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FinalÂly, we leave you with this — MailÂer readÂing from his new work, describÂing the conÂcepÂtion of Hitler, as told from the devÂil’s perÂspecÂtive, in someÂwhat racy terms. (NOTE: the video qualÂiÂty is very Youtube-esque, but it gets the job done): |
Norman Mailer’s Fuhrer in MultiMedia
The Art of Reading a Poem (According to Harold Bloom)
Most uniÂverÂsiÂty podÂcasts allow the outÂside world to lisÂten in on fairÂly polÂished and forÂmal camÂpus lecÂtures. But this podÂcast is difÂferÂent. As part of its new iTunes iniÂtiaÂtive, Yale UniÂverÂsiÂty has recentÂly released a recordÂing of famed litÂerÂary critÂic Harold Bloom (see bio) teachÂing a semÂiÂnar on “The Art of ReadÂing a Poem” (lisÂten above). Here, Bloom endearÂingÂly takes his stuÂdents through a poem by WalÂlace Stevens, Parts of a World, and conÂstantÂly moves between interÂpreÂtaÂtion and digresÂsion — digresÂsions that are often filled with intriguÂing perÂsonÂal anecÂdotes (as well as freÂquent laments for othÂer thinkers from Bloom’s genÂerÂaÂtion who have since passed away).
The podÂcast is notable for being remarkÂably uneditÂed, which has its plusÂes and minusÂes. On the downÂside, the semÂiÂnar doesÂn’t realÂly get going until 13 minÂutes in (so conÂsidÂer startÂing there), and the first few minÂutes include a long stretch of silence when Bloom excusÂes himÂself from the room. On the upside, the uneditÂed cut creÂates a kind of cinĂ©Âma vĂ©ritĂ© expeÂriÂence for the lisÂtenÂer. You get to hear Bloom, one of AmerÂiÂca’s best litÂerÂary critÂics, workÂing in the classÂroom in an unadulÂterÂatÂed way, teasÂing apart a poem by one of AmerÂiÂca’s best poets. There is someÂthing immeÂdiÂate, pure and excitÂing about this way of using the podÂcast, an approach that uniÂverÂsiÂties should look at more closeÂly.
See more UniÂverÂsiÂty PodÂcasts here.
Philip Roth’s Everyman and Beyond
CourÂtesy of the radio proÂgram Open Source, we get an intriguÂing and widerangÂing interÂview with Philip
Roth, where he talks canÂdidÂly about his latÂest and 27th novÂel EveryÂman, a work that takes an exisÂtenÂtialÂly anguishÂing look at the end of life. We also get Roth readÂing from othÂer past novÂels, talkÂing about the day-to-day pracÂtice of writÂing, and offerÂing thoughts on the curÂrent state of AmerÂiÂcan polÂiÂtics. You can catch the interÂview in one of three ways: iTunes, Rss feed, mp3 stream.
For othÂer interÂviews with promiÂnent thinkers, see our page called Smart Talks — LeadÂing Thinkers in MulÂti-Media.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Let’s go into ChristÂmas on the right note, with a free podÂcast of Charles DickÂen’s A ChristÂmas CarÂol. (Find it here on iTunes.) WritÂten in 1843, DickÂen’s tale remains one of the most popÂuÂlar ChristÂmas stoÂries of all time. It gave us the indeliÂble charÂacÂters of EbenezÂer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and the Ghosts of ChristÂmas Past, Present, and Future. And it inventÂed the notion of “christÂmas spirÂit.” This podÂcast is rather well read. If you’d like to read along with the actuÂal text, you can get a free etext here, courÂtesy of Project GutenÂberg.
Also, you can find othÂer free ChristÂmas stoÂries at LibÂrivox. On this page, you can stream mp3s of many difÂferÂent holÂiÂday tales.
For more free audio books, check out our Audio Book PodÂcast ColÂlecÂtion. We now have over 40 clasÂsics listÂed and ready to downÂload. HapÂpy holÂiÂdays.
Google’s Shakespeare
Google has always shied away from the conÂtent creÂation busiÂness. While Yahoo spent preÂcious resources develÂopÂing expenÂsive conÂtent, the Google folks conÂtentÂed themÂselves with develÂopÂing techÂnolÂoÂgy that orgaÂnized the rest of the world’s inforÂmaÂtion. And it paid off well. GivÂen this approach, it was someÂwhat strange to stumÂble upon an ediÂtoÂriÂalÂized part of their web site that invites users to “Explore ShakeÂspeare with Google.” But we’re glad we did.
Google’s ShakeÂspeare prodÂuct is part of the comÂpaÂny’s largÂer Book Search iniÂtiaÂtive, which, to boil it down, involves scanÂning milÂlions of books, putting them on Google’s servers, and allowÂing users to search the print uniÂverse like they do the world of web conÂtent. Although some aspects of the project have proven to be highÂly conÂtroÂverÂsial (nameÂly, the deciÂsion to scan milÂlions of copyÂrightÂed texts), othÂer aspects have been easÂiÂly welÂcomed by the pubÂlishÂing comÂmuÂniÂty. This includes the deciÂsion to scan and archive a panoply of old, pubÂlic domain texts.
This is where we get to Google’s ShakeÂspeare. What you’ll find here is a colÂlecÂtion of all of the Bard’s plays in full text. The hisÂtoÂries, tragedies, comeÂdies, romances — they are all here. The folks at GoogleÂplex give you the abilÂiÂty to access each play in its entireÂty and peruse it online. Or, alterÂnaÂtiveÂly, you can downÂload each play as a PDF file, which gives you the abilÂiÂty to print the text and work through it in new ways. This kind of ediÂtoÂrÂiÂal colÂlecÂtion is hard to argue with. In fact, we’d like to see more colÂlecÂtions like it. But someÂthing tells us that this isn’t likeÂly — that the Bard (oh, and ChiÂna) is just about the only thing for which Google will make an excepÂtion.
