Hello to my theoretically vast but most likely tiny audience! This blog has been founded as a forum for the discussion of politics and literature, and how they interact. I’m coming to this discussion with these postulates:
1. Everything is political, but sometimes it’s unintentional: There is a political meaning to every book ever written. It may not be the primary meaning, but it’s there if one digs deep enough.
2. The author is not dead: Authors have intentions when writing, and these intentions matter. I am not a postmoderrnist (but if you are, please try to convince me of why I should be one)
3. Sometimes a kangaroo is just a kangaroo: Not everything in a book has to mean something. Or maybe we can find our own interpretations, but the author just thought that a parkour fight scene between a talking kangaroo and Vladimir Lenin sounded awesome. If you want to interpret it as a metaphor for the British incursion into Russia in 1918-19, that’s a fine interpretation that adds much to the depth of this bizarre fictional book I’m imagining but it may not be the author’s. This is kind of my counterbalance to #2.
4. When I say “literature” I pretty much mean any book: short stories, science fiction, even non-fiction. I should probably put “books” in the title instead, but alliteration always adds awesomeness to anything.
5. This is a forum: if y’all have book reccommendations or long, rambling posts of your own, go ahead and post ‘em in the comments. Please refrain from gratutious profanity or overly personal attacks on myself or other posters.
Well, let’s get to it!
November 9, 2008 at 9:30 pm
I am looking forward to be interested, confused and entertained Joel. Bring it on.
November 10, 2008 at 12:11 am
A lot of what you have written in this post echoes what we say in rhetoric about the nature of texts (as political, or argumentative) and about authors having intentions–we may not always be able to access those intentions, but we can sure make informed, useful guesses. If you ever get a chance–take a rhetoric class! I think you’ll find it fascinating.