Here are conjured passages so lyrical one feels witness to the creation of new elements in poetry's periodic table. Herein: lonesomeness, wreckage, thHere are conjured passages so lyrical one feels witness to the creation of new elements in poetry's periodic table. Herein: lonesomeness, wreckage, the detritus of life. Entropy as beauty. McCarthy's Muse croaks from the gutter and sings from the stars in equal measure. A beastly baritone angelic falsetto. But that is only one side of his talent: Cormac's ear is also tuned to the Southern people's earthy vernacular with Richter-like precision -- the dialogue so gripping, so real, it brilliantly undercuts the pomp of and illuminates the majesty of the higher poetry. Welcome to Cornelius Suttree's cyclical and agonized Umwelt....more
A dreamy hymn to possible worlds and alternate ways of being. A Rolodex of paradoxes. Replete with sparkling, lightbulb-moment allegories. Three cheerA dreamy hymn to possible worlds and alternate ways of being. A Rolodex of paradoxes. Replete with sparkling, lightbulb-moment allegories. Three cheers for the impossibility of grasping this huge unknowable world!...more
There's a lot to appreciate here. Marlowe's rhetoric stands proud & mighty. Faustus' struggle between righteousness and temptation touches us a3.5 / 5
There's a lot to appreciate here. Marlowe's rhetoric stands proud & mighty. Faustus' struggle between righteousness and temptation touches us at an all too human level. Who among us hasn't longed for omnipotence and sorcery? The very theme and orchestration are -- how to put it? -- pretty metal. Devil horns n' Beelzebub sh*t all the way through. Hail Satan!
Undoubtedly, this play and Goethe's rendition and Mann's novel have made this legend of exchange -- the idea of "selling out" raised to operatic heights -- an integral part of our cultural vocabulary. But Marlowe's presentation of Faustus' struggle still feels a bit primitive. The stagecraft (maybe because I'm fresh off the heels of reading A Midsummer Night's Dream?) just wasn't there yet for the Elizabethans. (Because, of course, Marlowe had to first pave the way.) Faustus is given no fleshed-out dramatic foils. Mephistophilis is simply a clear avatar for evil; Faustus' scholar proteges are dull mouthpieces. No sooner are Faustus' grimoirish co-conspirators, Valdes and Cornelius, introduced than they are dropped into the mist. And, by God, the scenes with the Pope and Alexander the Great and Helen are just... totally... wasted opportunities. Marlowe could've sunk his fangs into those encounters -- instead, he merely teases the viewer with them.
Ultimately, Faustus' corruption unfolds too episodically for me. He flits from place to place, and interspersed between the serious stuff are off-kilter (though amusing) dialogues with a clown. One feels a distinct lack of unity in the action. And yet, there's still a bounty of poetic fire herein. Inspiration & moral weight. Honestly, I imagine that the play works much better on an actual stage with the beguiling, supernatural presence of Mephistophilis, the angels, and visual inventiveness to augment the mere text we have at hand. I would rush to see that production, for sure....more
I remember (earlier today!) that I Remember is an incredible little book.
I remember that it provoked shocks of recognition in me that hurtled me back I remember (earlier today!) that I Remember is an incredible little book.
I remember that it provoked shocks of recognition in me that hurtled me back in time like few things I've read.
I remember laughing my ass off at Brainard's bravery, his frankness, the endless sexual fantasies.
I remember that nothing is off-limits.
I remember, now, that when I was 15 I sat at a big banquet-style table at a young writers' workshop in Vermont and we took turns reading from a print-out of I Remember and then being sent out into a field to write for a half-hour and returning to the round table to read our recollections both sheepishly and boldly, trying to match Brainard's zest. I understand with perfect clarity why that teacher assigned this to us.
I remember (I will!) that this is a beacon of honesty and an iridescent reflection of that strange thing known as "growing up."...more
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