The Connections:
Google FSB Media
Twitter
Facebook
Wordpress/Blogspot
Q: Do these types of dissemination function only as a commercial means?
A: Yes and No.
The possibilities for the reader:
Integrated poetry– literature for the individual rather than the author
The poetry we’ve experienced before is physical, functioning to the audience closer to the idea of the author rather than for the reader. Digital poetry provides a completely unique experience for each individual. We interact, we observe, we comprehend each poem differently than the person who read it last. (see Thomas Swiss- Narrative)
Listening in on the conversation- privacy vs. public
As a reader, we have access to the conversations and interaction between author, reader, and publisher whether we directly interact with any of these or not. We can observe the reaction between each of these, while maintaining our distance, or actually interact with them ourselves.
The relationship between reader, writer, and publisher
Through observation we can determine whether or not to interact and associate ourselves with other readers, writers, or publication companies. For the first time there is a direct relationship between the reader and the writer, the reader and publisher, and any mix of these. It is easier, quicker, and more widespread now than it has ever been.
I was recently poking around twitter, reading bits and pieces of tweets that caught my eye. I noticed one of my favorite authors that I am following and have previously blogged about, Jodi Picoult, seems to reply to any tag that includes her, even those that are insulting. This fact is quite astounding- she responds with dignity and humanity while still managing to get her point across. She also recognizes her fellow authors, congratulating them and tweeting random books that are coming out and award winners.
One such congratulation was to Harlan Coben. Both following one another, I followed the tweeting trail to his profile. Coben, a successful YA series author, seems quite personable, addressing those who tag him as well, but actually following them as well, though he follows only a small percentage of those who are followers. One of these is Ron Charles, a blogger for the Washington Post as a critic, and a fiction editor. Opinionated and witty, I’m not sure how I feel about Ron Charles, but found him immensely connected. He is followed by Jodi Picoult, Harlan Coben, Joe Finder and Lisa Scottoline.
Scottoline, who has book Save Me recently made the New York Times Bestseller list, spends a good amount of time on Twitter, but is probably necessary because of the amount of people tweeting about the novel. Again, I found that she was incredibly connected, following and being followed by multiple authors including the aforementioned Picoult, Coben, and Charles.
Apart from these Joe Finder follows Scottoline as well. Finder, incredibly, follows almost as many as he has followers. Finder is a NYT bestseller, like Scottoline, and (most importantly) a Red Sox fan. I enjoyed snooping around Finders tweets, because he seemed to have an entertaining sense of humor. I decided to follow Finder, and was pleasantly surprised to find that we actually followed ten of the same people. I went from having one connection (Jodi picoult) to having ten in the space of only a few minutes. I have finally gotten a glimpse into the literary world of writers, publishers, and readers—particularly authors, who seem to interact on a daily basis.
How often do you blog? Personally, my blog can probably be labeled as neglected in comparison to the abundance of literary and art based blogs that are out in the digital world today. I thought, therefore, that I would give a little recognition for the few blogs who have constantly new posts coming out; my Reader is constantly being refilled. I chose to look at the blogs that have the highest streaming rate in my Reader.
This particular website is one of my favorites. Now of course, it is the blog we’re talking about here, so I will try and stick to that, but the actual website that the blog is associated with is awesome. It’s got interviews, featured authors, reviews, and more. It’s basically got anything that you’d be interested in, including a blog. The blog begins by explaining where the idea for the site originated, and the journey that the mastermind behind it all endured. The newer posts are more focused on bringing information to the reader, whether it be news about the website, reviews, or what seems to be their specialty: Coffee with an Author. Although the blog itself could have more widgets, maybe a twitter feed, or a more visual focused appeal, the writing is professional, personable, and well thought out. The real focus of the blog is its attachment to the website. Check them both out for some great insight into authors, books, and publishing.
I love this blog for many reasons. The blog is done by Jo Ann Hakola, who became a bookseller from home on her own terms, then began a blog to tell of her experience, her findings, and the array of books that she devours. For me, the interest lies in the author’s ambition and ability to make it in the world of books (using the internet!) and becoming successful. The focus of many of the blog posts is reviews on young adult or children’s literature. The importance of influencing children to read early in life is often understated, so this blog is a refreshing reminder that some, at least, are aware of the influence reading can have on kids. The author has had publishing companies send books to her for review, and though she could probably expand on many, the accessibility of the posts is excellent. I would recommend doing some digging and going on a little journey of your own.
