Category Archives: Literature

MAKING CHRISTMAS MEMORIES.

Posted on December 25, 2011 by Philip

MAKING CHRISTMAS MEMORIES. Dickens is wise when he has Scrooge’s conversion accomplished by memories—Scrooge’s past memories, his memories that are being created in the present, and his memories that will be created in the future. We remember our Christmases and … Continue reading →

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EGGCORNS AS “TINY LITTLE POEMS”.

Posted on December 3, 2011 by Philip

EGGCORNS AS “TINY LITTLE POEMS”. Eggcorns as well as mondegreens show up frequently in the student writing mistakes that are discussed in RAB’s blog “You Know What I Meant”. RAB analyzes them in much the same way that a good … Continue reading →

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MIDDLEMARCH.

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Philip

MIDDLEMARCH. The last words of George Eliot’s MIDDLEMARCH: “…the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to … Continue reading →

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SIMENON THE TECHNICIAN.

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Philip

SIMENON THE TECHNICIAN. Joan Acocella cites Julian Symons as saying that the Maigret stories were not detective stories because Simenon was not interested in detection. I concede that Simenon is not interested in forensic clues of the Sherlock Holmes kind, … Continue reading →

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A NOBEL PRIZE FOR DETECTIVE STORIES?

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Philip

A NOBEL PRIZE FOR DETECTIVE STORIES? I posted here that I thought that Simenon was worthy of a Nobel Prize. Some think that Simenon did not win the Prize because he was so prolific. He usually spent an intense 10 … Continue reading →

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SHAKESPEARE’S EDUCATION (COMMENT).

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Philip

SHAKESPEARE’S EDUCATION (COMMENT). When I questioned the claim that a commoner could not have written Shakespeare’s plays in this post, Nick commented: “I wish I knew more about education that could be available at the time.” Simon Schama, in this … Continue reading →

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ANONYMOUS—ONLY ARISTOCRATS CAN CREATE LITERATURE.

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Philip

ANONYMOUS—ONLY ARISTOCRATS CAN CREATE LITERATURE. We saw the new movie Anonymous at the New Yorker festival about a month ago. After the screening, there was a discussion with the scholar James Shapiro and the director of the movie. Shapiro’s criticism … Continue reading →

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CAMUS AND SIMENON AND THE NOBEL PRIZE.

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Philip

CAMUS AND SIMENON AND THE NOBEL PRIZE. Joan Acocella had an article in the New Yorker (October 10) about one of my favorite writers, George Simenon. She points out that Simenon had predicted that he would win the Nobel Prize. … Continue reading →

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STEALING A BRIDGE; STEALING A FERRIS WHEEL.

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Philip

STEALING A BRIDGE; STEALING A FERRIS WHEEL. I posted here about the thefts of a building and of a gold bathtub. Nick, who discussed the gold bathtub in one of his standup routines, called my attention to this article about … Continue reading →

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A SIMPLE REACTION TO ULYSSES.

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Philip

A SIMPLE REACTION TO ULYSSES. I had promised Nick my reactions to ULYSSES. I have now finished it. Obviously, it’s a great book, a book I’ve always wanted to read. I enjoyed it. One reaction will seem naive. As I … Continue reading →

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