Reading Books Together: A Podcast with Deborah Brothers & John Paul Jaramillo Music “Viv” by Joel Styzens from Relax Your Ears For their first foray into book review podcasts, Deborah Brothers and John Paul Jaramillo feature the 2021 novel by Canadian-American author Ruth Ozeki, The Book of Form and Emptiness. They discuss aspects of postmodernism metafiction, Buddhism, and bildungsroman.Continue reading “reading books together: a podcast with deborah brothers & john paul jaramillo–episode 1 may 2022”
Tag Archives: books
a visual history of chicano/a/x literature site
So pleased to be included in A VISUAL HISTORY OF CHICANO/A/X LITERATURE site https://faculty.ucmerced.edu/mmart…/index_files/vh2017.htm
quick review–the third policeman by flann o’brien
Such an odd and strange little book from O’Brien. What I liked: Definitely not a book you can easily categorize. The plot was meandering–more so than At Swim Two Birds–and completely unpredictable. A place wholly away from reality was the setting, and late in the novel we learn the “place” of the novel was aContinue reading “quick review–the third policeman by flann o’brien”
quick review of junot díaz’ this is how you lose her
I’ve long read and admired Junot Diaz‘ style of prose. I’m almost embarrassed to say how much I’ve modeled my own work after his. This latest collection of work contains all the themes of trouble and failure at its heart. And also the redemption. I continue to admire how the work follows a consistent universeContinue reading “quick review of junot díaz’ this is how you lose her”
stuart dybek’s the coast of chicago
We’re discussing a few stories tomorrow from Stuart Dybek‘s collection The Coast of Chicago. I admire “The Woman Who Fainted” and “Pet Milk” (4:27) and I was happy to find this reading for my Lit 50 students. So important to hear the author’s voice. I was lucky enough to hear him read years back atContinue reading “stuart dybek’s the coast of chicago”
quick review of daniel chacon’s hotel juarez
A few months back I wrote a quick review of Daniel Chacon’s book Unending Rooms. I admire Chacon’s aesthetic and overall writerly choices. I look forward to picking up his novel and his other work Chicano Chicanery. His work at times is surreal and also thought provoking. I find his work here playful and intelligent. AndContinue reading “quick review of daniel chacon’s hotel juarez”
a book and a labyrinth
Rereading Borges’ The Garden of Forking Paths this morning. And the idea of a chaotic novel or a novel with confounding paths of time consoles me as I’ve been thinking Semi-Orphaned is a mess of vignettes and scene/organization that spirals. Hopeful that I have found a plan for the chaos. “No one realized that the bookContinue reading “a book and a labyrinth”
margaret atwood’s the handmaid’s tale
Prepping to discuss Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale tomorrow in my Lit 111 course. We’ll discuss more dystopian elements, feminism and watch some scenes from the film adaptation.
tom spanbauer and literary minimalism
Preparing for Lit 150 and discussion of Amy Hempel’s stories “The Cemetary Where Al Jolson is Buried” and “The Harvest”. This morning I’m reviewing Tom Spanbauer’s notes on literary minimalism: Notes on Literary minimalism—(exemplified by Mark Richard, Amy Hempel and Chuck Palahniuk) Literary minimalism is characterized by an economy with words and a focus on surface description. Minimalist authorsContinue reading “tom spanbauer and literary minimalism”
representations of columbus
Columbus owes Washington Irving quite a bit. Also his portrait/face has never been authenticated. In fact, Charles Patrick Daly calls this painting from 1592 “pure fancy.” Not much changed in these different cartoon and feature film representations of Columbus:
quick review: orwell’s down and out in paris and london
Drafting and revising semi-orphaned novel project but had some time to finish reading Orwell’s memoir/nonfiction/autobiographical novel about a young writer’s time in the ghettos of Paris and London. He works in restaurants and sleeps in homeless hostels. Pawns his clothes for food and also closely observes the down and out people he encounters. What strikesContinue reading “quick review: orwell’s down and out in paris and london”
quick review: luis alberto urrea’s the hummingbird’s daughter and queen of america
I first read the short fiction of Luis Alberto Urrea in graduate school. The discovery of a prolific Latino author whose work moves so adeptly from English to Spanish was important to my development as a writer. I enjoyed his collection of short stories Six Kinds of Sky and the keen worlds and characters drawn,Continue reading “quick review: luis alberto urrea’s the hummingbird’s daughter and queen of america”
gardner’s fat city
Spending time today rereading Fat City by Leonard Gardner. Hope I can find the detail and the nuance in my Huerfanos/Semi-orphaned novel project: “Yeah, I was in a bar yesterday, this guy’s calling everybody a son-of-a-bitch. So I go out and wait for him. He come out and I ask did that include me. Says yeah.Continue reading “gardner’s fat city”
gerald nicosia article: on the road, the movie?
Spent time this afternoon with Gerald Nicosia‘s Huffington Post article about his experiences working with the film makers of the On the Road film adaptation. I’m interested in his opinion because I enjoyed his book Memory Babe so much. Here he writes candidly about setting up a Beat boot camp for the actors and also becoming aContinue reading “gerald nicosia article: on the road, the movie?”
orwell’s down and out in paris and london
Just received Orwell’s memoir in the mail and can’t wait to reread. Haven’t looked at it in years. I’m hoping to use excerpts in creative writing classes along with some of his fiction. I’m also hoping to use excerpts from Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast. Again my favorite fiction writers are also my favorite creative nonfictionContinue reading “orwell’s down and out in paris and london”