Written by a ghost writer (how cool is that?!) the posts are witty, well written, and interesting. What starts out as what seems to be just an individual opinion actually turns out to something far more: it speaks to the reader while encouraging comments and involvement in the literary community. I love this blog because it puts a human voice to the abstract concept of publishing that currently resides in my over-contemplative, dreamy mind. So yes, I’d love to become an editor. But honestly, that goal seems so insubstantial right now that I have difficulty even imagining it. This blog, however, is realistic. She is an actual writer, young, intelligent, and successful. Her site has a great title, but she sure doesn’t seem to be fumbling in my opinion.
YouTube. I’ve seen it used commercially, for vlogs, for humor, visual instructions, and countless other uses that I am unaware of. During my research into literary outlets, this particular mode of dissemination was a surprise. I never expected to find YouTube as an outlet for authors, publishing companies, and other literary artists. Compared with other literary outlets, YouTube is evidently used more as a tool of the preferred mode of dissemination. For example, if a publishing company has a website they probably have a facebook link, perhaps a blog, and a twitter feed. YouTube, on the other hand, seems to lag behind as a literary tool.
However, it’s beginning to catch up. The inter connectivity inspired by YouTube is not as immense or as popularized as, say, facebook or twitter. Twitter is an explosion of dissemination, with constant updates, links, and categories that require constant awareness. YouTube, somewhat like blogs, is more stationary and lasting. An uploaded video will be posted, viewed, commented on, and perhaps forgotten. However, the video itself never morphs or alters its original state. This allows specific groups and individuals to use YouTube as a tool–an addition to their site or post. Random House Publishing has posted a YouTube video on the front page of their website, providing authority while maintaining the hegemonic structure; YouTube depends on sites like Random House to use the videos that are uploaded and therefore keeping the site running.
Jodi Picoult
Does this mean, then, that YouTube functions mainly for commercial use? Well, yes and no. Yes, because in the literary world youtube itself has barely begun to be used for the transformation of tangible literature to digitalized and visual literature. The most popular and used videos are used by writers to advertise their written works. These videos are then publicized by the respective publishing company, fans, etc. Literary works are now advertised much like film: the use of trailers. Using a digital mode of commercializing literature has become the new “thing”. Authors have them posted on their websites, their blogs, tweet them, and the publishers are doing the same. Jodi Picoult has tweeted about it, and has the trailer for her newest novel Sing You Home posted on her website, but uploaded using YouTube.
But not all “you-lit” is based on commercial appeal. Slowly, artists are emerging using YouTube as a creative canvas. By using youtube in this way, artists can create and then post their artwork as if it were in a gallery, allowing fellow artists, youtube users, and countless anonymous viewers to watch their creations. This type of literary boom formed digitally reveals an astounding shift in the boundaries of literature. Because youtube encompasses this expansion of literary boundaries, it has the potential to eventually become a platform for literary canons, though it is not one itself. The viewers may not even be aware of the evolution they are witnessing.
Exploring the artistry of digital literature, the most common form that I encountered was in the form of kinetic poetry. Most often done by a reader, the poems that are used range from classic to modern and transformed from stationary to mobile. For example, I was astounded to find Dante’s Inferno surrounded by the humorous and the melancholy poetry videos, the text blasting from the video with a red light hovering and glowing ominously in the background. This demonstrates the inspiration many are finding by reading literature on classic, concrete, physical literature, and transforming it into a newer, modern, undefined piece of art.
Youtube itself may not have been started with literature in mind, but the potential of the platform is becoming ever more apparent.
Let me introduce you to poetry in a form unlike any you have probably encountered before: the world of digital poetry. From simple readings, to movies created specifically for poems (and vice versa) into typographical poetry and interactive. Poetry as a literary form has evolved to fit our new technological, digitally based world. I was lucky enough to have the chance to engage and discover poetry on this digital level, in many of its untraditional forms. We will take this in steps. The first, therefore, is poetry readings filmed and disseminated via the internet (youtube, organization sites, poet sites, etc).
