New York Times (Free subscription) | yesterday
The title of Neal Stephenson's latest work of speculative fiction, "Anathem," struck me as an unfortunate one, at least on first (and second) glance, for three reasons: it looks like a typo for "Anthem"; we can't be entirely sure how to pronounce it; and most of us have no idea what it means. Still, it's [...].
New York Times (Free subscription) | 18/07/2008
The new issue of The Oxford American contains a long, lovely essay by Bronwen Dickey, the daughter of James Dickey, in which she revisits the Chattooga River, made famous — and nearly destroyed — by the success of the film version of James Dickey's novel "Deliverance." It's an outstanding piece of writing — and also slyly [...].
Seattle Times (Free subscription) | 05/06/2008
Matthew J. Bruccoli, a University of South Carolina English professor who wrote and edited about two dozen books on author F. Scott Fitzgerald, has died at his Columbia home. He was 76.
Star Tribune (Free subscription) | 05/06/2008
Bruccoli taught at the university for almost 40 years and was the Emily Brown Jefferies distinguished professor emeritus. In addition to his work on Fitzgerald, he wrote and edited dozens of books on other 20th century writers, including Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe, John O'Hara and James Dickey.
Cosmopoetica - Blog (Free subscription) | 24/05/2008
“America, it's true, either spoils you with success or withers you with neglect. What other morality has the artist but to endure? The only ones who survive, I think, beyond the equally destructive temptations of self-praise and self-pity, are those whose ultimate discontent is with themselves. The fiercest hearts are in love with a wild [...]
Library Journal News (Free subscription) | 06/03/2008
The University of South Carolina (USC) posthumously has awarded its Thomas Cooper Society Medal for Distinction in the Arts and Sciences to Norman Mailer for his lifetime literary achievement.
Bill Peschel (Free subscription) | 02/02/2008
B orn today: William Rose Benet, critical essayist, poet, Fort Hamilton, N.Y., 1886; James Joyce, novelist, short-story writer, Dublin, 1882; Ayn Rand, novelist, playwright, essayist, St. Petersburg, Russia, 1905; James Dickey, poet, novelist, critical essayist, Atlanta, Ga., 1923; Judith Viorst, children's author, poet, Newark, N.J., 1931. Died: Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, chef, author, Paris, 1826;...
NewPages Blog (Free subscription) | 01/02/2008
The History of Changing Lives Through Literature An Alternative Sentencing Program "Changing Lives Through Literature (CLTL) is a program that began in Massachusetts in response to a growing need within our criminal justice system to find alternatives to incarceration. Burdened by expense and repeat offenders, our prisons can rarely give adequate attention to the needs of inmates and, thus, do
Harper's Magazine (Free subscription) | 23/10/2007
In 1972, James Dickey's novel, Deliverance, was turned into a major Hollywood motion picture. It instantly became a cultural icon for America of the last years of the Vietnam War. For many of those who saw it, Dickey has spun a clear political subplot—the men lost in the wilds were America lost in the jungles of Vietnam. But more broadly, both the novel and the film can be viewed as a modern American...
The Washington Times (Free subscription) | 20/09/2007
It's long served as a much-imitated genre-movie template, but 1972's Deliverance still stands tall on its own, a...
DVD Talk (Free subscription) | 31/08/2007
Highly Recommended For better or for worse, Hollywood just can't make films like John Boorman's Deliverance (1972) anymore. Based on the best-selling 1970 novel by James Dickey, this unfortunate tour of rugged Georgia terrain reminds us that we can always be in the wrong place at the wrong time. We're introduced to four city slickers (or at least three, since one fancies himself a steely outdoorsman)...
