So Today was the Day! and what a day it was. Not only did we decide on our final VWS for next year but we also had the Karen Russel Reading. I will discuss the events in chronological order:
The presentations wrapped up and as they did I made copious notes on the merit of each finalist. When it came time to vote I was confident in my decisions among my choices were Rachel Zucker, Claudia Rankine, The woman who wrote secretary, the female essayist, and someone else who is escaping me at the moment. I look forward to coming to the events next year.
The Karen Russel was adorable, she's like a little munchkin! I've always been jealous of tiny people they seem so compact, easier to fit in airplane seats, and they can be "pudgy" or "rolly-poly", but when you are 5-11 you just get"big". I thought of all the writers we have had she gave the most interesting responses to the Q&A part of the reading. She was very straightforward and articulate and did not seem at all taken off-guard by the questions. Her response to the genre she considers her work to be in was interesting. She claimed "Literary Fiction" because of her attention to sentences, and I can certainly see that element in her work. But she mentioned that her books are placed in a variety of "genres" at book stores including YA, and fantasy. So I suppose the jury is out and it all returns to the wonderful realm of semantics and how one defines "genre".
I also liked that she gave a very human and personal explanation behind her work and stressed the idea of "write what your good at" and forget the consequences of, writing almost exclusively in a child voice etc. I strongly agree with this idea and believe that all writers have an intuition of what their strengths are and when a story is good. Russel has found her voice but her challenge, in my opinion, will be to do the next step. To expand her voice to layer it with different narrators, settings, situations, this only comes with experience but by being true to writing what she wants to write she is on the right path.
She, of all the writers, really inspired me to personally keep writing, because I saw in her why she writes. And it is to tell a story she needs to tell. Was it Joyce who said that all the stories in the world are already out there existing in space, and the writers job is just to run into run. Russel's reading gave me a new insight to her work and it was a great close to this class.
I also liked the
Monday, December 8, 2008
12-1-08 Week Fourteen Final Discussion of VWS Canidates
Today in class we met and the proposal for VWS finalists was under way. Before class I had printed out all the candidates and read a fair portion of the samples I was given. There were two people that I knew I would be voting for, Rachel Zucker, and the female essayist. I really loved all the poems I have red of Zucker's and I like that she is a "confessional" poet, and doesn't just throw allot of random and bizarre images together and slap it with title. It is difficult for me to understand contemporary poetry, possibly because I'm stupid, or possibly because I'm a woman and am not so impressed by the very male desire to master and manipulate language but rather the approach of using language, with purpose and precision to articulate an experience of being. Personal or Universal this is the poetry that appeals to me. But I'm not saying other forms of poetry do not have value or that they do not take skill and time to create, just that I, personally, don not get anything from them.
I liked the female essayist and also Claudia Rankine, who I think is delectably bizarre and incredibly intelligent, while still being readable.
I am at the moment at a loss for who to vote for, all the presenters did such a wonderful job and they are all so passionate about their person. It makes me feel a little "detached" from the contemporary literature world, because I have no "favorite person" favorite writer :(.
I look forward to voting next Thursday.
I liked the female essayist and also Claudia Rankine, who I think is delectably bizarre and incredibly intelligent, while still being readable.
I am at the moment at a loss for who to vote for, all the presenters did such a wonderful job and they are all so passionate about their person. It makes me feel a little "detached" from the contemporary literature world, because I have no "favorite person" favorite writer :(.
I look forward to voting next Thursday.
11-27-08 Week Thirteen Thanksgiving
No class.
But there was turkey and my sister was condescending and my family played poker for way to long and were far to aggressive about the whole matter. Everyone judged what everyone else ate and I was accused of being bulimic. My sisters boyfriend refused to make eye contact with me but stared out the window looking trapped, as though he was going in the oven not the turkey. We did the NYT crossword aloud and criticized each other in the process, my sister suggesting my mother favored my answers, there was constant discussion about who should hold the puzzle and sit in the middle, everyone wanted the pen but no one wanted to be touched.
In the end I went home and snuggled with my cat and my boyfriend and was truly Thankfull that people no longer lived in the same house with their extended family.
But there was turkey and my sister was condescending and my family played poker for way to long and were far to aggressive about the whole matter. Everyone judged what everyone else ate and I was accused of being bulimic. My sisters boyfriend refused to make eye contact with me but stared out the window looking trapped, as though he was going in the oven not the turkey. We did the NYT crossword aloud and criticized each other in the process, my sister suggesting my mother favored my answers, there was constant discussion about who should hold the puzzle and sit in the middle, everyone wanted the pen but no one wanted to be touched.
In the end I went home and snuggled with my cat and my boyfriend and was truly Thankfull that people no longer lived in the same house with their extended family.
