I provoke, but really, that is the question that burns beneath the beautiful surfaces of Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life. I say this as an agnostic, as one who dislikes theology and theologians, but as one who (like many other critics) finds that this movie "touches me so much I can barely stand it." The storyContinue reading “Tree of Life: Does God love us in an abusive way?”
Category Archives: culture
The not-in-denial drinker: Dwight Macdonald
Asked once why he drank so much, critic and editor Dwight Macdonald replied: "I'm an alcoholic, Goddammit it!" From a really terrific NYTimes Book Review piece on a new collection of Macdonald's acerbic criticism, Dwight Macdonald's War on Mediocrity, last Sunday. Few reviews are so entertaining, but then, few critics (or writers, for that matter)Continue reading “The not-in-denial drinker: Dwight Macdonald”
The problem with America: Too much cake
Vanity Fair puts the entire California chapter of Michael Lewis's new book, Boomerang, on the Web, and boy is it good. Lewis really is all that. Long but highly recommended. Here's the thinky part: The road out of Vallejo passes directly through the office of Dr. Peter Whybrow, a British neuroscientist at U.C.L.A. with aContinue reading “The problem with America: Too much cake”
The usefulness of forgetting: Tennessee Williams
"A bad memory is a great convenience." Tennessee Williams, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, 1950 The quote is from the nouvella. Here's the poster from the first movie made of this story. [My god, what a cast! Lotte Lenya?!? Who was nominated for Best Supporting for the role? I haveContinue reading “The usefulness of forgetting: Tennessee Williams”
The Holy Family: Tennessee Williams on Van Gogh
As mentioned in an earlier post, while at the University of Iowa's dramatic writing program, Tennessee Williams, then a complete unknown, set out to write a play about Vincent Van Gogh. He didn't get past a few scenes, but the idea still fascinates. In a letter to a friend William Holland, dated 11/18/1937, he wrote:Continue reading “The Holy Family: Tennessee Williams on Van Gogh”
Brad Pitt to win Best Actor
Reviewing Moneyball for The New Yorker, David Denby declares that Brad Pitt should win Best Actor — for The Tree of Life. He's right about that, and he describes Pitt's performance well: …in Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life,” in which he plays a father who takes out his disappointments on his sons, his anger is self-woundingContinue reading “Brad Pitt to win Best Actor”
The refrains of nature: Rachel Carson
If we think of Rachel Carson, we probably remember her for alerting us to the massacre of the birds by DDT in Silent Spring, and overlook her earlier, more poetic works, such as her bestseller The Sea Around Us, which was excerpted in The New Yorker, won the National Book Award, and numerous other prizes. YetContinue reading “The refrains of nature: Rachel Carson”
Are run-on subtitles the flop sweat of publishing?
Bill Morris has a theory: In a marketplace glutted with too many titles – and in a culture that makes books more marginal by the day – publishers seem to think that if they just shout loudly enough, people will notice their products, then buy them. In other words, the run-on subtitle is literature’s equivalentContinue reading “Are run-on subtitles the flop sweat of publishing?”
How to remember: A poet’s theory
In Patti Smith's wonderful memoir, Just Kids, she is forever referring to the constellation of objects she and her dearest friend, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, found and gathered and treasured together. She writes of a day early in their relationship: One Indian summer day we dressed in our favorite things, me in my beatnik sandals andContinue reading “How to remember: A poet’s theory”
Frozen in Portland…
James Howard Kunstler, the grim futurist, speaks of Portland, in the present and in the future: Portland, on the other hand, has turned itself into one of the finest walkable cities in the USA and the Willamette River Valley is one of the most productive farming micro-regions in the world. Human beings will continue to live andContinue reading “Frozen in Portland…”
Kit Stolz 