Soapbox – LIT ALL OVER

What Does Kakutani’s Hitler-Trump Buzz Say About Book Reviews in General?

September 29, 2016

So. There’s already been quite a to-do surrounding Michiko Kakutani’s so-called thinly-veiled attack on Trump in her recent New York Times review of historian Volker Ullrich’s Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939. While her review definitely gives a nod to the significance of Ullrich’s work and delves quite thoroughly into parts of it, her examination of the book comes … More What Does Kakutani’s Hitler-Trump Buzz Say About Book Reviews in General?

Tomas Tranströmer and the Strangeness of Literary Legacy

March 27, 2015

Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer is dead, and all I can think about is how stupid it is to feel sure someone is dead when you see their name trending on social media and think, “the ONLY explanation for that trending would be…” And to be right. I’m also considering the irony of this being my … More Tomas Tranströmer and the Strangeness of Literary Legacy

#womeninfiction…really?

March 22, 2015

I’ll start off this entry by saying I have no intention of pissing on the parade of any social activity playing out with positive intentions on the part of those participating, especially if they’re really having fun with it. I recently came home from a Saturday night out and saw the hashtag #womeninfiction trending on … More #womeninfiction…really?