Hi everyone -- welcome back as we take a second look at this seminal piece of writing by Jean Jacques Rousseau. Last time, I talked about Rousseau's theory of humans in the state of nature. Now we'll take a quick look at some of his other ideas. Part 2 of the Discourse starts off … Continue reading Reading the 18th Century, March 12, 2017. Rousseau redux: The Discourse on Inequality continued with some cool info on people who read him
Category: theory
May 16th, 2016- 100 years of solitude: the futures-past of the novel
Well, Friends, I did it. I just finished 100 Years of Solitude. Um. *shrugs shoulders, looks into the evening sky* It's a beautifully written novel, certainly, and I'm grateful to Kathleen Alcala for her observation that she was struck by how much the narrator sounded like members of her family telling fantastical tales from a … Continue reading May 16th, 2016- 100 years of solitude: the futures-past of the novel
Before I read Marquez– Kate Durbin, Anna Nicole Smith and the unreal heal
Dear friends -- I have not yet read 100 years of solitude. I know. It's a schande, as we say in Yiddish. How can a writer who works in MR, NOT have read this novel? I own it now, and I keep looking at it. I keep trying to start. But I can't start, because … Continue reading Before I read Marquez– Kate Durbin, Anna Nicole Smith and the unreal heal
Midweek mini-meditation: when the truth is stranger than fiction (and is also violent, dark, and is a videogame). March 5th 2014
Dear Friends of the Magical, the Surprising, the Weird and the Real: Over here at Magically Real HQ, we keep an eye out for the thing that sparks us -- the thing that makes us want to think, write, talk, and make work. Also teach. Also speak out when necessary. Also do laundry. We are … Continue reading Midweek mini-meditation: when the truth is stranger than fiction (and is also violent, dark, and is a videogame). March 5th 2014
Story Time Sunday, 02/09/14: 14 and 2 — a semi-true fairy tale
Once upon a time there were 14 architects. They lived in a new country and spoke a new language invented by linguistics scientists in a secret desert laboratory. The scientists worked with teeth sounds and tongue sounds and found the perfect words to go with the human mouth and then they came out and taught … Continue reading Story Time Sunday, 02/09/14: 14 and 2 — a semi-true fairy tale
Manic Mitwoch with Mitzi Notnagel, Simone Baumbaumziegfieldstravinskyshalom (neé) Stein und me
Dear friends of the unreal -- I have been playing around with Pessoa's concept of the heteronym for a couple of years. This summer, director/writer Grier Jewell offered to record my heteronyms in action. The result is an amusing meditation on Rousseau, Murray Bookchin, and Chuang Tzu on the nature/culture binary. It was also the … Continue reading Manic Mitwoch with Mitzi Notnagel, Simone Baumbaumziegfieldstravinskyshalom (neé) Stein und me
Stephanie Barbé Hammer Writing (Un) Real 