The site that I found was purely by accident, unrelated to this particular blogpost. In a previous blog, I addressed a video posted on The Best Words In Their Best Order, of Don Paterson reading from his most recent publication. The poem inspired me on such a level that I had to find out more right away, instead of delaying the opportunity. I therefore sequestered myself in my lamp lit room with a cup of strong tea, ready to settle the night with my computer. Instead of the typical ten page paper or 70 page reading assignment however, I was looking for poetry in a more visual mode. I found what I was looking for: a poetry reading by Don Paterson that I had not yet listened or seen. However, much to my surprise the Scottish poet was at a nightclub of all places. Intrigued and sidetracked, I discovered that there was a nightclub in London boasting that it is “London’s first/ best/ only literary nightclub.” On the last Thursday of every month, poets and authors come to “slam”: in other words, get up on stage and read for the audience. They videotape the event, upload it and post it on youtube and on their site. The site has archives of past appearances, a comments section, and information on how it all started. Connected as possible, they have a youtube, facebook, and twitter. Who would have thought that a nightclub could become a literary outlet in itself??
The next I will showcase in this blog is poetry videos made specifically for that poem. One step up (or down, depending on the viewpoint) from a simple reading, the reading is done as an art form that bonds with the poem, allowing both to form a contingent relationship. More intense than I had expected, the videos are quite remarkable when merely auditory, but made for watching and listening together. The site is called Poetry Kills.
The next visual poetry in my slew of visual poetry archives was uploaded into Youtube. Visual poetry can encompass many types of poetry as an art form, this particular video is constructed for a chosen poem, with graphics designed to make the audience read the poem in a structured, preordained manner. In this case the poem is The Quiet World, by Jeffrey MacDaniel. The graphics that are displayed add an interesting aspect to the poem. On a printed page the writing would be stationary, straightforward, perhaps even simple. The reader in this case has the text moving, adjusting to the world it now inhabits. This might actually deter from the authors intent, but the reader chose to interpret in an alternative manner, creating a visual poem in motion. However, the quiet between the simple sounds are as profound and obvious as the words in the poem. The set up is black and white, adding to the straightforward nature. Interpretations like this are available for anyone to disseminate, should they choose.
The last poetry form is the most unique. This poetry form is a combination of many different forms, from simple visual poems with no movement, to typographical, to a poem set to graphics. It is interactive poetry. Most often done by the poet, because the interactive poem is usually created specifically to be interactive, the poem engages the reader and can change depending on when you clicked your mouse, which word was highlighted first, or any number of things. When I was first introduced to digital poetry, I went on a poem hunt. I managed to find a site dedicated toThomas Swiss, who is a Professor and poet. Most of the work I have found by him is based on the new digital form. His poems are unique and well done, completely random at times, but can be beautiful. One of the most interesting was one that was created by Swiss and George Shaw, entitled The Language of New Media. It is perhaps his most interactive poem. The other one I most enjoyed by him was City of Bits.
Check these out, people! Digital poetry is so profoundly unique; every single poem is different each time you encounter it. These “visual poems” are formed in a poetic structure that is limitless. In fact, you can’t even say that it is a poetic structure. ART is the only way to truly describe it.
Facebook. What makes it so fascinating, addicting even? Is it the fact that it provides a diary-like outlet for your friends and acquaintances, granting public access for information that many were unaware of, revealing “secrets” which are enticing merely because of their mysteriousness? That is, they are mysterious until you realize the only “secret” revealed is that they woke up this morning with a headache and went skiing last weekend. The perpetual need to “facebook” (using that as a verb here) is very modern age. It’s like rereading a novel or magazine that changes each time you open and close it again.
You navigate your way to the site like finding yourself at the library, looking at the books in the stacks, one book blurring into the next. Only this time, the book covers are all profile pictures with some basic information on the inner jacket flap. If you find the picture amusing, or beautiful, intriguing or just merely interesting, you try and find out more: go to their profile page, friend request them, etc. The wall posts and other applications they’ve added read like chapters in a book or articles printed in a magazine. But what makes facebook so iconic in the modern forms of dissemination is its unceasing changeability. You can find anyone, anywhere. You glean more information than you ever really wanted to know, but now that you have you find that you want that sort of insignificant detail into someone’s mind and personality.
