Books, Inq. — The Epilogue

Pictures galore ...

... LIFE photo archive hosted by Google.

Aids Sutra:

Untold Stories from India.

"The country takes a back seat to Africa when it comes to world awareness of the disease. Essayists reveal a culture of repression and shame."

Actually, India's epidemic deserves this collection devoted to raising awareness about a third-world catastrophe; however, it seems to me HIV/AIDS doesn't even warrant a back seat in the various media of first-world countries (where it's lucky to catch a lift in the trunk) of the lovely bullet-proof limosine at the ready for members of the celebritocrisy.

(Look no further than the book's provocative title which inspires ambivalence in yours truly. On the one hand, one hopes the book will sell kazoodles; on the other, it borders on poor taste. Put both hands together and say a prayer for the needlessly departed. Does the end justify the means? I can't help but wonder what Jay Scott or Gina-Sue Romero or Freddie Mercury or . . . [^i^] would've thought about it, for example.)

The facts: Every five minutes, a human being perishes from the affliction; statistics indicate two-thirds of the infected reside in Africa; but, it's a global problem rarely making headlines in this, the twenty-worst century (unless the scouraged one happens to be a somebody). Millions suffer; millions die; but, IMO, neither vaccine nor cure exists since BigPharma would go bullistic ipso-quicko. (No punchline could possibly do justice to the carnage wrought by this universal plague.)

It's back ...

... and probably never left: The new anti-Semitism?

Sarah Weinman on the Disappeared . . .

. . . in The Los Angeles Times:

"According to the U.S. Department of Justice, just more than 2,000 children are reported missing every single day. The vast majority of them are found, sometimes quickly, but for the families and loved ones of those who are not, a canvas of unanswered questions opens up ready to be painted with a palette of psychological complexity."

Now, that's what I call a helluva colourful come-hither lead to drool for . . .

N. B. There's an audio excerpt featuring one of the authors under review at the publisher's website, FYI.

This week's batch ...

... of TLS Letters. Rothko, Dirk, Noël and more!

On the Side of the Angels:

An Appreciation of Parties and Partisanship.

Nancy L. Rosenblum actually appreciates parties and partisanship? That's one and counting . . . :).

And this was science ...

... not religion. Or maybe ... Destructive Delusions. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Perhaps the most alarming (or depressing) thing about this story -- clearly, economically and sometimes amusingly told by Dr. McHugh -- is that the worst excesses did not take place among the poorly educated class of society, whom one might expect to be easiest prey to ludicrous notions, but among the well educated.

This does not surprise me. The well-schooled are quite superstitious when it comes to degrees, fashionable theories, and books praised in the right places by the right people.

NBA Tries to Glam Things Up . . .

"For us there is only the trying . . ."

". . . Who invited all the fancy people, publishing peons wonder?"

I thought this kind of embarrassing shit only happened here @ HOME (which really ought to have scooped it; but, then, who said the best book wins, let alone receives a nom-nod? Not me, especially after hearing through the gripe-vine the equally deserving poet and critic, A. F. Moritz, didn't receive his due here in Canada Tuesday either. What a kick-in-the-head egregiosity. Sorry. Can't link to a story 'cause I can't bear to read the endless stream of bullshit issuing from Ottawa, Nepotistic Capital of Nuthin' Special).

Check Under "H" for Hester . . .

. . . and you will discover the remarkable life of Dr. Johnson's "Dear Mistress" . . .

Faith in Forgiveness

In his latest novel, The Fire Gospel, the former militant aetheist, Michel Faber, addresses the consolations of religion:

Prometheus's tale is one of enlightenment and its consequences. In Faber's retelling, enlightenment comes in the form of a fifth gospel which falls into the hands of a Canadian academic scavenging around a looted Iraqi museum. This new gospel reveals Christ to be nothing more than a good man, made of flesh like us, whose final words on the cross were, "Please, somebody, please finish me."
— Helen Brown

The Freak Lost A Ball . . .

. . . and, that, M'Dear Inq.uers, says it all . . .

Paper-Tigerianisto Sam Leith Blogs . . .

. . . on the annual Literary Review's "Bad-Sex Writing" finalists . . . Well, not literally . . . He actually typed the post on a regular keyboard (I hope).

Eye-Opening . . .

. . . A friend sent this pic to me earlier today with the following translation:

This photograph, "The Eye of God," was taken with the aid of a NASA telescope, and this event only occurs every three-thousand years. A lot of miracles happened to those that have gazed upon this, so make seven wishes, even if you do not believe in it, and see what happens, what changes in your life. Send this to eighteen (Chai) people on whom you would like to bestow well wishes. Do not keep it to yourself.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, involves creating a better Title for this image than the one up there.

A good pairing ...

... David Hume and Standards of Taste.

A clash of dawns ...

... Bjørn Lomborg's.

... Ian McEwan's.

(Hat tip to Dave Lull, for both links.)

I'll opt for Lomborg's myself. Among other things, I don't think McEwan has a clue as to how politics in the U.S. works.

The future of art ...

... is grounded in its past: Phila. art studio teaches Old World technique.

Sui generis ...

