Subject
Fw: Nabokov & reading by novelist Zadie Smith
From
Date
Body
EDDNOTE. Yes, Zadie does seem a bit over the top here.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Arthur Glass" <goliard@worldnet.att.net>
>
> ---------------- Message requiring your approval (328
lines) ------------------
Every time you open a novel or put pen to paper you dra matize your belief
in the miraculous, incommensurable existence of six billion individuals'.
(Zadie Smith)
>
> Speaking of BS! Seid umschlungen Millionen!
------------------------------
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: D. Barton Johnson <chtodel@cox.net>
> To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> Sent: Monday, February 02, 2004 2:02 PM
> Subject: Nabokov & reading by novelist Zadie Smith
>
>
> > EDNOTE. NAOKV-L thanks Troy Patterson for so handsomely responding to my
> > request for details on Zadie Smith re Nabokov.
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: <troy_patterson@ew.com>
> > >
> > > ---------------- Message requiring your approval (114
> > lines) ------------------
> > > The introduction, titled 'Dead Men Talking', consists of her
> commentaries
> > on "half a dozen commonplaces." Ms. Smith, who once told me that she
> thinks
> > VN is "the bee's knees," first mentions him in discussing idea No. 5,
Sir
> > Francis Bacon's "Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and
> > writing an exact man," on page xxxiii:
> > >
> > >
> > > To me, each writer's prose style dramatizes their belief regarding
what
> > reading may demand of writing and vice versa. Hemingway, for example,
> > believed in the primacy of reading; he thought that there should be no
> > artificial interruption in its natural smoothness and speed. He
subjugated
> > the vanities of writing to the realities of reading. Nabokov, on ther
> other
> > hand, thought Hemingway was a Philistine. Nabokov thought reading should
> > equal the performative act of writing, that it should be a reenaction of
> the
> > act of writing (although no reader, except possibly his wife, proved
> equal,
> > in Nabokov's mind, to the task).
> > > Somewhere between the writing that has forgotten entirely what reading
> is
> > and the writing that is a slave to what reading is--that's where I try
to
> > be.
> > > (N.B.: I guess you know how Sir Francis Bacon died.)
> > >
> > > 6. Vladimir Nabokov: 'A work of art has no importance whatever to
> society.
> > It is only important to the individual, and only the individual reader
is
> > important to me.'
> > > Role models--individuals endowed with wide-ranging socio-symbolic
> > significance--have no place in fiction. Role models are bullshit. People
> who
> > move through the world playing roles, attending to roles, aspiring to
> roles,
> > looking for models to help them find new roles--these people are not
> > partaking fully in this whole existence-thing, which is about doing it
for
> > real. We would rather not read that way (leaning over a pond, waiting
for
> > the water to settle, and all so our own mirrored faces might rise toward
> us
> > like Plath's 'terrible fish'), no, nor write that way either. To this
some
> > folks will object. [the following two sentences are italicized] Oh, I
see.
> > So you're not political. No! Don't believe it! You are political! You
are
> > the most political fucking person in the world because when you read,
when
> > you write, you won't let a single human being be obscured behind the
dread
> > symbolic bulk of somebody or something else. Every time you open a novel
> or
> > put pen to paper you dra!
> > > matize your belief in the miraculous, incommensurable existence of
six
> > billion individuals. One of whom died three hundred and seventy-seven
> years
> > ago while attempting to freeze a chicken.
> > >
> > >
> > > And there she ends her piece.
> > >
> > > Yours,
> > > Troy Patterson
> > >
> > > > ----------
> > > > From: D. Barton Johnson
> > > > Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> > > > Sent: Monday, February 2, 2004 12:50 PM
> > > > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > > > Subject: Fw: 11-page introduction by novelist Zadie Smith is also a
> > treasure ...
