I've been asked to put together a longish reading list for a BA Art/Literature module, and I'd love some ideas for texts outside my current knowledge. The list should cover a series of genres and contexts, with writing from, and about, the history and theory of art, journalism, academia, design, architecture and film. Writing on design and architecture are particularly outside my knowledge. What innovative and critically significant writings can you recommend across any of these subject areas?
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posted by 0bvious
on Dec 14, 2012 -
8 answers
Who are good candidates for reasonably being labelled "The Brazilian Shakespeare"?
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posted by Bwithh
on Feb 21, 2012 -
5 answers
Need recommendations for a good literary short story (or two) on which to write a 1200-1500ish word paper.
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posted by Gymnopedist
on Jan 28, 2012 -
24 answers
F. Scott FitzgeraldFilter: "Everyone's youth is a dream, a form of chemical madness." I've seen this quote attributed to F. Scott. Did he actually say it?
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posted by toomuchkatherine
on Nov 28, 2011 -
4 answers
I am writing a story about an artist who is held captive on the condition of creating a work for the captor. I want to know what other works in the same sub-genre are like.
Can you suggest some books and movies with a similar motif, especially where a captive is expected to do something for the captor as a condition of their release?
Thanks!
posted by Atrahasis
on Nov 14, 2011 -
21 answers
I'm looking for more poets like Frederick Seidel. I recently read Seidel's
Arabia in the previous issue of
The Paris Review and was drawn to his, what I would term "Lad Poetry" - with lad being the antonym of chick, as in chick lit.
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posted by lrnarabic
on Oct 10, 2011 -
4 answers
I'm trying to remember where I would have read this. I remember a discussion of the omnipotence/omniscience of a writer in relation to his story world and its characters -- I think the book must have been about writing fiction. There was a particular example having to do with Time, and how a writer who is interrupted by a knock at the door leaves his character, who was about to sit down (or set the table or something), mid-sentence and in a state of limbo. Come to think of it, maybe this was about philosophy or theology... I may have gotten some/all of the details wrong. Any of that sound familiar?
posted by Cortes
on Sep 20, 2011 -
10 answers
Naming filter: Help me name a blog devoted to publishing great exercises, activities, and assignments by and for instructors of college composition and literature classes.
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posted by cymru_j
on Sep 6, 2011 -
12 answers
Some of my best memories, when I think back on them, become more cinematic than linear, more musical than factual. They are a flowing montage of events, energy, motion. Often the memory is of an adventure or journey. Why does this happen? Who has written or made art about the capacity for our memories to be transformed in this way?
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posted by victory_laser
on May 27, 2011 -
1 answer
In what English movies or books would I most likely be exposed to new words? Any genre and time-period.
posted by keith0718
on Feb 3, 2011 -
34 answers
I'm currently finishing my last English Literature Honors paper and aim to continue academic study. My dilemma is that I am unsure of whether to apply for an English Literature MA or a Creative Writing MA.
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posted by New England Cultist
on Aug 12, 2010 -
18 answers
Sacrifice, speech, writing and art: I am interested in the different ways in which a sacrifice, a sacrament, a spoken word and a written word act as signifiers. The notion for instance that the sacrament, at the point of its acceptance, is understood as
becoming the signified. What can you tell me / what has been written about the notions of sacrifice and their relationship to speech, art and the technologies of writing?
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posted by 0bvious
on Feb 24, 2010 -
8 answers
I really enjoy reading those anthologies of the best American non-fiction stories that come out every year -- particularly because they a) are easy to finish in 20-40 minutes and b) introduce me to new magazines/writers/concepts. I'm looking for other compendiums of magazine-style writing or articles or suggestions on where to go to find new collections of feature-length non-fiction pieces.
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posted by melodykramer
on Jan 14, 2010 -
17 answers
Innovative Books: I am looking to compile a list of the most innovative uses of the book format. Books that break the mould in their layout and design, perhaps books that use online systems to extend their content value or push their form into new places. I am most interested in narrative and theory, but any book that is interesting (artist books etc.) would be really appreciated.
