meterxmetre

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of many books with the power to...

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 11:33:29 -0600

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of many books with the power to enlighten and lift one’s soul. We at the journal would like to extend a happy birthday to such a wonderful woman.

skyleramaziing: is always valueless, . ...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:23:57 -0600

skyleramaziing:

is always valueless,

       .

    .

                                 .

                                          ,does it even exist

Horses were turned loose in the child's sorrow. Black and roan, cantering through snow. The way...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:35:11 -0600

Horses were turned loose in the child's sorrow. Black and roan, cantering through snow.
The way light fills the hand with light, November with graves, infancy with white.
White. Given lilacs, lilacs disappear. Then low voices rising in walls.
The way they withdrew from the child's body and spoke as if it were not there.

What ghost comes to the bedside whispering You?
-- With its no one without its I --
A dwarf ghost? A closet of empty clothes?
Ours was a ghost who stole household goods. Nothing anyone would miss.
Supper plates. Apples. Barbed wire behind the house.

At the end of the hall, it sleepwalks into a mirror wearing mother's robe.
A bedsheet lifts from the bed and hovers. Face with no face. Come here.
The bookcase knows, and also the darkness of books. Long passages into,
Endless histories toward, sleeping pages about. Why else toss gloves into a grave?

A language that once sent ravens through firs. The open world from which it came.
Words holding the scent of an asylum fifty years. It is fifty years, then.
The child hears from within: Come here and know, below 
And unbeknownst to us, what these fields had been.

-Sequestered Writing, Carolyn Forche

millionsmillions: #LitBeat: Literary Death Match LA by Melissa...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:49:21 -0600

millionsmillions:

#LitBeat: Literary Death Match LA

by Melissa Chadburn

“Buy books so the world will be a better place and everyone can be smart and rich and have sex in more comfortable ways,” Todd Zuniga. This is one of the joys of Literary Death Match. Zuniga has found a way to expose people to literary journals, and taken something that we love to do as a solitary act into an arena of mayhem.

Literary Death Match brings together four authors to read before a panel of three all-star judges. After each pair of readers, the judges take turns spouting hilarious, off-the-wall commentary — in the categories of literary merit, performance and intangibles —then select their favorite to advance to the finals. The two finalists compete in the LDM finale, which mixes in the show’s literary sensibility for an absurd and comical climax to determine who takes home LDM gold.

There was an extra twist in the Los Angeles April 20^th LDM; it was the ‘Made for TV version’ meaning it was cut down in length by half. Each author only read for 3 ½ minutes, and each was acting as battle champion for a lit mag or journal.

In a strange strange coincidence, the first round featured two separate cocaine themed pieces. Tom Bissel, author of Magic Hours and champion for ZYZZYVA, went head-to-head with Rare Bird Lit’s Jerry Stahl, author of Permanent Midnight.

Bissell read first and his piece included the actual scientific breakdown of an illegal substance; 90% laxative 9% amphetamine, and1% cocaine.

Next up, Stahl proceeded to storm through a piece about inserting a cocaine straw into some woman’s “weirdly hot baby smooth ass cheeks.”

The judges, Scott Gimple, Oriana Small (AKA Ashley Blue), and Richard Lange, were impressed. Providing her commentary on Bissell’s piece, Small stated that she really felt the part about the laxatives,and that she wanted to “run into the bathroom right then and there.” Lange stated that if Stahl wrote War and Peace he would’ve read it but that he never wanted to have sex again. They declared Stahl the night’s first finalist.

Round 2 pitted novelist Krys Lee, for Granta, against Lauren Groff, author of Arcadia; [Ed. Note: A Millions staff pick!], representing Slake.

Lee read from Drifting House, about a mother going to work on her child with a saw. “The sound of her breath an underwater sound.” And Groff read about a coxswain doing a mediocre-to-insulting job of deflowering a mild mannered behemoth named Beth. “Sixty beats per minute thrusts.”

When the judges evaluated the second round they had a lot to say. Lee impressed Small with her “spa voice” which Small said was reminiscent, somehow, of soothing Eucalyptus. Groff gave Lange a renewed hope of eventually having sex again. Ultimately the judges decided that Lee would be the night’s second finalist.

