Literature in Art Books

Mimesis As Make-Believe is one of the most intellectually satisfying books I've read in a long time. Walton begins by exploring some obvious -- but too often neglected -- questions about imagination, fictionality, and make-believe. He then introduces several theories of fiction (from the analytic tradition), and some theories of the ontology fictional beings, until finally introducing his own theory as a solution to the dilemmas others leave unsolved.

Following in the tradition of Wittgenstein and Derrida, Walton argues that fiction comes from playful use of signifiers, what Wittgenstein would call "language games" or "language-play." When we experience fiction, according to Walton, we "act as if" the fictional world were real. Walton introduces an epistemology of fiction, with the operator "it is fictional" functioning much like the operator "it is true" functions in our world -- but with the strong admonition that being fictional is not the same thing as being true.

This philosophy of fiction as a way for humans to "act as if" is appealing on several grounds. It fits well with common sense notions of fiction, and unlike many competing theories, does not force us to go against our pretheoretical ways of talking about fiction. We do not need to commit ourselves to fictional universes housing fictional beings, but we also do not need to say that any statement involving fictional beings is false. Everything is worked out quite precisely, true to the analytic tradition, with a few brief forays into symbolic logic. But unlike many analytic philosopherse, Walton still takes art and fiction seriously, and does not dismiss them as pathological forms of signification.

Overall, this book is entertaining, well-written, an enjoyable read, and intellectually groundbreaking. It provides a way to think about fiction that, for the first time, obviates the need for heroic assumptions or unappealing ontological constructs.

An excellent, relatively plain English treatment of one of the most critical devices in the narrative toolbox. Dallenbach examines the development of mise en abyme--the mirror in the text the author/autuer/artist uses to illuminate the main thrust of the text, painting, or film. We see the technique everyday--be it the "play within a play" in "Hamlet", the subplot of Brooks Hadlin in "Shawshank Redemption", or any of the mirrored images in the paintings of Velasquez. Now Dallenbach gives an articulate and elegant examination of how it functions within literary and artistic works. With plenty of examples and a direct approach to its treatment of literary criticism--an area all too often obtusely treated--it is a good text for someone interested in narratology, although not a casual read.

I was looking for this book, and found it here. It was in near mint condition. Thank you.

In a book which many might initially expect to be acontinuation of his highly-regarded _Other Destinies: Understanding the American Indian Novel_, Owens takes a large step forward before turning to bring his gaze to bear on the readers of American Indian novels. What do we expect to find in "Indian Territory?" And are Indian writers promoting "literary tourism," or are they appropriating the colonizers' language and creating something that is both fresh and disturbing to Indian and mainstream readers? Who reads these books, anyway? Who gets to review them, and who publishes them?

For scholars who have relied on Owens' steady voice, this book will be a wonderful gift. Several hard-to-find essays have been collected and reworked in this cornucopia of Owens material. While this is not a continuation of _Other Destinies,_ this text will most likely become its steady companion.

Owens examines closely several critical issues particular to mixedblood writers, and pushes some politically hot buttons in the process. Who may speak as an Indian for Indians, for mixedbloods, for the environment, for those who live in urban areas or on reservations? What are "terminal creeds" and why do Owens and his friend Gerald Vizenor oppose this form of thinking and representation? Readers will no longer be confused regarding these questions when they turn the last page before tucking _Mixedblood Messages_ onto the shelf between _Other Destinies_ and _Bone Game_.

This book, by a professor from my undergraduate school of Indiana University, is a book of lists, annotations and brief essays on a topic little known beyond academic and specialised circles - modern Arabic literature in English translation. There are chapters devoted to fiction, drama, and poetry (with an appendix dealing with autobiographies and memoirs.

Altoma begins with a brief introduction showing the state of the discipline, beginning with quotes from others that highlight the difficulties; for example, 'Arab literature is still largely the preserve of Middle Eastern specialists. It has not come out of the ghetto.' (Peter Clark) However, Altoma states that such feelings are more anecdotal than factual in basis. Still, there is a feeling (particularly among Arabs themselves) that Arabic literature is largely 'ignored, distorted or marginalised in the West.' Since 1947, however, a great deal has been done, and even more so since 1988 when Mahfuz won the Nobel Prize for literature.

Altoma devotes the first chapter to Najib Mahfuz, who is the father of the novel in Arabic (he is likened to the landmark of the pyramids, such is his stature in Arabic literature). Mahfuz, a native of Egypt, combined Western education and literary techniques with Arabic traditions and synthesised a new art form. 'Being a religious and literary medium for more than fourteen centuries, Arabic admittedly does tax its own speakers with a legacy of problems,' according to Altoma. This is to say nothing of non-native speakers. However, while some were predicting the demise of Arabic as a primary langauge for many nations (including Egypt), others have pointed to figures such as Mahfuz as showing a means of survival.