> > > >
> > > > EDNOTE: zADIE sMITH ALLUDES TO vn IN HER WORK SO IT MIGHT BE
> INTERESTING
> > TO LEARN WHAT VN "PRECEPT" FOR READERS SHE PICKS. IF ANYONE HAS THE
BOOK,
> > PLEASE ADVISE NABOKV-L AND QUOTE.
> > > >
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: Sandy P. Klein
> > > > Sent: Sunday, February 01, 2004 10:26 PM
> > > > Subject: 11-page introduction by novelist Zadie Smith is also a
> treasure
> > ...
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> >
>
http://www.sunspot.net/features/booksmags/bal-bk.argu01feb01,0,5266086.story
> ?coll=bal-society-utility
> > > >
> > > > How are anthologists doing with the best of the best?
> > > >
> > > > _____
> > > >
> > > > By Steve Weinberg
> > > > Special to The Sun
> > > > Originally published February 1, 2004
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > The growing genre of annual compilations is a very mixed bag indeed
> > > >
> > > > Only after reading an advertisement from the venerable publisher
> > Houghton Mifflin did I start noticing the depth and breadth of a
> phenomenon
> > in the book world. Visits to bookstores heightened my awareness. The
full
> > extent of the phenomenon dawned on me a few days later as I scanned my
> > bookshelves at home, filled with titles I had never thought of as
related.
> >
> > > >
> > > > The phenomenon is the proliferation of anthologies offering the
"best
> > of," as in The Best American Poetry 2003. Houghton Mifflin, the most
> > expansive "best of" publisher, has registered the phrase "The Best
> American
> > Series" as a trademark. Its series now consists of eight books, covering
> > recipes, essays, short stories, mystery stories, sports writing, travel
> > writing, science/nature writing and a vague category rendered as The
Best
> > American Nonrequired Reading.
> > > >
> > > > Best-selling author Dave Eggers has noticed the phenomenon, too. In
> the
> > foreword to the The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003 (Houghton
> > Mifflin, 368 pages, $27.50), Eggers, employing the ironic tone that
> infuses
> > his writing, says, "The purpose of this book is to collect good work of
> any
> > kind - fiction, humor, essays, comics, journalism - in one place for the
> > English-reading consumer. The other books in the Best American series
are
> > limited by their categories, most particularly the popular but
> constraining
> > Best American Catholic Badger Mystery Writing. This collection is not so
> > limited, which is why, we think, it dominates all similar collections,
> > making them whimper and cower in a way that is shameful."
> > > >
> > > > What is going on here? Hard to say, but it probably has something to
> do
> > with a desire for prepackaging in a hurried society. Prepackaged
> > anthologies, in which a stranger decides "the best" for readers, could
be
> > considered akin to prepackaged dinners, in which a stranger decides the
> > menu.
> > > >
> > > > Prepackaged meals are generally inferior to home cooking. What about
> > prepackaged anthologies? It depends. Each has at least some literary
> merit.
> > Phrased another way, none is a total waste of money or time.
> > > >
> > > > That stipulated, some "best of" anthologies are superior to others,
> > based on the range of publications where the selections first appeared,
> the
> > quality of the writing, the diversity of the authors represented, the
> > value-added material included (if any) with each selection, the
> incisiveness
> > of the foreword and/or introduction, the thoroughness of the back matter
> (if
> > any), plus the hard-to-gauge but nonetheless meaningful knowledge and
> > enthusiasm of the guest editor making the choices each year.
> > > >
> > > > Given the world-is-my-oyster approach (fiction, humor, essays,
comics,
> > journalism) of Eggers' The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003, it
> ought
> > to shine, and it does. In his 13-page foreword, Eggers not only explains
> the
> > selection process, but also entertains and enlightens with paragraphs
> > ranging in tone from Dave Barry to Anne Tyler. Eggers notes that, given
> the
> > volume's original purpose upon its unveiling during 2002 to introduce
high
> > school and college students to "good writing from contemporary writers,"
> he
> > relies heavily on recommendations from - guess who? - high school and
> > college students. He provides brief biographies for each of the
students.