The finale involved three volunteers from the crowd to aid the proceedings: two as helpers to the finalists, one to display the names of famous authors written in Cyrillic. The finalists shouted out their best guesses. It was Lee who clinched the victory and won the Literary Death Match crown. When asked how she felt to be crowned the winner Lee stated, “I intended to lose. This is a nice surprise.”

[Photo via Literary Death Match]

bytheword: Daily writing tip #103 from Frank...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:12:32 -0600

bytheword:

Daily writing tip #103 from Frank Delaney.

Illustrations by Donna Mehalko

Top 10 Most Misunderstood Lines in Literary History

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:23:38 -0600

Top 10 Most Misunderstood Lines in Literary History:

amandaonwriting:

10. Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken

Famous Quote: “I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

The United States’ most famous poet’s most famous poem is a timeless ode to the American ideals of “individuality” and “forging your own path.” It’s one of those poems that’s so famous, even people who hate poetry can quote it. These are the reasons it appears on The Academy of American Poets’ list of top poems for college graduation.

Except aside from that last part, everything we just said isn’t true. Frost is actually using an old technique known as the “unreliable narrator,” and he isn’t even being all that subtle about it: in spite of the famous quote’s insistence that one road is “less traveled by,” the second stanza of the poem clarifies that both roads are “worn… really about the same.” Oh, and also, Frost himself admitted that he was actually mocking the idea that single decisions would change your life, and specifically making fun of a friend of his who had a tendency to over-think things that really weren’t that big a deal.

So what you thought was life-affirming was really just another poet/hipster condescendingly saying “you think you’re an individual, when really you’re just a cog in the machine, man!”

9. William Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet

Famous Quote: “Star-Crossed Lovers”

Aww, Romeo & Juliet: two teenagers in the throes of what could possibly be the most pure love in literary history. This is why when a magazine wants to comment on, say, Justin Bieber’s love life or the relationship between a little boy and his horse, they’re likely to reference the sonnet that opens Shakespeare’s most famous play by calling them “Star-Crossed Lovers.”

And sure, this is totally appropriate, if you’re expecting these people to die. ”Star-Crossed” doesn’t mean “brought together by fate,” it means “fated to die,” because the stars (fate) have “crossed” you. Shakespeare is intentionally reminding everyone at the beginning of his play that this is a frickin’ tragedy, you guys, and you’re in for a miserable ride.

8. Lewis Carrol, Alice in Wonderland

Famous Quote: “Oh, ’tis love, ’tis love that makes the world go round.”

This is an amazingly misunderstood line from an amazingly misunderstood writer. Pretty much everything about the life of Lewis Carroll (real name Charles Dodgson) is shrouded in confusion and slander; rather than being about drugs, Alice in Wonderland is most likely a criticism of then-new forms of mathematics that were becoming popular at Dodgson’s own Oxford College. In addition, though he was commonly accused of pedophilia, The Annotated Alice and The Carroll Myth makes the argument that Dodgson was actually asexual, and preferred the company of children because he was extremely uncomfortable with courting and any form of sexual innuendo.

Finally, and perhaps fittingly, his most famous quote is the one here about love making the world go ’round, and it is directly contrary to all of his pessimistic and strictly logical real-world values. In context, this quote is said by The Duchess, a character who is introduced as a potential child murderer. Hardly the kind of character a writer would want to speak the moral of his story.

Finally, need we remind you that Dodgson was a mathematician? Almost every detail of his biography — as well as the actual context of this story — show that this idea of love as a geo-revolutionary repellant is supposed to be scoffed at, not adored.

So it’s true that you might believe this to be true, but if that’s the case then it’s also true that one of history’s greatest writers is making fun of you.

7. William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Famous Quote: “This above all: to thine own self be true.”

No, this is not the last time Shakespeare is appearing on this list. You can probably guess why this line has become popular: it’s a simple platitude, and it’s attractive because it deals with individuality (just like the Frost example). However, if you look at who’s saying it and really analyze the content of the play, it becomes quickly obvious that Willy Shakes is making fun of this whole concept.

As anyone who’s read Shakespeare knows, the English language has evolved quite a bit since these plays were first performed, and what now seems like new-agey self-acceptance actually meant something quite different in Elizabethan times: Polonius is telling his son to work for himself, and only for himself, and to put everyone else he encounters second. He’s not encouraging individuality, he’s encouraging selfishness.

