Suggested reading, goddam phony edition
In a way, the media frenzy over the death of J.D. Salinger can be understood as a kind of cathartic relief—i.e. now that he’s croaked, we can finally talk about him without feeling like we’re intruding on something. It has, at least, made for some very good reading about one of literature’s most enigmatic figures. Rather than collect the obituaries myself—I haven’t had time to read them all—I’ll link to the links at Bookninja here and here.
Serious aficionados should take a look at this 1957 letter by Salinger explaining why he saw The Catcher in the Rye as unfilmable. Really dedicated junkies of all things Salinger may even go as far as perusing Joyce Maynard’s 1972 article, “An 18-Year-Old Looks Back On Life”, which led her to drop out of Yale and live with the author for a year. (I personally find it nigh on unreadable, but it’s evidence that the cliché anxiety about settling down with 2.2 kids has been around for nearly four decades at least.)
And now for something completely different:
- How to Write Badly Well is consistently superb, but Joel Stickley has really outdone himself with this legitimately amazing poem.
- Alex Abboud previewed the new Art Gallery of Alberta, which opened its doors this weekend.
- Juan Cole speculates that Osama bin Laden is probably dead and has ceased to be relevant even if he is alive.
- Ethan Iverson makes the case for extravagant public funding of Wagner’s Ring.
- This weekend’s New York Times Magazine featured a marvelous piece by David Hajdu on AIDS survivor and phenomenal jazz pianist Fred Hersch.
- Those interested in the history of computer games will appreciate this Wired article on how perfectionism killed Duke Nukem Forever, the most infamous piece of vapourware in software history.
Previous: Tablets and tablature
Next: Suggested reading, bowled-over edition