> > > >
> > > > The 11-page introduction by novelist Zadie Smith is also a treasure.
> She
> > expounds on six precepts for readers, selected from Samuel Johnson,
Logan
> > Pearsall Smith, Laurence Sterne, James Joyce, Francis Bacon and Vladimir
> > Nabokov.
> > > >
> > > > As for the 25 selections, only nine are from widely available
> > periodicals (two each from Esquire, The New Yorker and The New York
Times
> > Magazine; one each from Time, The Atlantic Monthly and Harper's). Also
> > represented are what publishing insiders normally call "literary
> > quarterlies" (although not all of them literally appear four times
> annually)
> > such as Mississippi Review, Story Quarterly, Zoetrope, Tin House,
Columbia
> > Review and Alaska Quarterly Review (twice). Cartoon panels from Lynda
> Barry
> > are included. There is a selection from an online-only magazine,
> Nerve.com.
> > The satiric tabloid The Onion is represented. So is Eggers' creation,
> > McSweeney's, an occasional magazine sometimes published at book length
> > between hard covers. >
> > > >
> > > > Despite my extensive periodicals consumption, I encountered
> publications
> > unfamiliar to me - Little Engines, 7x7, Modern Humorist, Shout and
> > Pindeldyboz. (Unfortunately, Eggers provides no information about any of
> the
> > represented publications. Fortunately, he provides useful information
> about
> > each author.)
> > > >
> > > > The most surprising unifying topic, maybe just short of Catholic
> Badger
> > Mystery Writing, is recipes. The Best American Recipes 2003-2004 (Hought
on
> > Mifflin, 300 pages, $26) suggests an obvious question: How did editors
> Fran
> > McCullough and Molly Stevens know where to look for extraordinary
recipes?
> > Did they sneak into residential kitchens while everybody slept to rifle
> > through drawers and cabinets? No. It turns out they read lots of already
> > published cookbooks, magazines and newspapers and checked Web sites as
> well.
> > The result is nourishment for the brain as well as the palate.
> > > >
> > > > When it comes to value-added, probably the top "best of" is Best
> > Newspaper Writing 2003 (400 pages, $14.95), published by the Poynter
> > Institute in conjunction with Bonus Books. The winners and runners-up in
> > each of eight categories constitute the guts of the volume. The bonuses
> > include interviews with winners and runners-up, extended biographical
> > material about each author, and a bibliography of new books and articles
> > about reporting and writing.
> > > >
> > > > Using value-added as a standard, The Best American Magazine Writing
> 2003
> > (464 pages, $14.95) has almost nothing to offer. Compiled by the
American
> > Society of Magazine Editors and published by HarperCollins Perennial,
each
> > of the 17 nonfiction pieces and two fiction entries contains an
> introduction
> > of a few sentences maximum.
> > > >
> > > > Furthermore, almost all the selections appeared in easy-to-find,
> > large-circulation national magazines. Any anthology collecting writing
by
> > the likes of Michael Paterniti, Tim Cahill, Gary Smith, Anne Fadiman,
Ian
> > Frazier, Katha Pollitt, Joyce Carol Oates and E.L. Doctorow is worth
> owning.
> > But the overall effort seems uninspired, more a dutiful endeavor than a
> > joyful one.
> > > >
> > > > The Best American Poetry 2003 (288 pages, $16), published by
Scribner,
> > reprints selections from 45 periodicals, almost none of them widely
> > circulated or well-known in any respect. For the most part, poetry in
the
> > United States - despite a devoted following - is absent from the
> mainstream
> > media. The poems appeared in small journals such as Barrow Street,
> > Mid-American Review, Poetry Northwest and Third Coast.
> > > >
> > > > Each poem is presented unadorned - no attempt at explication
> whatsoever.