Furthermore, Polonius spends the whole play being a complete nitwit, and even Wikipedia’s basic description of him includes pointing out that he is “wrong in all the judgments that he makes during the play.” In most versions, Laertes (Polonius’s son,and the character he’s talking to) isn’t even listening — lots of stage directors will have the character roll his eyes and scamper off quickly to avoid the avalanche of clichés his father is dumping on him.

So what sounds like the kind of cutesy nonsense you’d roll your eyes at is really just bad advice given by a dumb character to someone who isn’t even listening.

6. John Keats, Ode to a Grecian Urn

Famous Quote: “Beauty is truth, truth beauty.”

Of all the examples on this list, this is probably the most likely to be misunderstood. After all, whether or not Keats was being serious when he said that, beauty = truth is basically the Kirk v Picard of classic English Literature. Unlike that controversy, there has actually emerged a begrudging consensus, and that is “that Keats did not, in fact, believe that beauty is truth.”

The controversy boils down to whether Keats thought art was a) supposed to represent the real world, or b) was better than the real world, with most scholars eventually deciding that Keats believed the latter. Not only does this cast a strange shadow over the rest of Keats’ work, which is described here as being “way over on the idealistic side of the sliding scale of idealism versus cynicism,” but it’s also just kinda fun and quirky that the most stereotypically pretentious comment in English Literary History was actually a sarcastic quip.

5. William Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet

Famous Quote: “Wherefore art thou, Romeo?”

“Wherefore” means “why,” as in, “why is your name Romeo?” The central conflict of the play is that R & J can’t be together because they are members of feuding families.

Juliet isn’t asking where Romeo is — that’d be stupid. He’s standing right in front of her.

Also, we told you Shakespeare would show up on this list again.

4. Rudyard Kipling, The Ballad of East and West

Famous Quote: “Oh East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet.”

It’s usually just the last couple lines here that are quoted, usually to describe two things that, you know, won’t ever meet. Memorable instances are from Raising Arizona (“There’s what’s right and there’s what’s right and never the twain shall meet,”) and the first episode of Secret Diary of a Call Girl, if anyone cares at all about that.

The problem is that Kipling isn’t just being sarcastic here — it’s blatantly obvious that within the context of the poem this is just a straw man argument, and only stated at all so he can immediately point out why that statement doesn’t apply.

“Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,

Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great judgment Seat;

But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,

When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!”

In addition to having some confusions about how capitalization works (silly nineteenth century, amirite?), Kipling is taking the blatant stance that colonialism pretty much rules and East and West are going to meet pretty hard despite all that physics stuff.

3. Robert Frost, The Mending Wall

Famous Quote: “Good fences make good neighbors.”

Hey Robby Frost, good to see you on this list again. Privacy is the theme this time, and while the phrase “good fences make good neighbors” is not quite so famous as some others (though you’ve certainly heard it), The Mending Wall gets launched up to number 3 on this list for one simple reason: it’s misunderstood by federal law.

“Separation of powers, a distinctively American political doctrine, profits from the advice authored by a distinctively American poet: Good fences make good neighbors.”

That’s United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, literally creating hard law from thin air, and not understanding the thing he’s talking about.

The Mending Wall does include the line “good fences make good neighbors,” but it also paints the character speaking that line as a bit of a twit. ”Something there is that doesn’t love a wall… (nature) sends the frozen groundswell under it.” The poem tells a story of two neighbors with a wall between them, but every winter the wall falls apart, so the neighbors have to meet and mend the wall, spending more time together than they otherwise would have and growing increasingly frustrated with the each other.

Remember that the Supreme Court has nine justices, and at least one (Stephen Breyer) actually pointed out the error in his concurring opinion, but Scalia decided to leave the mistake in anyway.

2. Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Famous Quote: …at the bottom of all these noble races the beast of prey, the splendid blond beast, prowling about avidly in search of spoil and victory…”

We’re not going to put the whole quote up there because Nietzsche was a philosopher and therefore pretty longwinded, but we’ve highlighted the important parts. Or rather, we’ve highlighted the parts that the Nazis thought were important, when they were all Nazi-ing around and committing the first ever industrialized genocide, trying to live up to the standards that Nietzsche, apparently, set for them.

