Since I'm already a paid subscriber I didn't quite know how to respond to the poll. I enjoyed the experience of reading Cather's MY ANTONIA and appreciated the essays and guided questions. I would love to do something similar with some of Sinclair Lewis' fiction, if you're up for that challenge later this year or in 2025....
Thank you, Jill! Yes, I never seem to get these polls or experiments framed quite right, or at least not in a way that yields lasting insight. I wrote one of my dissertation chapters on "Arrowsmith," and you know that I've had some recent thoughts about "Babbitt." But I have to say that Lewis's style grates on me, even as many of his ideas have remained prescient. I tried to teach "Arrowsmith" a few times, and the dialogue was so ridiculous I just had to stop! It is a fascinating benchmark of the shift in American culture from viewing physicians as grave robbers or figures of suspicion (as Hawthorne does) to heroizing scientific medicine. But as art? Oof.
An interesting thing to ponder, when are we our best selves? And how do we as writers portray someone in a story as their whole selves?
I’ve been considering the possibility of writing an essay about my Mom. (I wrote one about Dad back mid June). My relationship with her is more complex, particularly since she was loved by many. She crossed 12 years ago, so I suppose it wouldn’t be a sacrilege, yet I hesitate because you never know who’s reading. My memories and scattered images of her are mixed with those of my brothers. Bottom line? I’m not sure I could ever fully portray the complexity of who she was.
I'm not sure anyone expects to capture a whole self, so it's really a question of the best approximation. But part of that complexity exists across time, wouldn't you say? My grandmother was a different person (often cruel) in her 30s and 40s. She was far more compassionate after losing both of her parents, and on to the end. So I wonder if she was the same person at both stages of life...
Since I'm already a paid subscriber I didn't quite know how to respond to the poll. I enjoyed the experience of reading Cather's MY ANTONIA and appreciated the essays and guided questions. I would love to do something similar with some of Sinclair Lewis' fiction, if you're up for that challenge later this year or in 2025....
Thank you, Jill! Yes, I never seem to get these polls or experiments framed quite right, or at least not in a way that yields lasting insight. I wrote one of my dissertation chapters on "Arrowsmith," and you know that I've had some recent thoughts about "Babbitt." But I have to say that Lewis's style grates on me, even as many of his ideas have remained prescient. I tried to teach "Arrowsmith" a few times, and the dialogue was so ridiculous I just had to stop! It is a fascinating benchmark of the shift in American culture from viewing physicians as grave robbers or figures of suspicion (as Hawthorne does) to heroizing scientific medicine. But as art? Oof.
Cather clearly means more to you and perhaps that's why I enjoyed it the guided reading of her novel. It was a good experience.
An interesting thing to ponder, when are we our best selves? And how do we as writers portray someone in a story as their whole selves?
I’ve been considering the possibility of writing an essay about my Mom. (I wrote one about Dad back mid June). My relationship with her is more complex, particularly since she was loved by many. She crossed 12 years ago, so I suppose it wouldn’t be a sacrilege, yet I hesitate because you never know who’s reading. My memories and scattered images of her are mixed with those of my brothers. Bottom line? I’m not sure I could ever fully portray the complexity of who she was.
I'm not sure anyone expects to capture a whole self, so it's really a question of the best approximation. But part of that complexity exists across time, wouldn't you say? My grandmother was a different person (often cruel) in her 30s and 40s. She was far more compassionate after losing both of her parents, and on to the end. So I wonder if she was the same person at both stages of life...