> > Because some of the poems are approachable and some are forbidding, the
> > unadorned approach by guest editor Yusef Komunyakaa and series editor
> David
> > Lehman is both the good news and the bad news.
> > > >
> > > > Best New American Voices 2004 (Harvest, 324 pages, $14), published
by
> > Harcourt, contains no previously published pieces. Instead, the 17 short
> > stories have been culled from the top writing programs in the United
> States,
> > most of which are affiliated with universities. Mining the fiction of
> > wannabe writers paying tuition seems like a stretch for a "best of"
book.
> No
> > doubt the editors could reply by saying that if Misha Angrist or Liza
Ward
> > (the first and last authors anthologized in this volume) ever becomes
> > famous, you, dear reader, will have seen her name here first.
> > > >
> > > > All in all, I would rather not quibble with the "best of" phenomenon
> or
> > any of the entrants in the "best of" publishing sweepstakes. I am so
busy
> > with my own magazine writing, book authorship, reviewing, family members
> and
> > leisure pursuits that I lack the time to keep up with every genre that
> > interests me. So, publishers, keep those "best of" anthologies coming. I
> > promise to look at them, and perhaps purchase some.
> > > >
> > > > Steve Weinberg is a 35-year veteran of investigative reporting for
> > newspapers, magazines and book publishers. His 1992 book about the craft
> of
> > biography, Telling the Untold Story, is still in print from the
University
> > of Missouri Press. He browses so many periodicals that he carries around
a
> > master li> st to keep track of which issue he read most recently.
> > > >
> > > > The Baltimore Sun
> > > >
> > > > September 19, 2003 Baltimore Sun front page
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > _____
> > > >
> > > > What are the 5 hot job markets for 2004? Click here to find out.
> > > >
> > >
> >
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > This message is the property of Time Inc. or its affiliates. It may be
> > > legally privileged and/or confidential and is intended only for the
use
> > > of the addressee(s). No addressee should forward, print, copy, or
> > > otherwise reproduce this message in any manner that would allow it to
be
> > > viewed by any individual not originally listed as a recipient. If the
> > > reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby
> > > notified that any unauthorized disclosure, dissemination,
distribution,
> > > copying or the taking of any action in reliance on the information
> > > herein is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication
> > > in error, please immediately notify the sender and delete this
message.
> > > Thank you.
> > >
> > >
>
----- Original Message -----
From: "Arthur Glass" <goliard@worldnet.att.net>
>
> ---------------- Message requiring your approval (328
lines) ------------------
Every time you open a novel or put pen to paper you dra matize your belief
in the miraculous, incommensurable existence of six billion individuals'.
(Zadie Smith)
>
> Speaking of BS! Seid umschlungen Millionen!
------------------------------
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: D. Barton Johnson <chtodel@cox.net>
> To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> Sent: Monday, February 02, 2004 2:02 PM
> Subject: Nabokov & reading by novelist Zadie Smith
>
>
> > EDNOTE. NAOKV-L thanks Troy Patterson for so handsomely responding to my
> > request for details on Zadie Smith re Nabokov.
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: <troy_patterson@ew.com>
> > >
> > > ---------------- Message requiring your approval (114
> > lines) ------------------
> > > The introduction, titled 'Dead Men Talking', consists of her
> commentaries
> > on "half a dozen commonplaces." Ms. Smith, who once told me that she
> thinks
> > VN is "the bee's knees," first mentions him in discussing idea No. 5,
Sir
> > Francis Bacon's "Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and
> > writing an exact man," on page xxxiii:
> > >
> > >
> > > To me, each writer's prose style dramatizes their belief regarding
what
> > reading may demand of writing and vice versa. Hemingway, for example,
> > believed in the primacy of reading; he thought that there should be no
> > artificial interruption in its natural smoothness and speed. He
subjugated
> > the vanities of writing to the realities of reading. Nabokov, on ther
> other
> > hand, thought Hemingway was a Philistine. Nabokov thought reading should
> > equal the performative act of writing, that it should be a reenaction of
> the
> > act of writing (although no reader, except possibly his wife, proved
> equal,
> > in Nabokov's mind, to the task).
