DIARY
– YESTERDAY – A success! Work went well; I plowed through nine long articles on the Oceans. Picked up some (more) books for class. Stopped for cash. Stopped at French Roast to meet with my workshop instructor. We spent awhile talking about Adrift on the Mainstream and what direction might be productive in revision. Then I headed back up to campus to stop at Murray’s for a bagel before class. Except Murray’s was closed for some reason. I ran into Erica and we talked for awhile. Class itself was interesting, although my sense is that people were being misreading The Third Policeman. They felt that it wasn’t as finely crafted at Tristram Shandy or Pale Fire. I think that assement is correct but besides the point; there was plenty that the book did achieve, and I would’ve liked to have concentrated on that:
- The interplay between deSelby, his commentators, and the narrator.
- The exchange between Joe and the narrator.
- The geography of the setting.
And so on. We got into a protracted discussion of modernism, postmodernism, structuralism, poststructuralism, and deconstruction, which is always either productive or postproductive, in my mind at least. It’s the kind of discussion that class needed to have. Too many unheeded or unacknowledged biases flitting around.
– WEATHER – High-pressure over Greenland is pushing and shoving, and the jet stream is uncurled over the Eastern half of the U.S. Meanwhile, an Alberta clipper is descending on us from the Northeast. That means that western half of the U.S. will continue to enjoy mild weather, but east of the Mississippi we should expect a Big Cold Nasty. Quite possibly the Biggest Coldest Nastiest of the season.
– FEBRUARY – Is Grapefruit month.
LINK OF THE WEEK
Marsupials of Australia.
QUESTION OF THE DAY
Which of your books would you choose to marry?
Which were good dates and quick flings?
Which books broke your heart?
Which books were just wasted evenings?
END OF POST.