Views

Jan 14 2012

Fairy tales and Fantasies are as old as the world

N.D. Wilson in the introduction to Twilight Land by Howard Pyle:

Fairy tales and fantasies are as old as the world. This is an easy thing to forget.  It is easy to see only the stories we tell today – fresh and shiny – and then assume that they came from nowhere, that they have no ancestors, and no narrative parents whatsoever.  But today’s fantasies are built on a rich imaginative heritage, a global heritage.  As long as there has been language, there have been stories.  And as far back as we can trace, those stories have been about dragons and magic and sacrifices, fools and wise men and wizards, fate and luck and love.  What we call realism in storytelling is a relatively new concept.  It is the sapling in the wood surrounded by towering moss-covered giants as old as history, giants grown up out of myths and legends.  Fantasy.

By Kevin Holtsberry • Views • 1 • Tags: , , , ,

Dec 3 2011

Modernism, Liberalism & Tolkien

I posted this on my Tumblr blog but thought it worth reposting here as I find it fascinating.

Alan Jacobs is great blogger. He may not want to embrace that label but his Tumblr blog is full of interesting links, thought-provoking analysis and great quotes.  A great example is his post in response to Adam Gopnik’s New Yorker piece on high fantasy for young adults.

What really struck me was his conclusion on Tolkien and modern liberalism:

Modern liberalism likes to think that all our problems are epistemological: we are afflicted by never knowing with sufficient clarity what we ought to do. Our fictions tend to reflect that assumption. Tolkien, not being a modern liberal, thought it more interesting to explore situations when people know what they need to know but may lack the strength of will to act on that knowledge. He might say, and with some justification, that contemporary literary fiction is not simplistic in regard to such problems but oblivious to them.

What say you? True? Fair?

Related articles

By Kevin Holtsberry • Views • 1 • Tags: , , , , , , ,

Nov 16 2011

Nicole Krauss on writing

Robert Birnbaum sent around a link to his 2010 interview with Nicole Krauss (author of Great House) and I found it fascinating.  In particular, I found Krauss’s thoughts on writing intriguing.  The exchange below offers insight into why writers write; what makes them tick to use a cliché:

Cover of "Great House: A Novel"

Cover of Great House: A Novel

RB: Do you challenge yourself? For instance, do you set yourself to write about things that you haven’t written before or in a way that you haven’t previously? Ideas first or the process?

NK: For me writing is a long process of wandering and getting lost. I have no sense at all, setting out, what I am going to write. I think that will always, more or less, be the nature of my process. I can’t imagine being the type of writer who has a blueprint or a plan in advance that I more or less follow. Setting out, everything has to be unknown. I find that this allows very interesting and unexpected things to happen. It becomes an intuitive process, discoveries are made. That’s why writing has held my interest all these years, why it remains one of the only things in life that doesn’t finally bore me. If I knew what I was going to make in advance, and was equipped with all of the insight in advance, why would I pursue the project?

RB: This way of looking at things or being seems to be at odds with the planning for and of nurturing of children. Organization and planning are a great part of parenting

NK: Right.

RB: Is writing like bungee-cord jumping for you?

NK: I’m not sure what that means. But planning is certainly part of parenting. But intuitively responding to one’s child as he changes is even more critical. Being open to who he is, what there might be to learn from him, and how it might be possible to help him find the most comfortable way to live in the world as himself.

RB: What I am trying to get at is—I am not well organized, I always forget something—

NK: I understand. Life is filled with so many responsibilities, and limitations to who and what we can be. Unfortunately life is not an endless exercise in self-reinvention. You become who you are. You are formed by forces that bring you up into the world and you change, but not in epic or monumental ways, I don’t think. Or not very often, at least. Writing has always been for me the opposite of that. In my work I can become anyone. Inhabit any character. I can express all kinds of things that I might not otherwise think or be able to express. Everything is possible. That can be terrifying, but ultimately I think it’s thrilling and is the reason I continue to write.

 

Related articles

By Kevin Holtsberry • Interviews, Views • 0 • Tags: , ,

Nov 1 2011

Moby-Dick in Pictures: One Drawing for Every Page

By Kevin Holtsberry • Views • 0 • Tags: , , ,

Oct 29 2011

Barnes and Noble unclear on meaning of “In-Stock”

Wanting a hard copy of  Three And Out by Jason Bacon, I surfed over to BarnesAndNoble.com and saw that it was available at the Easton store. So off I went. When I arrived at the store I was informed that they had the book in-stock but all the copies were on hold. When I asked why the website would tell me copies were available when in fact they were not, I was met with blank stares.

I assume the book is not taken off the in-stock list until it is purchased. This is what the kids today call a “fail.” It leads to the false assumption that a copy is available when it is in fact not.

Guess I will just buy it at Amazon.

By Kevin Holtsberry • Views • 0 • Tags: , , , , ,

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 »