> > > Somewhere between the writing that has forgotten entirely what reading
> is
> > and the writing that is a slave to what reading is--that's where I try
to
> > be.
> > > (N.B.: I guess you know how Sir Francis Bacon died.)
> > >
> > > 6. Vladimir Nabokov: 'A work of art has no importance whatever to
> society.
> > It is only important to the individual, and only the individual reader
is
> > important to me.'
> > > Role models--individuals endowed with wide-ranging socio-symbolic
> > significance--have no place in fiction. Role models are bullshit. People
> who
> > move through the world playing roles, attending to roles, aspiring to
> roles,
> > looking for models to help them find new roles--these people are not
> > partaking fully in this whole existence-thing, which is about doing it
for
> > real. We would rather not read that way (leaning over a pond, waiting
for
> > the water to settle, and all so our own mirrored faces might rise toward
> us
> > like Plath's 'terrible fish'), no, nor write that way either. To this
some
> > folks will object. [the following two sentences are italicized] Oh, I
see.
> > So you're not political. No! Don't believe it! You are political! You
are
> > the most political fucking person in the world because when you read,
when
> > you write, you won't let a single human being be obscured behind the
dread
> > symbolic bulk of somebody or something else. Every time you open a novel
> or
> > put pen to paper you dra!
> > > matize your belief in the miraculous, incommensurable existence of
six
> > billion individuals. One of whom died three hundred and seventy-seven
> years
> > ago while attempting to freeze a chicken.
> > >
> > >
> > > And there she ends her piece.
> > >
> > > Yours,
> > > Troy Patterson
> > >
> > > > ----------
> > > > From: D. Barton Johnson
> > > > Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> > > > Sent: Monday, February 2, 2004 12:50 PM
> > > > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > > > Subject: Fw: 11-page introduction by novelist Zadie Smith is also a
> > treasure ...
> > > >
> > > > EDNOTE: zADIE sMITH ALLUDES TO vn IN HER WORK SO IT MIGHT BE
> INTERESTING
> > TO LEARN WHAT VN "PRECEPT" FOR READERS SHE PICKS. IF ANYONE HAS THE
BOOK,
> > PLEASE ADVISE NABOKV-L AND QUOTE.
> > > >
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: Sandy P. Klein
> > > > Sent: Sunday, February 01, 2004 10:26 PM
> > > > Subject: 11-page introduction by novelist Zadie Smith is also a
> treasure
> > ...
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> >
>
http://www.sunspot.net/features/booksmags/bal-bk.argu01feb01,0,5266086.story
> ?coll=bal-society-utility
> > > >
> > > > How are anthologists doing with the best of the best?
> > > >
> > > > _____
> > > >
> > > > By Steve Weinberg
> > > > Special to The Sun
> > > > Originally published February 1, 2004
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > The growing genre of annual compilations is a very mixed bag indeed
> > > >
> > > > Only after reading an advertisement from the venerable publisher
> > Houghton Mifflin did I start noticing the depth and breadth of a
> phenomenon
> > in the book world. Visits to bookstores heightened my awareness. The
full
> > extent of the phenomenon dawned on me a few days later as I scanned my
> > bookshelves at home, filled with titles I had never thought of as
related.
> >
> > > >
> > > > The phenomenon is the proliferation of anthologies offering the
"best
> > of," as in The Best American Poetry 2003. Houghton Mifflin, the most
> > expansive "best of" publisher, has registered the phrase "The Best
> American
> > Series" as a trademark. Its series now consists of eight books, covering
> > recipes, essays, short stories, mystery stories, sports writing, travel
> > writing, science/nature writing and a vague category rendered as The
Best
> > American Nonrequired Reading.
