Last summer, my teacher at the Iowa Young Writers' Studio was Kevin Moffett. This is an article he wrote in The Believer (a magazine related to McSweeney's)--the most important part is the list. Just take a quick look, okay? Here.
(In case you love Kevin's writing and want more, he was also published in McSweeney's Issue 16, and 40 Stories Quarterly, and The Chicago Tribune, and plenty of other places. He's working on a novel right now, though says his little son is such a distraction it's taking him longer than he thought.)
Monday, March 20, 2006
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Agree or Disagree?
When desire, having rejected reason and overpowered judgment which leads to right, is set in the direction of the pleasure which beauty can inspire, and when again under the influence of its kindred desires it is moved with violent motion towards the beauty of corporeal forms, it acquires a surname from this very violent motion, and is called love. (Socrates, quoted by Plato)
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Good things people've said:
Denis Diderot (1713-1784) was the coordinator and part-author of the first real encyclopedia. Here is a beautiful line I found in his section on The Slave Trade: "Men and their liberty are not objects of commerce; they can be neither sold nor bought nor paid for at any price."
In his section on Fanaticim: "Fanaticism has done much more harm to the world than impiety. What do impious people claim? To free themselves of a yoke, while fanatics want to extend their chains over all the earth. Infernal zealomania!" Ha ha!
Also very cool is Caesare Beccaria (1738-1794), who wrote about torture in On Crimes and Punishments: "No man can be called guilty before a judge has sentenced him, nor can society deprive him of public protection before it has been decided that he has in fact violated the conditions under which such protection was accorded him. What right is it, then, if not simply that of might, which empowers a judge to inflict punishment on a citizen while doubt still remains as to his guilt or innocence? Here is the dilemma, which is nothing new: the fact of the crime is either certain or uncertain; if certain, all that is due is the punishment established by the laws, and tortures are useless because the criminal's confession is useless; if uncertain, then one must not torture the innocent, for such, according to the laws, is a man whose crimes are not yet proved . . ." Someone ought to put this on a billboard--feels very relevant, to me at least.
Speaking of Might is Right, The Once and Future King by TH White should be required reading. Take a week in the summer----agh, such good writing! I would post some Pat Conroy to show you bad writing, but I think it might make me vomit if I were to type it.
In his section on Fanaticim: "Fanaticism has done much more harm to the world than impiety. What do impious people claim? To free themselves of a yoke, while fanatics want to extend their chains over all the earth. Infernal zealomania!" Ha ha!
Also very cool is Caesare Beccaria (1738-1794), who wrote about torture in On Crimes and Punishments: "No man can be called guilty before a judge has sentenced him, nor can society deprive him of public protection before it has been decided that he has in fact violated the conditions under which such protection was accorded him. What right is it, then, if not simply that of might, which empowers a judge to inflict punishment on a citizen while doubt still remains as to his guilt or innocence? Here is the dilemma, which is nothing new: the fact of the crime is either certain or uncertain; if certain, all that is due is the punishment established by the laws, and tortures are useless because the criminal's confession is useless; if uncertain, then one must not torture the innocent, for such, according to the laws, is a man whose crimes are not yet proved . . ." Someone ought to put this on a billboard--feels very relevant, to me at least.
Speaking of Might is Right, The Once and Future King by TH White should be required reading. Take a week in the summer----agh, such good writing! I would post some Pat Conroy to show you bad writing, but I think it might make me vomit if I were to type it.
Feliz Navidad! (er, that is . . . uhh . . .)
Happy birthday to Theodor Seuss Geisel--may we all be blessed with the ability to write both beautiful and hilarious childrens books as well as dirty adult cartoons . . . and political satire, and military educational films, and successful ad campaigns . . .
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