11-24-08 Week Thirteen Author Group Presentation
We gave our presentation of Russel today, which went well I think. I'm still not really sure how we are expected to present the author packet, but we ended up with a number of good questions so I think we can establish that the presentation was a success!
Prof. Row brought up an interesting point that if you use the fantastic consistently, as Russel does, as an allegory/metaphor for the experience of coming of age then what are the consequences of this use, does it limit the fantastic to only expressing this one idea?
This got me thinking about the reversal of this problem. If you always use the fantastic to describe the experience of coming of age then what does that suggest about coming of age? Why cannot that moment be articulated in a narrative set in reality?
My personal opinion is that if Russel's stories were robbed of their fantastic elements they would loose their charm and become simply depressing. Like a souffle the wolves and magic goggles in Russel's work keep the heavy content light and airy, so the moments are both deliciously fluffy and heavy, simultaneously.
Along with these questions we came up with a list of other questions my favorite of which was "define your assumed trajectory of your career", or something like that. I think every visiting writer should be asked this question, perhaps before their reading, or possibly we could have them submit a proposal in writing before they are seriously considered a candidate for the series. After all, how can we possibly invite a writer without knowing if they expect to be insanely famous in forty years. Haha, no but seriously I actually like that question, I forget who thought of it, I wish our Q and As could be completely sarcastic. It could be the VWS/ Creative Writing Communities Comedy Presentation. There is just something about all writers "reading their work" that gives me a deep desire to provide sarcastic commentary, at the same time that I genuinely enjoy the experience. It is so odd, us with our questions, them up there reading, its funny u know? At the same time that it is wonderful experience.
With that said I look forward to Russel's coming on the 4th.
Prof. Row brought up an interesting point that if you use the fantastic consistently, as Russel does, as an allegory/metaphor for the experience of coming of age then what are the consequences of this use, does it limit the fantastic to only expressing this one idea?
This got me thinking about the reversal of this problem. If you always use the fantastic to describe the experience of coming of age then what does that suggest about coming of age? Why cannot that moment be articulated in a narrative set in reality?
My personal opinion is that if Russel's stories were robbed of their fantastic elements they would loose their charm and become simply depressing. Like a souffle the wolves and magic goggles in Russel's work keep the heavy content light and airy, so the moments are both deliciously fluffy and heavy, simultaneously.
Along with these questions we came up with a list of other questions my favorite of which was "define your assumed trajectory of your career", or something like that. I think every visiting writer should be asked this question, perhaps before their reading, or possibly we could have them submit a proposal in writing before they are seriously considered a candidate for the series. After all, how can we possibly invite a writer without knowing if they expect to be insanely famous in forty years. Haha, no but seriously I actually like that question, I forget who thought of it, I wish our Q and As could be completely sarcastic. It could be the VWS/ Creative Writing Communities Comedy Presentation. There is just something about all writers "reading their work" that gives me a deep desire to provide sarcastic commentary, at the same time that I genuinely enjoy the experience. It is so odd, us with our questions, them up there reading, its funny u know? At the same time that it is wonderful experience.
With that said I look forward to Russel's coming on the 4th.
11-20-08 Week Twelve "Russle Among her Peers"
Today in class we continued our discussion of Karen Russel and I thought for this Blog entry I would talk about the title story of her book "St. Lucy's Home For Girls Raised by Wolves". Through one perspective the story is simplistic in its structure, the narrative is a list of the levels of assimilation. Structuring her story in this way allows Russel to be more creative in description and more loose, we know the progression of the story and there is not necessarily the burden of creating a more concrete plot.
Emotionally, not analytically, my response to the story was sadness. The idea of detachment from the wolf life is not only an allegory of cultural assimilation, but also of the personal journey away from one's immediate family. There is time, in everyone's life, where the realization that mother and father are not perfect, and possibly quite f****ed up occurs. This moment can be extremely disillusioning and depressing. There is a sense of isolation we see in the narrator as she returns to a wolf pack that she has completely outgrown, and the emotional response to that outgrowth is a deep and private mourning.
I wish it was this story that Russel was expanding into a book as I think it could have possibility to be an amazing novel. Kind of like a Harry Potter gone wrong, where the innocent child does not discover that they are actually a magic wizard but that they are human...not so good. If she slowed down the narrative and expanded it I think there could be a lot done with the sisters and the nuns as well as the relation to the family. Although to work, as I discussed in my earlier blog I think Russel would really need to commit herself to a fantastic world, establish the "wolf people" and werewolves more firmly in this altered reality. It would be a commitment that drew her away from the genre of "literary fiction" and closer to "fantasy", but honestly I think this story in a "fantasy" novel would be fabulous. There is no shame in writing "fantasy" some of the most amazing and epic works fall into this genre, and I don't think people should be so quick to turn up their noses to works on worlds that are not ours. It is possible to write fantasy and be "literary" so lets all relax and embrace the fantastic elements of Russell's work despite what genre they place her in.