> > > >
> > > > Best-selling author Dave Eggers has noticed the phenomenon, too. In
> the
> > foreword to the The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003 (Houghton
> > Mifflin, 368 pages, $27.50), Eggers, employing the ironic tone that
> infuses
> > his writing, says, "The purpose of this book is to collect good work of
> any
> > kind - fiction, humor, essays, comics, journalism - in one place for the
> > English-reading consumer. The other books in the Best American series
are
> > limited by their categories, most particularly the popular but
> constraining
> > Best American Catholic Badger Mystery Writing. This collection is not so
> > limited, which is why, we think, it dominates all similar collections,
> > making them whimper and cower in a way that is shameful."
> > > >
> > > > What is going on here? Hard to say, but it probably has something to
> do
> > with a desire for prepackaging in a hurried society. Prepackaged
> > anthologies, in which a stranger decides "the best" for readers, could
be
> > considered akin to prepackaged dinners, in which a stranger decides the
> > menu.
> > > >
> > > > Prepackaged meals are generally inferior to home cooking. What about
> > prepackaged anthologies? It depends. Each has at least some literary
> merit.
> > Phrased another way, none is a total waste of money or time.
> > > >
> > > > That stipulated, some "best of" anthologies are superior to others,
> > based on the range of publications where the selections first appeared,
> the
> > quality of the writing, the diversity of the authors represented, the
> > value-added material included (if any) with each selection, the
> incisiveness
> > of the foreword and/or introduction, the thoroughness of the back matter
> (if
> > any), plus the hard-to-gauge but nonetheless meaningful knowledge and
> > enthusiasm of the guest editor making the choices each year.
> > > >
> > > > Given the world-is-my-oyster approach (fiction, humor, essays,
comics,
> > journalism) of Eggers' The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003, it
> ought
> > to shine, and it does. In his 13-page foreword, Eggers not only explains
> the
> > selection process, but also entertains and enlightens with paragraphs
> > ranging in tone from Dave Barry to Anne Tyler. Eggers notes that, given
> the
> > volume's original purpose upon its unveiling during 2002 to introduce
high
> > school and college students to "good writing from contemporary writers,"
> he
> > relies heavily on recommendations from - guess who? - high school and
> > college students. He provides brief biographies for each of the
students.
> > > >
> > > > The 11-page introduction by novelist Zadie Smith is also a treasure.
> She
> > expounds on six precepts for readers, selected from Samuel Johnson,
Logan
> > Pearsall Smith, Laurence Sterne, James Joyce, Francis Bacon and Vladimir
> > Nabokov.
> > > >
> > > > As for the 25 selections, only nine are from widely available
> > periodicals (two each from Esquire, The New Yorker and The New York
Times
> > Magazine; one each from Time, The Atlantic Monthly and Harper's). Also
> > represented are what publishing insiders normally call "literary
> > quarterlies" (although not all of them literally appear four times
> annually)
> > such as Mississippi Review, Story Quarterly, Zoetrope, Tin House,
Columbia
> > Review and Alaska Quarterly Review (twice). Cartoon panels from Lynda
> Barry
> > are included. There is a selection from an online-only magazine,
> Nerve.com.
> > The satiric tabloid The Onion is represented. So is Eggers' creation,
> > McSweeney's, an occasional magazine sometimes published at book length
> > between hard covers. >
> > > >
> > > > Despite my extensive periodicals consumption, I encountered
> publications
> > unfamiliar to me - Little Engines, 7x7, Modern Humorist, Shout and
> > Pindeldyboz. (Unfortunately, Eggers provides no information about any of
> the
> > represented publications. Fortunately, he provides useful information
> about
> > each author.)
> > > >
> > > > The most surprising unifying topic, maybe just short of Catholic
> Badger
> > Mystery Writing, is recipes. The Best American Recipes 2003-2004 (Hought
on
> > Mifflin, 300 pages, $26) suggests an obvious question: How did editors
> Fran
> > McCullough and Molly Stevens know where to look for extraordinary
recipes?