... Alistair Cooke, 100.

For me, acquaintance with Alistair Cooke began with Omnibus, a Sunday afternoon show on NBC TV. One of the episodes (actually, I think it was more than one) was a dramatization of parts of Boswell's Life of Johnson, starring Peter Ustinov as the great doctor - all of it deftly introduced by Mr. Cooke.

Terrifying ...

... Neal Pollack Strikes Back (2003).

For NBA coverage ...

... skip on over to Ed's Reluctant Habits and just keep scrolling.

... do the same at GalleyCat.

Yeah, it's silent ...

... so what? Buster Keaton's The General. (Hat tip, Paul Davis.)

God help us ...

... THE RISE OF THE JOURNO-GURUS. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

The operative word is the one that appears in the deck: hacks. These are people who coin a phrase and then around that phrase frame an argument and marshal evidence. Among the intellectually underprivileged, this is regarded as original thought.

In case you wondered ...

... Bolaño's 2666: The Best Book of 2008. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

I haven't read 2666. The best book I read this year was Tan Twan Eng's The Gift of Rain. As I said in my review it's one of the best books I've ever read. My tai chi trainer liked it, too. It's about to come out in paperback. And there's a Kindle version.

Dissent with a price ...

... Prison court sentences blogger to 20 years, poet to two years.

... Myanmar activists jailed for 65 years: family.

I should have posted these awhile ago, but I got sidetracked. Hat tip to Rus Bowden for both links.

The winners ...

... National Book Awards - 2008. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Let's conclude ...

... The scandal of literary prizes. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Post bumped, link now has updates.

The thrill is gone ...

... Updike slams modern American fiction. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Well- deserved praise ...

... for our friend Jim Carmin: Gems of the Private Press Movement.

... and here is information about the exhibition: Gems of the Private Press Movement:Kelmscott, Ashendene, Doves, Golden Cockerel.

This really does look wonderful.

A finding place ...

... not a hiding place: Jeanette Winterson on Shafts of sunlight. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

In the land of reality TV and confessional talk shows, Eliot's wish to withdraw the personal from his poetry - from any poetry - is easy to misread. But the paradox of the best writing is that while the writer's voice is unmistakable, the writer has somehow performed the Indian rope trick and disappeared. Celebrity culture can't imagine anyone wanting to disappear, or that such a thing might be necessary. Now, when we are told that everything depends on our "personality", it seems strange to hear Eliot saying, as he does in his essay "Tradition and the Individual Talent", that "poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. But of course only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from those things."

Read the whole. It is excellent.

Sad news ...

... Clive Barnes has died.

... Here's Terry Teachout: Clive Barnes, R.I.P. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

'T aint necessarily so ...

... Jonestown and 'confirmation bias'. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

I try to restrict my policy reading to data analyses. But I find myself reading less and less about politics, principally because after a while it becomes so predictable.
It would be interesting if Shermer would write a piece about how he has dealt with his own biases.

Link fixed and post bumped.

Unsuited for Stockholm ...

... Zbigniew Herbert: The Collected Poems - review: Lies have to be beautiful. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Upholding standards ...

... not: University fires teacher for blog post.

In defense of ...

... Uncle Walt.

Good question ...

... and an open one: What Is Art For? (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)

Most interesting ...

... THE PERELANDRA PROJECT. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

I hope Henry Gee can attend and tell me about it. What about you, Maxine? Can you attend?

Together at last ...

... William James and Alfred Kazin: Flying Solo.

Interesting coincidence ...

... Two Books That Deal With the Battle of Gettysburg Could Win 2008 National Book Awards on Wednesday, 145th Anniversary the Gettysburg Address.

Well worth attending ...

... Actor supreme Christopher Plummer will be at the library tonight in connection with his just-published memoir In Spite of Myself. I have a copy and, so far, it is quite, quite good. How resist a book with this opening line: "I was brought up by an Airedale." Here are details of the library event.

Multiply encoded ...

... Uninvited Spirits. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)

Lost and found ...

... and lost again: The Art of Conversation.

The appeal of raking leaves ...

... or Tiptoeing around Updike. (Hat tip, Rus Bowden.)

Legendary Leonard Cohen at London's O2

Leomania:

[A] 73-year-old Canadian remembered mainly as a 1960s bedsitter balladeer is hardly the stuff of 21st century pop stardom, however brilliant his poetry and songwriting may be. But we live in strange times and what started with a successful summer tour and a much-lauded appearance at the Glastonbury Festival has turned into Lenny-mania this winter, and last night he started his four-night, sell-out London season (two at the O2 and two at the Albert Hall) with a memorable concert in front of an adoring audience.
— Graham Boynton

Oh, the difference ...

... Eavesdropping on Tom Stoppard with Gwen Orel. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Something of a rarity ...

... An Ode to Copy Editors.

Always steady ...

... Never Wobbly. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Artist Nelson Shanks told me that when he was painting Lady Thatcher's portrait, one of the things that impressed him about her was her obvious self-discipline. Sitting for a portrait can be tiring. Once, when it was suggested she take a break for some tea, she declined. "We haven't earned it," she said.