But what about looking at facebook as not merely a social networking environment, now associated as more of a website for all your friends (and more) where you can chat, make comments, upload photos, play games, and make plans on? What about those aspects to facebook that rely on polls, feeds, discussions, and upcoming events? I’m talking of course about the communities that have formed around businesses, including corporations, products they sell, artists, photographers, musicians, etc. Do these sort of facebook pages invade in a community that is unwelcome, where they are recognized as awkward for even attempting to place themselves in a world much more socially acceptable to drama ridden teens, overworked mothers, and baby boomers trying to connect with their children? Does it even matter in the sense that people actually pay attention to these sites? Do they have any authority in this online community as they would in a digital community devoted purely to their subject? Why do they even exist?
The facebook pages devoted to a particular company, such as Simon and Schuster, are making an effort to reach into an already preordained community. However, this is gotten to be entirely acceptable within many facebook sub-communities, and therefore accepted into the facebook mainstream. This demonstrates the potential for facebook users to achieve and find higher authority within facebook sites.
The authority of specific facebook outlets is measured much like a blog. For example, in the Simon and Schuster facebook page (found here) all different modes of dissemination are produced to appeal to specific audiences. There are videos to appeal to the more visual and auditory inclined, but all have text as explanation, background, or summary to appeal to the more literary or comprehensive individual. Well organized, the site provides a sort of pamphlet to introduce the company to their fans and their readers, with polls, events, and discussions.
I would argue that this medium is much more in tune with the readers themselves, with more direct correspondence and involvement than if their customers looked up information on the website. Using facebook allows the company and anyone in the digital community to actively and directly participate in the online literary community. Understanding the significance of such an involvement, companies have taken facebook to levels that many are unaware of, but is steadily rising in popularity.
One of the best involvements in the literary community is the connection that has been established between reader and writer. Writers are much more aware of their influence on readers’ lives and of the support they have throughout the literary world when they use facebook as a connecting outlet. They can promote their upcoming publication, spread the news of the interview or appearance on the morning show. And readers will actually respond. Because of the aspects of an online association, readers are now more comfortable establishing a bond with particular authors. Facebook provides a degree of anonymity; you’re just a face in the crowd of users. So unlike writing a letter or attending a reading, the readers can allow themselves to connect with the author, creating a link to that author. Once that link is made, the readers may feel more inclined to be more active in the relationship—talking, writing, discussing even further with the writers themselves.
Simon and Schuster along with a multitude of other literary related companies, authors, and communities exist within facebook. As a simple outreach to the public, these sites have a unique chance to reach a broad spectrum of people. They have embraced the facebook community, so let’s embrace them.
While perusing literary outlets, I was pleased but unsurprised when I found the Poetry Foundation that has become a popular target of mine in my ever diminishing stash of free time. Their facebook is much like their website, but with shorter posts. It serves as a preview for the actual posts on their site, their featured poets, etc, much like any other magazine like The Onion or the New Yorker. Of course, I had to get my daily dose of Harriet, the Poetry Foundation’s blog. I then realized that I could delve even further into Harriet than I had before, and decided to find it on Twitter, which I did. Twitter is not one of my favorite outlets, but it has an incredible capacity to connect (imagine that!), especially in the online literary world (what can I say, I’m a genius). There I found David Pritchard among the followers.
Incidentally, his blog is also on Harriet’s Blogroll. His blog, with a somewhat lower hegemony, is interconnected within the digital community. However, he had an array of connections for the reader to follow, including a Blogroll, Twitter feed, and archives. He also had set up a gadget for links. One of his links was to the Best American Poetry website. Being a lover of poetry and it’s many websites, I of course had to check it out.
The Best American Poetry site is reminiscent of the Poetry Foundation website (go figure). It has featured “Guest” bloggers, as well as posts about the authors and their work, readings, and conventions. The “Guest Bloggers” are, incidentally, authors themselves, with published works and blogs of their own. This in itself is very useful form of dissemination, because the guest blog author can then be followed on twitter, facebook, or on their blog. This productive direct involvement between poets, authors, and artists alike with a website, and in effect their readers, is increasingly common. A blog that mentions a poet or subject will then be commented on or discussed by the involved parties and those that have chosen to involve themselves. Even more involvement is available to the visitors of the sites; along the side are the typical publishing advertisements, book advertisements and more. Often there are links to Amazon for books published by readers associated with the site.