> > Did they sneak into residential kitchens while everybody slept to rifle
> > through drawers and cabinets? No. It turns out they read lots of already
> > published cookbooks, magazines and newspapers and checked Web sites as
> well.
> > The result is nourishment for the brain as well as the palate.
> > > >
> > > > When it comes to value-added, probably the top "best of" is Best
> > Newspaper Writing 2003 (400 pages, $14.95), published by the Poynter
> > Institute in conjunction with Bonus Books. The winners and runners-up in
> > each of eight categories constitute the guts of the volume. The bonuses
> > include interviews with winners and runners-up, extended biographical
> > material about each author, and a bibliography of new books and articles
> > about reporting and writing.
> > > >
> > > > Using value-added as a standard, The Best American Magazine Writing
> 2003
> > (464 pages, $14.95) has almost nothing to offer. Compiled by the
American
> > Society of Magazine Editors and published by HarperCollins Perennial,
each
> > of the 17 nonfiction pieces and two fiction entries contains an
> introduction
> > of a few sentences maximum.
> > > >
> > > > Furthermore, almost all the selections appeared in easy-to-find,
> > large-circulation national magazines. Any anthology collecting writing
by
> > the likes of Michael Paterniti, Tim Cahill, Gary Smith, Anne Fadiman,
Ian
> > Frazier, Katha Pollitt, Joyce Carol Oates and E.L. Doctorow is worth
> owning.
> > But the overall effort seems uninspired, more a dutiful endeavor than a
> > joyful one.
> > > >
> > > > The Best American Poetry 2003 (288 pages, $16), published by
Scribner,
> > reprints selections from 45 periodicals, almost none of them widely
> > circulated or well-known in any respect. For the most part, poetry in
the
> > United States - despite a devoted following - is absent from the
> mainstream
> > media. The poems appeared in small journals such as Barrow Street,
> > Mid-American Review, Poetry Northwest and Third Coast.
> > > >
> > > > Each poem is presented unadorned - no attempt at explication
> whatsoever.
> > Because some of the poems are approachable and some are forbidding, the
> > unadorned approach by guest editor Yusef Komunyakaa and series editor
> David
> > Lehman is both the good news and the bad news.
> > > >
> > > > Best New American Voices 2004 (Harvest, 324 pages, $14), published
by
> > Harcourt, contains no previously published pieces. Instead, the 17 short
> > stories have been culled from the top writing programs in the United
> States,
> > most of which are affiliated with universities. Mining the fiction of
> > wannabe writers paying tuition seems like a stretch for a "best of"
book.
> No
> > doubt the editors could reply by saying that if Misha Angrist or Liza
Ward
> > (the first and last authors anthologized in this volume) ever becomes
> > famous, you, dear reader, will have seen her name here first.
> > > >
> > > > All in all, I would rather not quibble with the "best of" phenomenon
> or
> > any of the entrants in the "best of" publishing sweepstakes. I am so
busy
> > with my own magazine writing, book authorship, reviewing, family members
> and
> > leisure pursuits that I lack the time to keep up with every genre that
> > interests me. So, publishers, keep those "best of" anthologies coming. I
> > promise to look at them, and perhaps purchase some.
> > > >
> > > > Steve Weinberg is a 35-year veteran of investigative reporting for
> > newspapers, magazines and book publishers. His 1992 book about the craft
> of
> > biography, Telling the Untold Story, is still in print from the
University
> > of Missouri Press. He browses so many periodicals that he carries around
a
> > master li> st to keep track of which issue he read most recently.
> > > >
> > > > The Baltimore Sun
> > > >
> > > > September 19, 2003 Baltimore Sun front page
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > _____
> > > >
> > > > What are the 5 hot job markets for 2004? Click here to find out.
> > > >
> > >
> >
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>