Monthly Archives: July 2009

Tao Lin’s Muumuu House: Romantic Realism in Two Books of Poetry

Literary realism, like most literary classifications, is vague and ambiguous and difficult to define. In some capacity, it can be characterized as a reaction against, or an answer to, literary romanticism. The current state of affairs is such that panic … Continue reading

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Bites: Library flavored ice cream, John Wray, queer zines, Pynchon mania, and more

We’d just like to reiterate that if we have any weight to throw behind getting Ben and Jerry’s to make a library themed ice cream, we would totally throw that weight around. John Wray says that most readings are “intensly … Continue reading

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Dusting Off: Malcolm Lowry, Under the Volcano

By Willa A. Cmiel This Tuesday marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Malcolm Lowry. His novel Under the Volcano, which pops up on all kinds of read-before-you-die lists, was the first book in years that I just couldn’t … Continue reading

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Bites: Dangerous babysitters, jailhouse rock, literary lovin’, Hemingway the Musical

An intellectual’s look at the American tradition of babysitting and why young babysitters are often perceived as dangerous figures. “The babysitter has conveniently served as a lightning rod for adults’ uncertainties about what the limits of girls’ autonomy and empowerment … Continue reading

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Slack Motherfucker #3

What I remember most about my first time listening to The Pastels was that it was outdoors in a public park just outside Gurnee, Il., and some kid with a Jewfro, wearing a Fred Perry shirt played a cassette tape … Continue reading

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Bites: Harry Potter parties, they just can’t let old Jackie rest, Thomas Pynchon at the stroke of twelve, and more

So what if a certain boy wizard and his mates like to toss back a pint or two? I’m pretty sure I can name five other classic children stories that involve drinking, drug taking, and other unsuitable behavior. Don’t people … Continue reading

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Coming up: A night of Heartworm Press

On August 8th,Heartworm Press will be presenting a night that showcases music and spoken pieces from a group of artists connected to the Philadelphia-based indie press at Santos Party House. The lineup in pretty impressive to say the least, and … Continue reading

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Dusting off: Bob Dylan in Playboy, 1966

The February, 1966 interview with Bob Dylan was simply put, a portrait of the artist at the top of his game. Before the motorcycle accident, the “Judas” labeling, the noodling around with The Band in an upstate New York basement, … Continue reading

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Bites: Beer with ‘Bama, blue M&Ms, Gawker is Gold(man Sachs), Muumuu House is noted, fake local Starbucks protests, etc.

DRINKS AT OBAMA’S THIS THURSDAY. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is in charge of the beer run, taking orders. (Is anything else important today? Not really, but in case of boredom read on.) There are two kinds of people in the … Continue reading

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Conversation: OVERFLOW Magazine

There is a Twitter account called Themediaisdying, which has 20,000 followers, most of whom believe – I think it’s safe to assume – that media is in fact going the way of the dodo, dinosaur, and DeLorean. While nothing to … Continue reading

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