Robert Chandler has a short article in The New Yorker on the censorship of Grossman’s book For a Just Cause (the recent English translation uses the title Grossman wanted—Stalingrad). The original publication process of the novel is a case study of Soviet editorial practices and censorship. Grossman worked on the manuscript from 1943 until 1949 […]
Author: Dwight
The poetry of Ronnie Lane…two songs that capture some challenging aspects of father/son dynamics. In a good way, at least to me.
Stalingrad by Vasily Grossman Translated by Robert Chandler and Elizabeth Chandler NYRB Classics, 2019 Paperback, 1088 pages Judging by how limited my time was yesterday and only making my way through Robert Chandler’s introduction to Stalingrad, this may be a true “summer(-long) read” for me. And I’m fine with that. A few quick notes on […]
Vasily Grossman and the Soviet Century by Alexandra Popoff Yale University Press, 2019 Hardcover, 424 pagesStalingrad by Vasily Grossman is officially released today. While I’m waiting for my copy to arrive by mail, I wanted to share a little about this outstanding biography. Alexandra Popoff has written several literary biographies and is a former Moscow […]
“The Secret Oral History of Bennington: The 1980s’ Most Decadent College” by Lili Anolik, Esquire Fall, 1982. A new freshman class arrives at arty, louche, and expensive Bennington College. Among the druggies, rebels, heirs, and posers: future Gen X literary stars Donna Tartt, Bret Easton Ellis, and Jonathan Lethem. What happened over the next four […]
What to do with students in the summer? When they were younger, it was fairly easy. Take them to the pool. Get together with friends. Go to summer camps and amusement parks. Take them on trips. Wear them out, somehow. For school? If you wanted, you could do the summer “bridge” activities books, but of […]
My oldest expressed interest in seeing The Cold Blue tonight instead of waiting for it on HBO, and who was I to say no? So we’re excited about going tonight for the movie and the extra “making of” short. Plus I’m happy to see the score is provided by Richard Thompson. A good article on […]
In the Books section of each weekend edition of The Wall Street Journal is a list of “five best books” on a particular topic. I’ve found some good leads on books I’d like to read every now and then from this feature. This past weekend edition had a list from Alexandra Popoff, former Moscow journalist and […]
Picture from Old Maps, Expeditions, and Explorations blog The Voynich manuscript has been in the news off and on over the past few years. From Wikipedia: The Voynich manuscript is an illustrated codex hand-written in an unknown writing system. The vellum on which it is written has been carbon-dated to the early 15th century (1404–1438), […]
I’ve only read a few things by Karl Ove Knausgård, and it’s been hit or miss on what I like and what hasn’t connected. One thing I did enjoy is his recent conversation with Tyler Cowen, which I saw linked at Marginal Revolution. The wide-ranging interview starts with a discussion of mimesis and ends with […]