Category Archives: Literature

Hatred Of Americans

I’ve never suffered from Jew-hatred in the United States, but I constantly meet online Europeans who loathe Jews and Americans. It would never occur to me upon meeting somebody obnoxious or shallow to attribute their bad traits to their race … Continue reading

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‘Bukowski: Born Into This’

I just watched this documentary and felt very sad, so sad that I had to watch an episode of Coupling afterward to laugh and feel good again. I’ve never read Bukowski because I hear he’s depressing and I want more … Continue reading

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Automatic Writing

I found out about "automatic writing" this week while reading the Richard Elmann biography of the poet W. B. Yeats. "Automatic writing" means writing without conscious control. Say you are watching TV or talking to a friend and your hand … Continue reading

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I’m Reading Shellard’s Biography Of Theater Critic Kenneth Tynan

The parallels between Tynan and I are frightening. He was the first person to use the f-word on the BBC. I am the first person to use the f-word on the internet.

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A Pilgrimage of Passion: The Life of Wilfrid Scawen Blunt

I’m reading an essay by the author Elizabeth Longford about her writing up the life of poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt. She was all hot and bothered by Blunt’s voracious sexuality. She writes: …But I have to admit to a moment … Continue reading

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Cheever: A Life by Blake Bailey

I’m loving this 2009 biography. I love the insights into body use in this quote from Cheever: “In an upper-class gathering I suddenly think of myself as a pariah—a small and dirty fraud, a deserved outcast, a spiritual and sexual … Continue reading

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Alexander Technique & Revolutionary Road

I’m reading this novel by Richard Yates and I’m struck by the number of allusions to Alexander Technique. I have no reason to believe that Yates ever heard of the technique, but here’s a profound insight from his novel: "And … Continue reading

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I’m Gonna Go ‘Kite Runner’ On You!

Here are my videos: The SOASstudent posts about my first video: "At 3:25 you refer to his second wife as a "journalist". She wrote brief, idiotic, inane, ungrammatical, misspelled ‘think pieces’ for a rag in a town called Bahawalpur. French’s … Continue reading

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Naomi Ragen Responds To Michal Tal

Over the past year, I’ve published charges of plagiarism (by authors Sarah Shapiro and Michal Tal) against Israeli novelist Naomi Ragen. Naomi Ragen (I’ve enjoyed all her books, but didn’t have the strength to approach her at the American Jewish … Continue reading

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I’m Not Selfish, I Just Love Literature

I like this remark by V.S. Naipaul: "It’s the thing about the work. If you are travelling for material or to write a book, it isn’t that you are self-centered, it is that you are with the work. You are … Continue reading

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