Emotionally, not analytically, my response to the story was sadness. The idea of detachment from the wolf life is not only an allegory of cultural assimilation, but also of the personal journey away from one's immediate family. There is time, in everyone's life, where the realization that mother and father are not perfect, and possibly quite f****ed up occurs. This moment can be extremely disillusioning and depressing. There is a sense of isolation we see in the narrator as she returns to a wolf pack that she has completely outgrown, and the emotional response to that outgrowth is a deep and private mourning.
I wish it was this story that Russel was expanding into a book as I think it could have possibility to be an amazing novel. Kind of like a Harry Potter gone wrong, where the innocent child does not discover that they are actually a magic wizard but that they are human...not so good. If she slowed down the narrative and expanded it I think there could be a lot done with the sisters and the nuns as well as the relation to the family. Although to work, as I discussed in my earlier blog I think Russel would really need to commit herself to a fantastic world, establish the "wolf people" and werewolves more firmly in this altered reality. It would be a commitment that drew her away from the genre of "literary fiction" and closer to "fantasy", but honestly I think this story in a "fantasy" novel would be fabulous. There is no shame in writing "fantasy" some of the most amazing and epic works fall into this genre, and I don't think people should be so quick to turn up their noses to works on worlds that are not ours. It is possible to write fantasy and be "literary" so lets all relax and embrace the fantastic elements of Russell's work despite what genre they place her in.
11-17-08 Week Twelve The "New Fabulism"
Today in class we discussed Karen Russel and her work of short stories. St. Lucy's home for girls raised by wolves. Our discussion focused primarily around Her use of fantasy, we collectively wondered: how, by utilizing fantasy in her work, does Russel align herself with a particular genre? Has she trapped herself in the voice of a child and is there a problem with depending on the metaphor of the fantastic to define the experience of loss of innocence/coming of age?
In my reflections in the class discussion I began thinking about what Prof. Row mentioned on authors like Saffron Foyer who have almost locked themselves into this trap of "out quirking" themselves. Each book must be more bazaar than the next. I read both of Saffron-Foer's popular novels and I would think the last was actually less quirkier. It is primarily one continuous narrative, unlike his first which jumps around in time. But still I could see how one finds themselves in this predicament. I don't know if this would apply to Russel but I couldn't imagine her publishing anything that did not include an aspect of the fantastic, it seems such the core of her narratives.
We talked about her expanding her alligator story into a novel and if it would still hold the same appeal as her short stories. I certainly think she could pull it off, but she will have restructure her work and define the role of the fantastic. She seems to walk a tight line between true bizarreness and the "real" world, and I believe that for her pieces to work as full length narratives she will have to more concretely situate writing into one of these perspectives.
In my reflections in the class discussion I began thinking about what Prof. Row mentioned on authors like Saffron Foyer who have almost locked themselves into this trap of "out quirking" themselves. Each book must be more bazaar than the next. I read both of Saffron-Foer's popular novels and I would think the last was actually less quirkier. It is primarily one continuous narrative, unlike his first which jumps around in time. But still I could see how one finds themselves in this predicament. I don't know if this would apply to Russel but I couldn't imagine her publishing anything that did not include an aspect of the fantastic, it seems such the core of her narratives.
We talked about her expanding her alligator story into a novel and if it would still hold the same appeal as her short stories. I certainly think she could pull it off, but she will have restructure her work and define the role of the fantastic. She seems to walk a tight line between true bizarreness and the "real" world, and I believe that for her pieces to work as full length narratives she will have to more concretely situate writing into one of these perspectives.
Monday, November 17, 2008
11-13-08 Week Eleven Next Years VWS Vote
I don't feel like writing anything cohesive so WARNING expect the followoing to have no connection except being somehow related to the Writers Communties and Creativity.
So class was kind of cancled today, but we still had to meet and vote on our VWS choice. We went through the short but sweet presentations of the authors we had not covered last class and then wrote the names on the board and voted.
I have started reading a portion of Karen Russells book and so far am very much enjoying it.
For another course I finished reading Troilus and Cressida which I now understnad to be one of Shakespeares few problem plays.
I have a headache.
So class was kind of cancled today, but we still had to meet and vote on our VWS choice. We went through the short but sweet presentations of the authors we had not covered last class and then wrote the names on the board and voted.
I have started reading a portion of Karen Russells book and so far am very much enjoying it.
For another course I finished reading Troilus and Cressida which I now understnad to be one of Shakespeares few problem plays.
I have a headache.
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