The problem is that’s not what Nietzsche meant at all. The original quote ends like this: “the Roman, Arabian, Germanic, Japanese nobility, the Homeric heroes, the Scandinavian Vikings — they all shared this need.” Everyone’s a blond beast because blond beasts are a metaphor for lions.

So if you’re going to use a philosopher as the backbone of your political movement, you might want to make sure you finish reading his sentence before you get the war machine up and running. Also, the fact that you thought he was advocating genocide was probably a pretty good hint that you shouldn’t have been listening to him anyway.

You stupid Nazis.

1. William Shakespeare, Sonnet 18

Famous Quote: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

This is definitely the most quoted line in all of English literature, so much so that you’ve probably seen it as a parody more often that you’ve seen it written out straight — for example, “Shall I compare thee to a bale of hay.” It’s one of the few poems that is just so cliché that, if a guy recited it to his girlfriend on a date, even the most love-sick of recipients would roll their eyes in disgust.

But when Shakespeare’s talking about “love,” he’s not talking about romantic love or feminine beauty– the first 126 sonnets in Shakespeare’s work are generally understood to be addressed towards a man, and many of the surrounding pieces are actually encouraging procreation. Shakespeare isn’t wooing a beautiful woman; he’s telling a wealthy young ponz exactly what he wants to hear: that he’s just so damn sexy that it’d be pretty much the worst thing in the world if he didn’t have kids.

So if you’re a lady reading this, if any guy offers to compare you to a summer’s day, say “no, ’cause I’m not a dude.” If you’re a guy, don’t offer to compare your lady to a summer’s day. If you’re a man whose wife is trying to convince you that it’s time to have kids then…uh, that’s actually fine. Nicely done.

Written By JF Sargent

writinginthenude: America is a melting-pot of ethnicity,...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:37:54 -0600

writinginthenude:

America is a melting-pot of ethnicity, religious idealism, and personality. Our general open-mindedness and strong-willed nature has gained us the reputation as a nation of infinite possibility. The words “Land of the Free” resonate with people from every part of the world in diverse and often opposing manners. While some flock to America as a means of improving their current conditions, others believe it to be a nation of “rumored” acceptance and corrupt morals. In his thirty-five photograph Op-Ed piece, What is America?, Jesse Gordon posed this question to people of varied origins in hopes of gaining an almost ubiquitous insight into the hearts and minds of people from all over the world.

Woodrow Wilson once said, “If she [America] stands for one thing more than another it is for the sovereignty of self-governing people.” There is no one word, that is mutually agreed-upon, to summarize America, however under our Constitution we all have the right to have an opinion and state it aloud without appearing seditious or committing slander. I had a great appreciation for Gordon’s piece, because the images portrayed the negative aspects of America as well as the positive. If he had only associated the pictures in his artwork with positive statements it would have sent an entirely different message, not only would it be biased, but doing so would convey a sense of patriotism in the piece that is not necessarily mutual to all people.

Each individual photograph personifies a different character and a wide-range of emotions, the word it is paired with would not be capable of conveying on its own. I was particularly fascinated with “ignorance.” The man in the photograph emits a sort of sadness that is disheartening. Every time I look at his photograph I notice something different, and delve deeper into an analysis of his character. At first glance I just saw a man holding a flag, but after closer observation I was surprised to notice he held his flag upside-down, which could possibly suggest a feeling of angst or outrage. The “humble” look in his eyes surprised me because they seemed to unintentionally conflict with his seemingly apathetic façade by conveying a sense of irony.

If someone were to ask what America meant to me my answer would be, volition, or the exercise of willing. Every American holds the right to do what they are determined to. No one can be forced to adapt to a certain lifestyle or uphold an ideal which is not their own. Although we are still morally responsible for our actions we each have our own free-will. We can express ourselves politically, artistically, and sexually without obligation to submit to anyone. Freedom of volition has created a lack of conformity which has played a significant role in diversifying our nation.

Jesse Gordon’s photo-essay is a creative conglomeration of ideas that served to epitomize the beliefs and values of people from varied backgrounds. Although the opinions of most Americans have certainly changed, especially since September 11^th, the issues and questions raised by his piece are just as relevant now as they were a decade ago. The photographs in, What is America? emphasize the possibilities and opportunities our nation provides and stresses the damages that arise from taking it for granted.

Happy birthday!

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:27:01 -0600

Happy birthday!