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posted by 0bvious
on Nov 1, 2009 -
29 answers
My wife and I are interested in writing and illustrating kids books and getting them published. I realize there are plenty of neat books great illustrations, so what's the best way to find out what we'd be getting into if we were to pursue this as a hobby, or even as a main source of income?
posted by filthy light thief
on Sep 15, 2009 -
17 answers
People talk about "writing the Great American Novel." What do you think are valid examples of the G.A.N.? What novels, American or otherwise, did you enjoy reading and wish you had written?
posted by Busoni
on Jun 20, 2009 -
70 answers
I'm at that point in my PhD where my experiment is (almost) up and running, so I have more free time to do other stuff. I've decided that writing a general introduction to my thesis will be less beneficial than trying to get a review article published.
How do I go about writing a review article, from the perspective of an unpublished graduate student?
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posted by doctor.dan
on May 16, 2009 -
12 answers
I am looking for writings on
mimesis in regards new, digital, hypertext and hypermedial technologies and cultures.
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posted by 0bvious
on Feb 16, 2009 -
7 answers
Can anyone recommend good novels about gay people? Not just genre fiction but actually literature? It seems to me there must be, but I've never been able to find any.
posted by blue shadows
on Dec 14, 2008 -
57 answers
Are there any reasonably well-known (or even famous) writers who are truly multi-genre?
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posted by wackybrit
on Nov 10, 2008 -
54 answers
The phenomenology / ontology of text: has anyone examined this issue directly in philosophical, literary and/or critical terms?
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posted by 0bvious
on Sep 18, 2008 -
26 answers
Literary Darwinism: A relatively new field of evolutionary psychology / literary theory. What has recently been written in argument
against it?
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posted by 0bvious
on Jun 3, 2008 -
7 answers
What one book will allow others to gain the truest insight into the soul of each city or region
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posted by reenum
on May 6, 2008 -
16 answers
I am looking for online magazines to submit art/literature/experimental/fun articles to. I think '
The Believer' magazine is a good example of the type I crave. UK based would be best, but not completely necessary.
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posted by 0bvious
on Apr 23, 2008 -
9 answers
I am interested in the mimetic and narrative capacities of
artefacts, how cultural remnants transmit information through time and how meaning is translated once an artefact is re-appropriated or examined from a new perspective. I have several avenues of study at the moment (a list in extended explanation), but would like some more ideas. Areas of critical theory, linguistics, evolutionary psychology and poetics are all relevant.
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posted by 0bvious
on Jan 27, 2008 -
12 answers
Any examples of great works of literature that were written on scraps of paper or created using inferior devices?
posted by survivorman
on Dec 28, 2007 -
34 answers
What are tomorrow's avant-garde art/film/writing monuments that are being done today?
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posted by jayder
on Oct 2, 2007 -
17 answers
PatronFilter: I'm tired of working for Starbucks. I want to write full time. Help me construct a letter to the opulent to remind them of yesteryear when the arts were supported by benefactors. Help me convince the rich that paying for me to live comfortably will serve humanity.
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posted by Galen
on Jul 20, 2007 -
35 answers
Please help me find a way to electronically organize my magazine article collection.
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posted by marylynn
on Apr 12, 2007 -
6 answers
I am looking for well regarded books/scholarly papers about writing. Most specifically in the areas of Nonfiction (the essay style of article writing) and Children's Fiction (for a young adult audience).
Any tips? Go as far and broad as you can. I'll be off to the British library tomorrow, so the sky is the limit.
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posted by 0bvious
on Jan 9, 2007 -
6 answers
I remember a friend of mine telling me about a short story/novel/novella about a baseball pitcher whose pitched balls disappeared after leaving his hand, only to reappear in a totally different place and kill someone. There's
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posted by reenum
on Nov 22, 2006 -
9 answers
'The Flâneur': What fascinating titbits can you add to my knowledge about this concept? Art, history, philosophy and literary theory links all welcome.
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posted by 0bvious
on Oct 25, 2006 -
22 answers
Can you think of any examples of "disjointed" writing -- writing with abrupt transitions -- that works? Faulkners Sound and Fury is a good example but shorter pieces are better for my purposes. Can be fiction or non-fiction.
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posted by Aghast.
on Sep 27, 2006 -
17 answers
Has anyone vastly improved -- or just changed -- someone else's already published writing by editing?
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posted by callmejay
on Aug 30, 2006 -
25 answers
a short story by a continental european writer that directly addresses or suggests conflicts within human nature-- the desire to perform "good" acts vs. our tendency (the temptation) to commit "evil" ones?
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posted by ronv
on Mar 8, 2006 -
10 answers
