Tag Archives: Literature

Jonah Raskin : Sex on Campus and Ulysses Un-Seen

Censored image from Ulysses Seen. Graphic from Literature R Us.Girls Lean Back:Sex on campus,And the ongoing appeal of pornography By Jonah Raskin / The Rag Blog / June 15, 2010 Don’t the censors of sexually explicit materials get it? Well, … Continue reading

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Steinbeck Comes to Arizona : Rereading ‘The Grapes of Wrath’

Reading “The Grapes of Wrath” in 2010:Immigration, capitalism, andArizona’s historic moment By Alex Knight / The Rag Blog / June 14, 2010 [The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, published 1939 during the last Great Depression.] Arizona SB1070, signed into … Continue reading

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VERSE / Larry Piltz : New Atlantis and Banglateche

“Earth could not answer; nor the Seas that mourn…” Illustration by Adelaide Hanscom and Blanche Cumming (1905) for “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam,” tr. Edward Fitzgerald / Wikimedia Commons. New Atlantis and Banglateche By Houma Cayenne Here beside my breathing … Continue reading

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Tom Miller : On Reading Cervantes Aloud in Madrid

Cartoon by Juan Carlos Pedreira Fernández / Galería Cubarte.‘En un lugar de la Mancha…’On reading Cervantes aloud in Madrid By Tom Miller / The Rag Blog / May 14, 2010 All together now: “En un lugar de la Mancha, de … Continue reading

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Marc Estrin : Happy Birthday, Bertolt Brecht

Bertolt Brecht, 1948. Photo from Deutsches Bundesarchiv / Wikimedia Commons.Of Poor B.B.:Bertolt Brecht speaks from the grave By Marc Estrin / The Rag Blog / February 11, 2010 [German playwright, poet, and theatrical director Bertolt Brecht was born on February … Continue reading

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Book Ends : Writers Salinger and Zinn Made a Difference

“The Man in the Books,” by Andre Martins de Barros / Found Shit.Two writers who changed us:J. D. Salinger and Howard ZinnBy Carl R. Hultberg / The Rag Blog / January 29, 2010 It is impossible to predict whose writing … Continue reading

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Marc Estrin : The Execution of an Elephant

Topsy the elephant:Executed by Thomas Alva Edison By Marc Estrin / The Rag Blog / January 9, 2010 [Noted author and activist Marc Estrin will be contributing to The Rag Blog on a regular basis.] Wait! Do not activate that … Continue reading

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BOOKS / Jonah Raskin : Chinua Achebe’s ‘British-Protected Child’

Chinua Achebe’s sharp and inspiring essays:The Education of a British-Protected Child By Jonah Raskin / The Rag Blog / January 4, 2010 [The Education of a British-Protected Child: Essays, by Chinua Achebe. (Knopf, October 6, 2009, 172 pp., $24.95)] Here’s … Continue reading

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James Retherford : The Story of Dada

Alfred Jarry on absinthe.The Story of Dada (Part One) Inspired by the edgy transubstantiation of primitive energy and ontological nullity in Dada’s impromptu poetic style, [Hugo] Ball tried to emulate it — but without success. By James Retherford / The … Continue reading

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Jonah Raskin : Fear and Loathing without Hunter S. Thompson

Gonzo man: Hunter S. Thompson. Illustration by Ralph Steadman / The Badger.Where is Hunter S. ThompsonNow that we need him? At times he could he cynical and depressed, but he also had clarity of vision and a commitment to tell … Continue reading

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Divine Comedy : Joe Lieberman and the Hypocrites

The Hypocrites address Dante, from Canto XXIII of Divine Comedy, Inferno, by Dante Alighieri. Engraving by Gustave Doré from Pantheon Books edition / Wikimedia Commons.The Eighth Circle of Hell:Lieberman, Congress and health care reform Of course, Sen. Lieberman does not … Continue reading

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Celebrated Novelist Elmer Kelton : A Man of West Texas

Elmer Kelton, celebrated Texan and author Elmer wrote Texas as it was and is with a true ear for dialogue and phrase, his writing far above that of authors who try too hard to write like Texans. By Judy Alter … Continue reading

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