Week 4.

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:24:54 -0600

An author/poet/literary figure whose work you greatly admire.

bytheword: Daily writing tip #108 from Frank...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:18:59 -0600

bytheword:

Daily writing tip #108 from Frank Delaney.

Illustrations by Donna Mehalko

joshuarobertlong: “Bed legs are like sea legs without the...

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 20:14:13 -0600

joshuarobertlong:

“Bed legs are like sea legs without the appropriate fins”

loverofbeauty: Originally posted by other-wordly

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 17:23:20 -0600

loverofbeauty:

Originally posted by other-wordly

"Do your bit to save humanity from lapsing back into barbarity by reading all the novels you can."

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 14:35:38 -0600

“Do your bit to save humanity from lapsing back into barbarity by reading all the novels you can.”

- Richard Hughes (via writersrelief)

whoartgos: liquor makeskillers fromthe meekmotivationaldrinking

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 11:49:52 -0600

whoartgos:

liquor makes
killers from
the meek

motivational
drinking

It would appear that quite a few classics are taking their turn...

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 20:10:02 -0600

It would appear that quite a few classics are taking their turn on the big screen this year. Here’s to hoping the film versions can at least live up to their stories.

Our very own John Weldon in the news: Bookshops Face the Digital Age

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 17:25:17 -0600

Our very own John Weldon in the news: Bookshops Face the Digital Age

wwnorton: “Uncertainly, doubt, questioning. These are the...

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:35:20 -0600

wwnorton:

“Uncertainly, doubt, questioning. These are the innermost workings of literature. They are the writers’ true instruments. Is there any other mechanism that can sustain such extended and complex examination of ambiguity as a novel? That is what it was born for. In the digital world ambiguity is a bug or flaw to be worked out. In literature, it’s a chance to expand the definition of being.”

—Nicole Krauss, telling it like it is, at the 2011 PEN Awards Ceremony in New York

writersrelief: Hey, each rejection just brings you closer to a...

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 12:50:13 -0600

writersrelief:

Hey, each rejection just brings you closer to a publication! :)

Writer's Relief Blog: "Open Mike Night: Ten Tips For Reading Your Writing In Public"

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:39:30 -0600

Writer's Relief Blog: "Open Mike Night: Ten Tips For Reading Your Writing In Public":

writersrelief:

Writers, there may come a time when you are called to read your poems, short stories, or an excerpt of your novel in a public setting. Depending on your personality, the thought of public speaking will either send tremors of terror through you or you will revel in the chance to read your work to an appreciative audience. Whether you love open mike night or hate it, we’ve got some tips to help make your public reading a smashing success!

pages2type: Just a little something I learned from Lewis...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:41:20 -0600

pages2type:

Just a little something I learned from Lewis Carroll and Dr. Seuss.

meterxmetre

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of many books with the power to...

skyleramaziing: is always valueless, . ...

Horses were turned loose in the child's sorrow. Black and roan, cantering through snow. The way...

millionsmillions: #LitBeat: Literary Death Match LA by Melissa...

bytheword: Daily writing tip #103 from Frank...

Top 10 Most Misunderstood Lines in Literary History

10. Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken

9. William Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet

8. Lewis Carrol, Alice in Wonderland

7. William Shakespeare, Hamlet

6. John Keats, Ode to a Grecian Urn

5. William Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet

4. Rudyard Kipling, The Ballad of East and West

3. Robert Frost, The Mending Wall

2. Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra

1. William Shakespeare, Sonnet 18

writinginthenude: America is a melting-pot of ethnicity,...

Happy birthday!

Week 4.

bytheword: Daily writing tip #108 from Frank...

joshuarobertlong: “Bed legs are like sea legs without the...

loverofbeauty: Originally posted by other-wordly

"Do your bit to save humanity from lapsing back into barbarity by reading all the novels you can."

whoartgos: liquor makeskillers fromthe meekmotivationaldrinking

It would appear that quite a few classics are taking their turn...

Our very own John Weldon in the news: Bookshops Face the Digital Age

wwnorton: “Uncertainly, doubt, questioning. These are the...

writersrelief: Hey, each rejection just brings you closer to a...

Writer's Relief Blog: "Open Mike Night: Ten Tips For Reading Your Writing In Public"

pages2type: Just a little something I learned from Lewis...