Altoma presents bibliographic information for fiction in several ways - the primary list is chronological, cross-referenced by author, women authors, translators, titles, publishers, and country of origin. The poetry bibliographies include lists of anthologies as well as lists of Arabic poetry in international anthologies (this one intentionally a partial list). The lists of dramas and autobiographies/memoirs are much shorter, given the nature of these types of literature.

This is not a book one simply sits and reads. It is meant to be a companion, a study and research tool, and serves this function well. While any such book is quickly out of date in terms of keeping current, it still provides a very handy snapshot of the last half of the twentieth century in terms of Arabic literature of many kinds available in English translation.

This is an important book. It introduces and discusses founders of documentation and information science who are not well known in the USA because many of their main work were written in French. After the introduction the second chapter presents the works of Paul Otlet and Suzanne Briet, the third chapter introduces Information Theory, Cybernetics and the Discourse of "Man", the fourth chapter Pierre Lévy and the "Virtual", the fifth chapter Heidegger and Benjamin. The concluding chapter discusses "Information" and the Role of Critical Theory.
Ronald Day presents an important line of development as a background for understanding our modern conception of information. This conception is not without problems, and Days work is an important step for a necessary rethinking of information and information science.

Changing the perceptions of the painted portrait as a social, artistic and intellectual document, THE MODERN PORTRAIT IN 19TH CENTURY FRANCE is a fascinating and compelling read for both the avid art historian and the novice to the subject. While addressing the importance and impact photography had on re-evaluating the issues of representation and the translation of figurative ideology and assumptions in portraiture, McPherson maintains a succinct style which concisely synthesizes historical context and argument with contemporary proposal and re-assessment.

Astute observations and comparisons are accessible, tangible and give insight and depth to the evolution of this genre of painting and its modification in response to the recourse of changing technology. Six case studies present artists, public personas and writers in a cross-referential consideration of major influences shaping the revision of aesthetic standards to include the dichotomy of the specificity of image and visage with the universality of shared emotion and experience.

The discussion broadens the complex relationships between identity and culture and well-evinced scholarship and satisfying reasoning make the book contemplative and engaging.

The definitive book for literary criticism fans of Langston Hughes, one of the country's most important and gifted writers.

...Vera and Irene are matronly English women of a certain age who get up to all sorts of picaresque adventures aided and abetted by a cast of dysfunctional offspring, psychics, thieves, ageing lotharios and authority figures. They communicate entirely by letter and these were originally read (rather brilliantly) on UK radio by Prunella Scales and Patricia Routledge. They work very well on the page too and you can really appreciate the superb writing. I think this book would appeal to anyone who likes the sort of observational comedy of UK writers such Alan Bennett or Victoria Wood.

The Early History of Women *And* Film (Not "In" Film)

Every so often, we women complain about women in the media. When it comes to movies, we complain about the diminished roles for maturing women; we complain about the way women are portrayed in films; we complain about the history of films, most notably The Hollywood Code which seemed to destroy & limit our potential as women in film -- on both sides of the camera. But long before all that, in the very beginning, it was even worse.

In 'Movie-Struck Girls: Women & Motion Picture Culture After the Nickelodeon', by Shelley Stamp, we learn more than just the roles of women in films or behind the camera -- we learn about women's role as patrons of cinema.

The book is an eye-opening look at a long ignored part of American film history -- and an astonishing look at the history of women as media consumers.

Stamp spent over ten years researching for this book. She studied trade journals, fan magazines, ephemera, and many official documents and records at the National Board of Censorship Archives in New York City, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Margaret Herrick Library in Los Angeles, & the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Many of the films she reviewed are no longer readily available, let alone circulating, but can be found at the Library of Congress & the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

It sounds like a huge undertaking, & I thank her for it. 'Movie-Struck Girls' presents a wealth of information that I had never known before.

In 'Movie-Struck Girls' you learn all about these long-hidden details of American film history & it's collision with turn of the century American values -- including titles, studios, stars, organizations, & political figures. For a person who adore film & is a passionate feminist, this is a great read. Why it's as thrilling as those old adventure serial films!

Stamp does a great job of presenting this long ignored part of film -- and women's -- history. It's definitely an academic read, which means it is meaty enough for those who want to further search for clues, artifacts & films themselves. It may not read like a novel, but it's so fascinating & full of details, it won't disappoint. Fans of film, especially silent films, cannot call themselves educated in the subject unless they know this history. And women, well, we start to see a much larger image emerge -- our complaints regarding women in the media have much deeper roots than we previously knew.

(Condensed Review)