Broken Word: Your First Encounter With Catcher in the Rye

In light of Salinger's death, I thought I'd ask:

When did you first come across Catcher in the Rye? Do you remember your first time reading it and discussing it with your classmates? What was the most fascinating element of the book to you?

I remember reading it as a junior in high school. I tried to imitate it, as, at that time, I was first becoming serious about writing and this book felt like the standard to me. I continue to ask, Where do the ducks go? We should know by now!


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People's History Month: Even More Amazing Grace

This video speaks for itself. When you get the time, do yourself a big favor and watch it:

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Local Events: Literary Stars Visit UC Berkeley

If you're close to UC Berkeley, you may want to consider the following events:

--If you recall, in August 2009 I wrote a poetic offering on Natasha Trethewey's Myth. Well, the poet herself will be at UC Berkeley on Thursday March 4, 2010 for a reading! I'm so going to try ot make this. Trethewey won the Pultizer Prize in 2007 for her book Native Guard (which I highly recommend). If you're not aware of the Louisiana Native Guard, I'd especially recommend this collection. The book is wonderful; it also deals with themes of loss, as well as racial identity.

--Dan Bellm, winner of the California Book Award for his book of poems, Practice, will visit Berkeley Thursday February 4, 2010.

--Literary critic Terry Eagleton will be on campus Monday April 5, 2010 speaking on the topic, "The Death of Criticism." I might also try to make this event. He made post-structuralism a little easier for me to navigate into.

For the entire spectrum of artists, intellectuals and musicians visiting Berkeley, see the press release link here.

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Trailer Park: Howl

Here's a clip from "Howl" - the upcoming film based on the obscenity trial surrounding Allen Ginsberg's 1956 poem, "Howl."

I'm stoked about this movie, though I've already read negative reviews about it. But still, watching James Franco equals a plus, and watching James Franco play a poet equals plus plus plus! If you don't know about the controversy surrounding the poem, it's regarded as one of the monumental works of the Beat Generation. It was, during the time of its publication, considered a problematic poem because of its sexual depictions and drug references. The publisher of the poem was even thrown in jail, though the charges were later dropped.


I wonder if this poem would have generated the kind of reception it originally did if it remained an oral piece. Here's a clip of Ginsberg's reading of the feature poem:






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Question of Week: Backing Up Your Work?

Do you back up your writing in any way? Do you make copies of your work to an external portable hard drive, flash drive, sync it with or upload it to online storage, email it to yourself? Or do you not back any of your work up at all?

Do you do a majority of your writing directly on a keyboard to screen, or on a notepad, or both equally?

Have you lost anything important because you simply didn't back it up? Did you discover something new and delightful while having to re-craft that work?

Personally, I have software that allows me to sync some of my writing to an online storage system, so that, after I write, I merely hit a button, and my work on the device I'm using synchronizes with the backup location, so that both places always have the same data. I also use the email method, which is preferable for me.

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