Thanks for the link. Interesting. I last taught Cather in an American fiction class a few years ago, just a short story, the superb "Paul's Case," but would you believe I've never read *My Antonia*? It's true. Your expert guiding hand will enrich the experience enormously.
Thanks! I'm up to ch. 7 - can't stop, it's so good! Is there another way to share the schedule PDF? I got an error message and it wouldn't download. Thanks.
I've tried to replace the PDF a few times. Happy to email it to you privately (dolezaljosh@gmail.com), but you can also see the full reading schedule at the bottom of the post.
Thank you, Scott -- and for supporting my work! Hopefully we'll be able to recruit a critical mass to make that project viable. I've been dreaming about a yearlong journey through Cather's novels that culminates in an optional trip to the archive in Lincoln and to the historical sites in Red Cloud (where the National Willa Cather Center is based). Stay tuned!
I just tried to replace it a few times, and it seems to continue generating the error message. I'll update the post to include the schedule at the end.
I'm not sure the novel ever was that, Richard, though Cather's sexuality has been a topic of conversation for decades. I recommend Melissa Homestead's scholarship on this topic. She shows that Cather and Edith Lewis enjoyed an abiding partnership that was not closeted and that extended to collaboration on Cather's literary manuscripts. Cather herself does not align very neatly with identity politics. She was a conservative and also a New Woman, a feminist who was often misogynistic (as the introduction to My Ántonia shows), an atheist with abiding fascination with Catholicism, and so on.
Thanks I am less interested in Cather's sexuality (actually not interested at all) than the artist's depiction of Antonia. I thought the book was embraced as a celebration of Antonia's body and spirit from a female (read lesbian) perspective.
I'm anxious to read the book again. Thank you for this discussion.
Looking forward to it, Josh!
Thank you, Jay! Here's a letter from Cather to her editor to whet your appetite. https://cather.unl.edu/writings/letters/let0411
Thanks for the link. Interesting. I last taught Cather in an American fiction class a few years ago, just a short story, the superb "Paul's Case," but would you believe I've never read *My Antonia*? It's true. Your expert guiding hand will enrich the experience enormously.
"Paul's Case" is fantastic. Perhaps her best short story. Though "Coming, Aphrodite!" and "Old Mrs. Harris" are up there, too.
So excited for this!
Awesome -- me, too! Here's a short piece that might be a fun prelude to next week.
https://cather.unl.edu/writings/bohlke/interviews/bohlke.i.07
Thanks! I'm up to ch. 7 - can't stop, it's so good! Is there another way to share the schedule PDF? I got an error message and it wouldn't download. Thanks.
I've tried to replace the PDF a few times. Happy to email it to you privately (dolezaljosh@gmail.com), but you can also see the full reading schedule at the bottom of the post.
Thanks! Sorry for the trouble.
No trouble! I wish I could get the attachment to work.
Thanks for putting this together and highlighting Cather. Excited to see the discussion here.
Glad to have you along for the ride, Matthew! Check out this letter from Cather to her brother Roscoe from around this time.
https://cather.unl.edu/writings/letters/let2083
"reading all 12 of Willa Cather’s novels in a year." I would love that!
Thank you, Scott -- and for supporting my work! Hopefully we'll be able to recruit a critical mass to make that project viable. I've been dreaming about a yearlong journey through Cather's novels that culminates in an optional trip to the archive in Lincoln and to the historical sites in Red Cloud (where the National Willa Cather Center is based). Stay tuned!
Is anyone else having issues with the PDF?
I just tried to replace it a few times, and it seems to continue generating the error message. I'll update the post to include the schedule at the end.
Looking forward to this reread- have read many of her works, way back when…
Is My Antonia still an iconic lesbian novel? Didn't it used to be? BTW it only adds to the glamour.
I'm not sure the novel ever was that, Richard, though Cather's sexuality has been a topic of conversation for decades. I recommend Melissa Homestead's scholarship on this topic. She shows that Cather and Edith Lewis enjoyed an abiding partnership that was not closeted and that extended to collaboration on Cather's literary manuscripts. Cather herself does not align very neatly with identity politics. She was a conservative and also a New Woman, a feminist who was often misogynistic (as the introduction to My Ántonia shows), an atheist with abiding fascination with Catholicism, and so on.
Thanks I am less interested in Cather's sexuality (actually not interested at all) than the artist's depiction of Antonia. I thought the book was embraced as a celebration of Antonia's body and spirit from a female (read lesbian) perspective.
I'm anxious to read the book again. Thank you for this discussion.
Thanks, Richard -- I'll look forward to your contributions next week!