Apart from the advertisements and logo links, are the links to other pages and blogs that are connected with The Best American Poetry site. Among the blogs that were included in the “Places We Like” blogroll were many that I had recognized from the Poetry Foundation: Mark Doty, Squandermania, Baroque in Hackney, and Shanna Compton; more evidence of the digital poetry community. Unwilling to end my web exploration with these connections, I delved further into my search for interconnectivity. It was then that I found a poem that I highly enjoyed by C. Dale Young, called “Torn”.
This is a mere excerpt from the beginning of the poem. Click on the photo to read it in its entirety.
I researched further, discovering that he had connections with The Poetry Foundation as well. Not only was he one of their featured artists with his own mini biography on the Foundation site, but he had actually commented on some of Harriet’s previous posts. Here is an example of a man who has managed to become engrained in the digital literary web. Being a part time writer while practicing Medicine full time, this is quite an amazing feat. I was pleased his blog is also on Harriet’s blogroll under “Avoiding the Muse.” I was back to where I started. With the infinite possibilities of the web, I managed to find C. Dale Young featured in many different sites, as well as having a “follow” widget by Google Friend Connect. Eventually, however, I came back to find him on facebook.
Facebook as a social network has extended itself beyond its initial intent to provide a networking site specifically designed for work related discussion and expansion. Now it is more commonly used as a tool to connect with friends and relatives, and immerse yourself into connection through digital space. But now, as is clear from my journey “through time and space” (if you get that reference, I’ll be amazed) it provides the greatest oppurtunity to become involved in a much bigger world. Facebook has become a space that is beyond physical in its capacity for integration and dissemination. Artists, musicians, poets, snowboarders, movie-gooroos and jedi-junkies have found a way to connect beyond what was possible in previous decades. You can find anyone, anything, anywhere.
So get to delving, you blog addict.
See the digital world for all its incredible capabilities…
The authority or hegemony of the blog can be measured, but how? There are distinct criteria for analyzing blogs: appearance, context (which includes voice, grammar, etc), and what I shall dub the “grab factor”. You can also look at their blogroll and their links, which add a complexity to the hegemonic structures in the digital world.
Hegemonic structure in the blogging world is paradoxical; there is no static structure in this hierarchy. There is a certain thrill in the digital world, based on the notion of possibility. One simple event or decision can alter the structure in one minute. Anything can happen, whether its result is detrimental or beneficial. These blogs each belong to a digital community of literary blogs. However, as the readers are tools to help produce a hierarchy in the digital age, they too must be taken in to consideration. Academia readers will be perhaps more drawn to one or the other, while teen poets enjoy a different blog, altering the blog hierarchy for that particular sub-group.
Sifting through the overwhelming plethora of literature based blogs was not an easy feat. I did find many that had the potential to be interesting, but even more that gave me an instant headache. Is it really necessary to have three mini columns with loads of links, photos, videos, etc, when there is no empty space? It is too daunting to even search for somewhere to start! I finally found one that was calm enough for me to stay on for more than thirty seconds. It is called The Newer Metaphysicals, written by Nicholas Manning. This discovery soon led to two more blogs, Tea Time at Annick Press (I may abbreviate it as TTAP) and The Best Words In Their Best Order (BWBO).
The most rudimentary aspect of a blog is the appearance. If you overwhelm the audience, no one will read it. However, if you have a nearly blank page most people will not hesitate to click that happy red X that will permanently delete the page on their computer and their minds. Nicholas Manning provides his audience with a standard, readable, aesthetically pleasing layout to his blog. Using a neutral tone for the background, one immediately feels comfortable upon opening the portal to his world. The title of the blog is quite striking, with The Newer Metaphysicalspasted in bright white and left aligned instead of centered like the blog posts below. This title gives it an immediate academic feel because of the word choice but also because of the Latin subtitle: adequatio intellectus et rei. The blog posts are neat, with large, readable text and titles.