Coltrane Spotify Sample
Third
AmerÂiÂca lost more than it realÂized today. StyÂron was, of course, appreÂciÂatÂed by a great numÂber of writÂers, readÂers, and critÂics. But, these days, he isn’t usuÂalÂly menÂtioned in the same senÂtence as Philip Roth, John Updike, or NorÂman MailÂer, the elder statesÂmen of conÂtemÂpoÂrary AmerÂiÂcan litÂerÂaÂture. There are some legitÂiÂmate reaÂsons for that. RepÂuÂtaÂtion is often simÂply a funcÂtion of outÂput and, since 1993, StyÂron hadÂn’t pubÂlished anyÂthing new. He was then dealÂing with seriÂous depresÂsion, which he wrote eloÂquentÂly about in one of his last works, DarkÂness VisÂiÂble: A MemÂoir of MadÂness, and he would be in and out of hosÂpiÂtals from there.
We’re hopÂing to rely on our loyÂal readÂers rather than erratÂic ads. To supÂport Open CulÂture’s eduÂcaÂtionÂal misÂsion, please conÂsidÂer makÂing a donaÂtion. We accept PayÂPal, VenÂmo (@openculture), PatreÂon and CrypÂto! Please find all options here. We thank you! 
The 10 Best Books of the Year
Last week, The New York Times’ Book Review pubÂlished its list, 100 Notable Books of the Year and it has since folÂlowed up with a whitÂtled down list, The 10 Best Books of 2006. It’s boiled down to 5 works of ficÂtion, and 5 non-ficÂtion, and here’s what it looks like:
FICTION
ABSURDISTAN — Gary ShteynÂgart
THE COLLECTED STORIES OF AMY HEMPEL — Amy Hempel
THE EMPEROR’S CHILDREN — Claire MesÂsud
THE LAY OF THE LAND — Richard Ford
SPECIAL TOPICS IN CALAMITY PHYSICS — MarÂisha Pessl
NONFICTION
FALLING THROUGH THE EARTH: A MemÂoir — Danielle Trussoni
THE LOOMING TOWER: Al-QaeÂda and the Road to 9/11. — Lawrence Wright.
MAYFLOWER: A StoÂry of Courage, ComÂmuÂniÂty, and War — Nathaniel Philbrick
THE OMNIVORE’S DILEMMA: A NatÂurÂal HisÂtoÂry of Four Meals — Michael PolÂlan
THE PLACES IN BETWEEN — Rory StewÂart
(Note: This list won’t appear in print until the DecemÂber 10th.)
The Nobel Prize in Literature: Who is Orhan Pamuk?
Image by David Shankbone, via WikiÂmeÂdia ComÂmons
We now know the list of Nobel Prize winÂners for 2006, and the award cerÂeÂmoÂny in StockÂholm is not far off (DecemÂber 10th). This year’s prize in litÂerÂaÂture went to Orhan Pamuk, who is almost a rock star in his home counÂtry, Turkey, but less well known outÂside. But that’s clearÂly about to change. If you’re not already familÂiar with Pamuk’s work, we’ve pulled togethÂer some resources for you. Born in IstanÂbul in 1952 (check out the Nobel bio here), Pamuk has writÂten 10 books in TurkÂish — of which 7 have been transÂlatÂed into EngÂlish — and, through comÂplex plots and post-modÂern devices, his books repeatÂedÂly come back to explorÂing a dualÂiÂty — the relaÂtionÂship between East and West, IslamÂic valÂues and WestÂern valÂues, reliÂgion and secÂuÂlarÂism. As John Updike puts it in a review of Snow, a parÂticÂuÂlarÂly acclaimed work, what Pamuk delivÂers is an artisÂtic look at “the tenÂsion between the secÂuÂlarÂism estabÂlished by Kemal AtatĂĽrk in the nineÂteen-twenÂties and the recent rise of politÂiÂcal Islam; … the culÂturÂal divide between a WestÂernÂized Ă©lite and the theÂisÂtic massÂes.”
Much to his chaÂgrin, Pamuk has gained pubÂlic stature not simÂply because of his litÂerÂary achieveÂments, but because he has takÂen strong pubÂlic stands against the represÂsive tenÂdenÂcies of his govÂernÂment and IslamÂic radÂiÂcalÂism more genÂerÂalÂly. And he has paid a perÂsonÂal price. Notably, he was the first writer in the MusÂlim world to denounce the fatÂwa against Salman Rushdie. Also, when he declared in a 2005 interÂview that “ThirÂty thouÂsand Kurds and a milÂlion ArmeÂniÂans were killed in these lands [Turkey between 1915 and 1917] and nobody dares to talk about it,” the TurkÂish govÂernÂment respondÂed by harÂrassÂing him and then bringÂing him up on charges — charges it was evenÂtuÂalÂly forced to drop because of interÂnaÂtionÂal presÂsure. As this interÂview makes clear, Pamuk is not exactÂly what you’d call an eager disÂsiÂdent. Rather, you get the strong sense that it’s a moral obligÂaÂtion for him, the ethÂiÂcal cost of being famous in a counÂtry that has too few peoÂple willÂing to call on the govÂernÂment to account for its actions.
Resources:
Text
- Pamuk on “The FreeÂdom to Write”
- Pamuk’s Short PerÂsonÂal Piece in The New YorkÂer
- A ConÂverÂsaÂtion with Orhan Pamuk
- Guardian ProÂfile
Media
- Orhan Pamuk InterÂview: Nobel Prize WinÂner 2006 (Real PlayÂer — Audio)
- Pamuk on his novÂel, “Snow” (Online Stream)
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