Category Archives: LITERATURE

LITERATURE: The Last Days of Dogtown – Typos and Alliteration

Posted on May 9, 2009 by susan

Not really a typo but a switch from “his roost in the golden beech tree” to “Sammy’s autumn-gilded birch” that comes about a page later. Diamant has placed eleven year-old Sammy Stanley up in a tree, fingering five dimes in … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: The Last Days of Dogtown – Transitioning

Posted on May 9, 2009 by susan

Diamant doesn’t do as smooth a job of transitioning at this point of the story, where we are about to learn something about the mysterious Black Ruth. A strange man appears on Easter’s doorstep seeking the Wharfs, and when she … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: The Last Days of Dogtown – Setting through Imagery

Posted on May 8, 2009 by susan

And, I suppose, imagery through language choice, or diction. Diamant seems to use a blend of plain talk with some lovely description: When she first arrived in Gloucester, Ruth had asked a boy how to get to Brimfield farm. Following … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: The Last Days of Dogtown

Posted on May 7, 2009 by susan

Sailing right along in this engrossing story of a desolate town and its people. Very character-driven, and we are given good insight into them by their interaction with each other. It is a rough life, all on about the same … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: Published!

Posted on May 6, 2009 by susan

I’m proud to say that the latest book to come from Fred First has been physically delivered and ready for sale. He’s been working on this a while and is meticulous about language, image, and discerning in all areas of … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: Up Next: The Last Days of Dogtown

Posted on May 2, 2009 by susan

I usually put an image here of the current book I’ll be reading, taken from Amazon and linking back there for more information and possible purchases. However, since Amazon has thrown a monkey wrench into the process, they ain’t gonna … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: The Beans of Egypt, Maine – Finale

Posted on May 2, 2009 by susan

Finished this a few days back but haven’t really been feeling up to heavy insight. Loved the book; it’s likely taken a place among the top twenty in my estimation. Through dialogue and characterization, we get a pretty detailed view … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: The Beans of Egypt, Maine – Style

Posted on April 26, 2009 by susan

I’ve really been enjoying this book by Carolyn Chute her first, because of its character-driven plot, its simple yet shocking story of a family in backwoods Maine, but admittedly it’s the writing style that’s gotten me hooked. There were many … Continue reading →

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EDUCATION & LITERATURE: Using One Within the Other

Posted on April 25, 2009 by susan

One of the best articles I’ve read recently on learning and literature, from The Chronicle, “Against Readings”: Everyone who teaches literature has probably had at least one such golden moment. I mean the moment where, reading casually or reading intently, … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: Acquisitions

Posted on April 23, 2009 by susan

Back from the library book sale and am excited about what I was able to find to add to my shelves, a couple of which were actually on my To Buy list. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: Time for a McCarthy fix?

Posted on April 23, 2009 by susan

In tagging all the Literature posts it amazes me how long ago I’ve read this or that. Of course this latest span of time spent with Ishiguro’s Unconsoled has set me way back in reading, though I’ve got a post … Continue reading →

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LITERATURE: The Beans of Egypt, Maine

Posted on April 20, 2009 by susan

Life’s too short. I don’t know if I’ll keep at Ishiguro’s The Unconsoled, but I’ve already relaxed into Carolyn Chute’s novel and feel comfortable there.

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LITERATURE: Books, books and more books

Posted on April 17, 2009 by susan

Revvin up for next week’s local library book sale. Though at the rate I’m going with Ishiguro, I likely have enough to last me the rest of my life.

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LITERATURE: The Unconsoled – Technique

Posted on April 17, 2009 by susan

There’s something that Ishiguro does in this novel that’s either brilliant or terribly annoying. While it likely comes under the category of changing point of view–to first person omniscient no less–it is in keeping with the surreal plotting of events … Continue reading →

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POETRY & LITERATURE: Poetry is not always Poetry

Posted on April 17, 2009 by susan

What better time to warn the unwary wannabe poet than during National Poetry Month and from Writer Beware we get the following semi-good news: Until very recently, www.Poetry.com was the Internet home of the infamous International Library of Poetry (ILP), … Continue reading →

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