Tea Time at Annick Press is a much “lighter” blog, invoking a more relaxed but authoritative feel. The relaxation that is inspired in the viewer stems from the spring green background and the title, which is a neat little cartoon of a tea pot and cup to complement the title. The blog posts themselves are posted on a near white background. Unlike the Newer Mataphysicals, these posts seem narrower because of the contrasting light against dark. This factor gives the blog a clean and simple quality, which is more non-threatening to readers, but does not necessarily add to the authority of the page; if the blog were wider, more site widgets or visual additions could be made, as well as adding to the ease of reading the posts.
In appearance, The Best Words in Their Best Order has a light blue and white layout, which is surprisingly fresh. The best use of appearance in this blog is the differences between texts. They make use of italics and straight type, black as well as colored, and the size of the fonts vary according to what they involve. Visually, this blog has encompasses many aspect of an aesthetic blog. The text, while being one of the most successful components of this blog, is also part of the only negative features. Sometimes large and readable, some of the links and posts have text that could be very difficult to read for someone older or who has difficulty seeing lighter, smaller text.
While appearance will help or hurt a blog, the heart of the blog lies in the posts. Posts are what keep people returning and interested in the material. Jodi Dean addresses this idea in Blog Theory, where she writes “The essence of a blog is the post. The post gets the blog off the ground… Even if the entire blog is deleted , the fact that posts can be copied, pasted and repeated… gives them a haunting permanence.” It is therefore the posts that hold the most influence over hegemony.
The posts by Nicholas Manning appeal to the reader. Not only is he a good writer but he is not so sesquipedalian that it is too difficult to comprehend, but would appeal to most academics. The posts are not overly loquacious, but tend to be written with a distinct, articulate manner. The voice is immediately evident. I feel almost as if I know who he is, though I’ve merely begun to dabble in his writing.
TTAP posts are much more general instead of discussion based, involving mostly publishing information. This is clearly a promotional blog, with many posts on specific books The Annick has published. However, there are many posts much more interesting to a lit blog groupie or a digital world whiz. One was reflecting on the writer attending the 2011 Digital Book World Conference, which I was particularly fascinated with. Dubious as I am of the Digital Book world, it’s a curiosity that may kill my inner cat.
The Best Words in Their Best Order has great posts, with videos and pictures intertwined with the writing. The post that acted as my “grab factor” was a video on Don Paterson, who reads from one of his works of poetry, “Why Do You Stay Up So Late?”. I absolutely loved this video (and not only because of the magnificent Scottish accent). I definitely want to read this now. Isn’t this one of the points to blogging? this particular dissemination worked wonders. The video began on youtube, which was then posted on that blog, which I am now posting on this blog for all to view.
Based on their appearance, I would structure the hegemonic hierarchy a couple different ways. In the world of student academia and philosophical discussion on life and poetry, I would rank The Newer Metaphysicals first, followed by BWBO, and then TTAP. However, judging from a purely literary standard and therefore much broader than the previous measurements, I would place The Best Words in Their Best Order at the top, followed by Tea Time at Annick Press, and then the Newer Metaphysicals. This can change however, because what if BWBO focused one of their posts on Manning? He would then be the higher of the two, until another shift took place.
The constant ebb and flow of hegemony is incredible, and (I believe) a major appeal for the new world that’s emerging. Hegemony is complex. For example, one might ask if the site were to become exclusive, with a few elite and the emphasis on the writer instead of the reader, would that make that particular site have more authority than one that focuses on the reader? Should the authority of a blog be completely dependent on the ability to disseminate information? And if so, how can that be measured, exactly? I have realized the level of impact the authority of a site can be when I was doing research for this post. I just recently fell in love with James Franco because of the cover story of The Poetry Foundation website. Clearly, they have a huge influence over my life.
There is such an expansion of thought and ideas in this modern digital world. Where in historical centuries the “New World” was the Americas, the only new world left to discover is the new world of the digital. With its use of media, news, and a culmination of all minds in the world, the blogging world could become the most influential and powerful modes of dissemination ever known.
