D a l l a s

Beloved the Best?

Over at the NYTBR, Sam Tanenhaus sent a letter of request to a couple hundred prominent writers (define that, Sam) to ask what are the best American novels of the last 25 years.  The top of the list is Beloved by Toni Morrison. Runner-ups were dominated by Philip Roth (6 novels), Don DeLillo (3 novels), John Updike (4 novels), Cormac McCarthy (4 novels), along with a few others.  So . . . . .  why should I care?  The list is interesting, but not surprising by a long shot.  Of, course genre fiction makes no appearance, unless you count McCarthy as part of the western genre.  I am a huge fan of Philip Roth, but it's an obvious choice for such a list.  But I am absolutely shocked that there was only one other woman named, Marilynne Robinson for Housekeeping.  Why no Joyce Carol Oates? who I would argue outshines both Robinson and Morrison.  I would also include Thomas Pynchon and John Crowley as other overlooked choices.  It would be interesting what books were listed by the "prominent writers" but didn't garner enough pats on the back.  Oh, well, I guess the list is good for marketing purposes in order to sell more books and maybe introduce them to new readers.

Poor Guy

Robert Jordan, the author of The Wheel of Time fantasy series has been diagnosed with a rare blood disease.  He describes his situation here.  It seems that it may be unpredictable, but time will most likely be on his side.  I have not read The Wheel of Time series, but have wanted to give them a crack; I know I have some of those books around here somewhere.  Anyways, I wish him luck and blessing to accomplish all his writing goals before he leaves us.

Vendettas

The guy last week who was dissing SF has an article this week about Alan Moore.  Moore, the creator of such comic classics such as Watchmen and From Hell, has always had a difficult relationship with DC and "Hollywood."  Now with V for Vendetta just around the corner, Moore is making his dissapproval known.  The article seems to cover a balanced view from both sides, and chronicles Moore's troubles.  I haven't read V yet, but I plan to after seeing the film next weekend, so stay tuned for a review.

Dissing SF

From New York Times Book Review, March 5th, 2006.  Dave Itzkoff reviews a new SF novel, and he feels compelled to to say:

" . . . if you were to immerse yourself in most of the sci-fi being published these days, you would probably enjoy it as much as one enjoys reading a biology textbook or a stereo manual. And you would very likely come away wondering, as I do from time to time, whether science fiction has strayed so far from the fiction category as a whole that, though the two share common ancestors, they now seem to have as much to do with each other as a whale has to do with a platypus."

It seems easy for people to diss SF.  If a person looks hard enough, they can find fault with any form of literature.  But Dave's generalization of SF is confusing.  Has he never heard of Ursula K. LeGuin? Orson Scott Card? Gene Wolfe? Kim Stanley Robinson? Greg Bear? Octavia Butler? Dan Simmons? Cory Doctorow? China Mieville? Connie Willis?  I could go on, but I think you get the picture.  The listed authors, all with new work published in the last year, would easily illustrate Dave's ignorance of a genre he supposably knows something about.  Dave's definition of SF is the equivalent of saying most mysteries are just DNA/forensic texbooks, most romances are just rape fantasies, and most literary fiction is just plotless navel-gazing.  Repeating such cliches is irresponsible criticism.

"London" by William Blake

I thought I would post the occassional paper from school.  I would be interested in what could make them better for furture developement.  This one is from a recent English course.

London

I wander thro' each charter'd street,
where the charter'd Thames does flow,
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

In every cry of every Man,
In every Infants cry of fear,
In every voice: in every ban,
The mind-forg'd manacles I hear.

How the Chimney-sweeper's cry
Every black'ning Church appals,
And the hopeless Soldiers sigh
Runs in blood down palace walls

But most thro' midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlots curse
Blasts the new-born Infant's tear
And blights with plagues the marriage hearse.

    “London” by William Blake is a lyric ballad that pushes up against the boundaries of the form, expressing the tension, sounds, and meanings of a degenerate city.  The poem is in four quatrains in iambic tetrameter, with a basic rhyme scheme starting a/b/a/b.  The poem, originally published in Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience, show the reader a dark and sad city, a large subject to tackle, and attempts to contain it in a traditional ballad form.  This helps illustrates the tension in the poem’s voice, expressing sounds and anger that escapes beyond the boundaries of the poem itself.  As Peter Ackroyd remarked, “Blake’s insistence upon tight rhymes and forms is a way of suggesting the limits of the medium he is employing,” (Ackroyd 141).  These limits of form help to express the limits and restrictions of London.

SF Aesthetics

Well, you would probably think this is now a sf/f blog, but it just seems to be a kick I'm currently  exploring.  I came across a cool blog Calico Reaction, that recently reviewed a book  from the 70s titled Towards an Aesthetic of Science Fiction by Joanna Russ.  The reviewer makes some interesting points in trying to define science fiction, particulary this:

"What was interesting about this [the book] is the main point of how a person cannot analyze science fiction the same way one analyzes literature. And this made sense in a lot of ways, because those people not interested in science may look too much into certain aspects of the story, not understanding the genius lies in other areas that aren't common in literature. To put it simply: literary fiction is about the beauty of the metaphor describing every day life. Science fiction takes that metaphor and literalizes it and makes that literalization a part of every day life."

Interesting way to look at things.  I recently checked out a book that deals with the same issues of definition called Speculations on Speculation: Theories of Science Fiction.  From what I can tell, a definition of sf is near impossible.  It's like trying to define "what is a novel?" or "what is literary fiction?"  I can't define it, but I know it when I see it.

Holy Court!

The authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail are suing their own publisher Random House, who published The DaVinci Code, which they say infringes on their copyright.  Even though their book has made a comeback because of the DaVinci effect, seems they want a bigger piece of the pie.

Can non-fiction, even conspiracy theory history, not be made available to writers of fiction?  What seems funny is that there are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of other books that have taken the Priory of Sion theory as a fact, and made a good coin in the process.  The authors are arguing that their book is "historical conjecture setting out the author's hypothesis," and is not about "historical facts," therefore the ideas are protected by copyright.   Well, I guess they should have published it as fiction then.

SF Basics

Since I was thinking about sci-fi pulps, I've been a mood to read some classic sf that I've never got around to read.  So I decided to pick up Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein.  It's a book that has always interested me, but I have never had the interest to read Heinlein, I'm more of an Asimov person.  But since so many people seem to praise Heiny as the greastest sf writer, I thought I would give this one try.  It will be a nice change of pace, after reading Midsummer Night's Dream.  Thinking of English class, my next two books (Dubliners and Frankenstein) I've already had in previous classes, so my reading demands will be a little relaxed for awhile.  So what classic sf would you suggest?  Any favorites?

Octavia Butler, 1947-2006

Steven Barnes mentions on his blog that one of the great writers of sf has passed away.  Writer of such classics as Parable of the Sower, and more recently Fledgling: A Novel.  She has been the recipeint of a Nebula, two Hugos, PEN award, and a MacArthur Fellowship.  She will be missed.

Welcome Back!

Even though I've already seen these episodes, it is about time to see it back in the US.  If you have never seen any Doctor Who, just give it a try, these new shows rock.  Fantastic!