LORNA SORE

In his review of Leni Zumas’ debut collection, Farewell Navigator, Justin Taylor writes:

“Zumas—whether she knows it or not—is part of an established tradition of decisively female (though not necessarily feminine) magic realism that at its best gives us Shelley Jackson and Aimee Bender, and at its worst, Karen Russell and Jeanette Winterson.”

First - it’s lame & aggressive that he wrote “whether she knows it or not.”

Second - his characterization doesn’t mean anything. He’s invented a fake, gendered tradition to legitimize his slick & boring review of the author’s gender, instead of her work.

It’s almost midnight on a Saturday and Lawrence and my brother are watching Network and I am reading the paper and thinking about this Walter Kirn review of the newest James Wood book:

“Novels and short stories succeed or fail according to their capacity (a capacity that has progressed over the centuries rather like the march of science) to represent, affectingly and credibly, the actual workings of the human mind as it interacts with the real world. The mind and the world, as Wood defines them, are dependable, fixed phenomena, for the most part, possessed of natural, intrinsic qualities that fiction writers in their ink-stained lab coats measure, prod, explore and seek to illustrate using a rather limited range of instruments that can be endlessly adjusted. The role of these researchers’ prejudices and passions — as well as that of their social, psychological, geographic and spiritual circumstances — is barely credited by Wood.”

This comes a little later:

“Having been lashed by twice as many citations as even a formalist-cum-­structuralist should require, and having been incrementally diminished by Wood’s tone of genteel condescension (he flashes the Burberry lining of his jacket whenever he rises from his armchair to fetch another Harvard Classic), the common reader is likely to concede virtually anything the master wishes — except, perhaps, his precious time.

…But there is one question this volume answers conclusively: Why Readers Nap.”

This new theme I’ve got here is called “White as Milk” and was created by Azeem Azeez.  On Azeem’s website he says, “Got a Question? Contact me.” So after I spent hours trying to figure out why my comments didn’t import from blogger, I emailed him and asked him if he knew what I was doing wrong.

He generously offered to fixed my comments problem, and then fixed a different problem I’d been having with my archives. Incredible kindness from a stranger. Thanks, Azeem Azeez.

Last Friday, Lawrence and I went to the Tibor de Nagy gallery to see the FINAL day of an amazing Jess Collins exhibit. The gallery was small and some women were talking loudly, but it was still an excellent use of city livin.’ Last night I started work on a collage of my own. It has a loose theme of computers & kittens. My twin passions. As soon as I add a couple more kittens I will photograph it and post. Here’s a video tour of the exhibit.

My former colleague Win Rosenfeld made a video about the Breeder’s song “Drivin’ on 9.” You can also watch the video on the new, as of yet undeveloped, home of the Bryant Park Project staff.

My summer of leisure has actually begun, now that I am out of a job. I’m trying to teach myself about web design and FTP servers, so expect changes here as I screw everything up and then learn how fix it.

The Passivist is looking good.

I am reading The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy (thank you, Michelle).

This person typed out a bunch of lines from Two Serious Ladies: “Well, I suppose this is a great disappointment to you,” said Arnold, “but you see I have fallen in love with you. I wanted to bring you here and tell you about my whole life, but now I don’t feel like talking about anything.”

- BPP was canceled. It’s weird and depressing. There are a lot of comments here. Maybe now I can finally get my dream job.

- I’ve got new stuff in GlitterPony.

- My grandma turned 80 and we had a big party in Thomson, GA with a DJ. We ate at Sonic and Huddle House and it was excellent.

- This is funny because I actually did go to FSU: “There’s this thing about guys from FSU. They think everything’s fine, just because they went to FSU. And for them, you know, it is. Even the most mediocre mediocrity can make a nice life for himself in New York if only he went to Florida State fucking University.”

- I discovered Child Perfume. “The experience of wearing Child is enhanced by the way the fragrance touches those around you. The scent of Child is all its own. The formula has two dimensions: one of confident power, and one of enigmatic mystery. “

Oh today I saw Jason Bateman and then I saw Michael Ian Black. I ate at a delicious place called Les Enfants Terribles.

Diane Williams has new fiction on the Esquire Books blog.

- 92% of Americans believe in God or a universal spirit, Pew survey finds

- The Mind of a Female Suicide Bomber

- The Man Behind Woody Allen

- Muriel, Austin and Cecil are snails for the electronic age

- James Wood on Rivka Galchen

- Nabokov’s interview. (01) Anonymous [1962]

- Video of Paul Chan exhibit at the New Museum

“I wanted to do a cost-benefit analysis of what personal blogging had done to my offline life, and in order to do so, I had to describe that offline life.”

I worked on a story about Eurovision last week and France’s entry has been on my mind ever since.

…is awesome:

Mormon polygamy of the 19th century was not child abuse. Adult women married by consent, and typically lived in separate dwellings, each visited by the husband in turn. In addition to their theological rationale, Mormons defended the practice with social arguments - in particular that polygamous men would abandon wives or visit prostitutes less frequently. Instead of answering these arguments, however, Americans hastened to vilify Mormon society, publishing semi-pornographic novels that depicted polygamy as a hotbed of incest and child abuse.

Self-righteous Americans hastened to stigmatize Mormon marriage as “patriarchal,” while participating contentedly and uncritically in an institution (monogamy) so patriarchal that, for many years, women lost all property rights upon marriage and could not even get a divorce on grounds of cruelty. In one respect, Mormon women were miles ahead of their sisters living in monogamy: They got the vote in the territory of Utah in 1871, 49 years before the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment gave the vote to women all over the nation.

“Connectedness permeates virtually everything you do. It’s a blend of status and convenience, a badge of tech-savviness that you display in your everyday interactions.” [Jezebel]

I have stuff and things in Coconut 12 and Thieves Jargon.

Yesterday, I spent a lot of time reading and re-reading the Chekhov story “Mire.” It’s one of the most bizarre and exciting stories I have ever read and I can’t believe it’s not in many Chekhov anthologies. “‘How unusual this is! How strange!’ he thought, utterly amazed, hardly able to believe his senses, and feeling rather sick from the scent of jasmine.” I think I have talked about this story here before, but I feel claustrophobic when I read it and that there is a scary situation. I am thinking about reading Stephen King’s Night Shift so I can learn more about how to make scary situations. I am frightened easily and avoid thrillers, but maybe that is a mistake. Maybe it would be fun to read Stephen King to try to learn how to write a scary story like “Big Bear, California” by Rebecca Curtis.

A brand new stove is being installed in our apartment right this minute.

I am sick and fighting back with Chinese medicine.

Things I’m looking forward to:

Kiki Smith is talking at New School today at 3:15PM. We are going to see ENDGAME tonight at BAM.

TUESDAY, MAY 6th: an FSG Reading featuring RIVKA GALCHEN (with New Yorker music critic Alex Ross) at THE RUSSIAN SAMOVAR 7PM.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 7th: Columbia Journal reading with Diane Williams, Victoria Redel, Thomas Sayers Ellis, and Laura Esther Wolfson at the Bowery Poetry Club 6PM.