-10-08T12:21:42.582-04:002010-10-08T12:21:42.582-04:00Wow, two books I've actually read! I've b...Wow, two books I've actually read! I've been a fan of Katha Pollitt's snarky essays for years. LEARNING TO DRIVE is good, VIRGINITY OR DEATH! might be better. Erica Jong is always worth reading. SEDUCING THE DEMON might not make you a better writer, but it will enlighten you about the creative process.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04546161337366365635noreply@blogger.com