Are you aware of just how many lit blogs there are out there?! I could hardly be satisfied to choose just one, so I have bookmarked a few of my discoveries. However, I decided this post should be about BookLust.
BookLust was a breath of fresh air, with a sky-blue background and simple layout that was nonthreatening and professional. At the very top of the blog is a photograph of E.B. White and one of his quotes. As the daughter of an Elementary School librarian, children’s literature is one of my great loves. Even now I have to sit down in my corner and read something I loved as a child, like Little House on the Prairie or the Nancy Drew series, or even Horton Hears a Who, my favorite Dr. Seuss book. I therefore appreciated the most recent blog post on BookLust about Martin Amis, who dismissed children’s literature and those who write it.
What followed was a quirky, witty tirade on Amis, with many caricatures of him implanted into characters from kidlit, like Madeline, The Mad Hatter, and Curious George. Needless to say it was quite amusing, and satisfied my curiosity enough to look into the blog further.
Patricia Storms, who writes the blog, specializes in illustrations and is a cartoonist. She designed her site very well, with an ‘About Me’ section at the top, as well as an immense collection of links to blogs, her archives, and the topics that she has blogged about. I checked out a few of her choice blogs, (under the title “Jolly Good Blogs”) and I was pleased to see none inspired my almost automatic grimace and the click of death: the back button. The posts are full of voice and character, and almost always on the humorous side, with well thought out ideas and rants that you actually want to read. I would recommend this blog to anyone looking for an entertaining blog about books, publishing, and literature in general.
How can you chose the best of the greatest? Out of the millions of thousands of writers throughout all time, how can you chose? I decided to just randomly chose some of my favorites, which was difficult enough.
This blog introduces 5 of my many favorite authors that I would recommend. Most of you that are in my Social Media course and therefore HAVE to write on this topic are writing on people like Jane Austen, E.A. Poe, etc. I myself have included some of the same, but I have included some modern and contemporary authors as well.
So here goes folks. Be ready for your mind to be blown. Or not.
Of all the literature I have ever read or studied, Hemingway is my favorite author. Early 20th century literature has always fascinated me, but Hemingway is… beyond. His bluntness adds intrigue and inspires a deeper, much more impacting reading than I find in many “classic” literature authors.
Favorites: Cat in the Rain, and The End of Something
One of my all time favorite poets, her style is unique, giving beauty to ideas and words that would normally seem to have none. Her story is of a classic tragic poet, struggling throughout her life with loss and illness, most notably with her eyes. She never fully stopped writing however, even when it was damaging her eyesight even further. If you have never read her work, I would say she is a must among American poets.
Fight Club, anyone? You’ve probably seen the movie, or at least you have undoubtedly heard of it. The movie is a fantastic orgy of genius and humor, with a definite “hell yes!” factor. The book = that much better. You have to read it if you get the chance. Unfortunately, I have only come into contact with one other of his works, Choke, which got rave reviews as well. Check him out.
Szymborska is a Polish poet I happened across when my theater teacher gave me a book of her poetry during high school. Though translated to English, her work still has a foreign beauty quality. The only way to describe Szymborska’s writing is to say that her poetry is like water. Sometimes it tinkles, trickling like a stream, and other times it sounds like the crash of waves against a rocky shore. She is a pure joy to read in quiet moments.
Okay guys. I know what you’re thinking: Really? …But seriously. Among the Jane Austen, Victor Hugo, Shakespeare, “classic literature” types, I have to throw in some light enjoyment reads. Picoult, however, isn’t very light. She tends to write about very controversial topics, playing out both sides to the story. Most often I am horrified, knowing the horror that awaits the characters but knowing that I can’t do a damn thing about it, no matter how often I yell at them, or shove away the book. Because I HAVE TO FINISH IT. Most often I swallow her books whole because of their intensity. So, in between studying and trying to dig your way through snow to get to class, pick up some of her work.
So what do you think? Like ‘em? Hate ‘em? Let me know.
ingway: Of all the literature I have ever read or studied, Hemingway is my favorite author. Early 20th century literature has always fascinated me, but Hemingway is beyond. His bluntness adds intrigue and inspires a deeper, much more impactful reading than I usually find in many “classic” literature authors.
Favorite short story: Cat in the Rain, and The End of Something
