I've been reading lit blogs all afternoon and feel like the fat kid getting lapped, once, twice … I'm trying to resist the temptation to start walking.
But, I've been online all week. I'm just working on a couple other projects, in particular setting up another blog, which I'll introduce tomorrow or Monday. And, the redesign -- oft mentioned, but never seen -- is coming along slowly but nicely, and should arrive here soon.
But, before I get lapped again, here's some good links:
-I've always been a fan of Studio 360, and especially enjoyed today's show, which featured Terry and included segments on critics' mistakes, the challenges of reviewing children's lit, and Ryan Adam's dislike for a certain critic.
-During his interview with Studio 360's Kurt Anderson, Terry mentions that, when teaching students how to write criticism, he recommends investing extra energy in the plot summary and treating description as a form of commentary. In his NY Times review of Bergdorf Blondes, Choire shows how it's done: "So: a nameless Manhattanite narrator and her best friend, the callous and severely blond shoplifting enthusiast Julie Bergdorf -- yes, that Bergdorf -- decide they must score P.H.'s (Prospective Husbands). … At Muffy's big charity ball, our narrator snaps up a P.H. herself, a Hot Young Photographer. Ka-ching! … Finally, after a tumultuous interlude of oral sex -- during which she text-messages Julie -- he dumps her."
-Popular girls are rounded up, sequestered, and closely studied.
-Beatrice critiques the first installment of "Pulps".
Posted by nchicha at April 17, 2004 07:22 PM