Literature

On the 5th of May, writer Junot Diaz was confronted by author Zinzi Clemmons, an individual whom Diaz had succeeded in forcibly kissing years earlier. Several other individuals have since come forward to testify and solidify Diaz's sexual misconduct allegations, and Diaz has since retreated from the public eye by stating that he "takes responsibility" for his past.

Since then, Mary Karr reminds us of the sexual misconduct of deceased postmodern writer David Foster Wallace, and more importantly brings to light the public's indifference toward the matter. It's no surprise that our literary figures weren't morally upstanding individuals: Somerset Maugham's characters and stories exoticise the supposed "orient" in a rather unpleasant manner, Hemingway was a noted misogynist and sexist, and Bukowski has a history of quotations that aren't sympathetic to the female sex.

After last year's fiasco in the entertainment industry, I'd like to draw us back to the world of literature and fiction. What parts do we, as readers, consumers and therefore enablers of these individuals (alive or not) play in such a changing climate? Should we say nothing in the tradition of respecting the voices fostered in the creation of what we consider "good art", even if that means reproducing a male-centric perspective for the coming generations? Or should we condemn such works on the basis that they promote unsavory attitudes towards groups of people, and therefore bear the artistic cost?

Many baseball books that are in the popular conscience are books like The Natural, Ball Four, and The Art of Fielding, typically range from fictional novels to biographies to nonfiction. Despite the range of styles, these books mostly focus on the players or teams.

Moneyball, on the other hand, is very different from other popular baseball books. It focuses on the front office, economics, and sabermetrics of baseball rather than revolving around players. It was the first popular baseball book about the economic and sabermetric side, and since then many other books in that vein have been written.

But why haven't they gotten as popular as Moneyball? Moneyball showed that these books have an audience and can even be marketable to adapt into a film (although the film is very different from the book). But other books like The Extra 2% haven't had the pop culture impact or reach that Moneyball has had.

So what makes Moneyball stand among other sabermetric literature and what keeps it as the king of that hill?

In Victorian literature, many of the women within the pages of novels and poems fall under the wings of the 'angel in the house'. Meaning, they are submissive and devoted to their husband/father/some sort of male figure.
But, do you think the angel in the house is gone? Has she returned in modern day texts? Subconsciously, is she still apart of many women in literature today?

Throughout the years, young-adult fiction has been a fascinating sub-genre of novels, ranging from sparkling vampires to dystopian worlds. In particular, the growing popularity of these books, and the recent trend of books-turned-movies has shot YA fiction into the spotlight. With popular series’ like “Twilight” and the “The Hunger Games,” there has been a surge of ‘copycat’ themes and styles arising, which has influenced the genre in many ways.

Starting from the origins of young, coming-of-age novels, like S.E. Hinton’s “The Outsiders,” where has the genre shifted, changed, and grown? How has the content of these novels altered and does that reflect a difference of perspective in modern times?

There are several components that must be present in writing in order for literature to become – well, literature. Once such component that isn't a necessity, but nevertheless, occurs frequently in novels, poetry, historical documents, and even political texts is religion. While we know such classics like Charlotte Bronte's _Jane Eyre_ and Shakespeare's _Rome and Juliet_ are teeming with religious allusions, can we say that religion, or religious undertones, in some form are present in nearly everything we read? This also requires us to ask if we have a common idea of what religion really is. Does it simply mean any set of principles or beliefs by which we choose to live, or must religion involve a higher power or entity? To culturally define religion and ask ourselves if we are being fed religious ideas while we read whatever we read is something about which I have often wondered. Discussion?

I was inspired by "The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller that explores the love between Achilles and Patroclus that was erased or ignored by many historians and adaptations of the story of Troy. It could be a very productive idea to discuss how reclamation of our erased stories can be empowering. Could also make an intersection with race and gender for parallel.

Romance novel are often looked down on and seen as somehow inferior. Chick lit is a name that has negative connotations. It suggests something trashy or throwaway. Even Jane Austen, whose books are considered classics, is criticised for not concentrating on weightier issues. But why are romance novels so easily dismissed? Is it because it's mainly a genre written by women? Is it literary snobbery for something that is so popular? Romance, after all, is an important part of everyone's life. Most people either get married or live together. Obviously not all romance novels can be of the same calibre but many are well written and engaging. So there does seem to be an unfair tendency to criticise romance novels.

Look at this idea in terms of classic authors like Jane Austen and modern day authors like Diana Gabaldon or Nicholas Sparks.

This article seeks to pinpoint and discuss re-used/well-worn tropes in literature surrounding the issue of family and the background/ongoing story of a fantasy literary protagonist! What exactly is it about the tropes that fuels a protagonist's backstory – that makes it interesting? Why are these tropes used time and again (i.e. Dead Parents, Wicked Stepmother, Death by Childbirth); and in your opinion, are they useful, or too well-worn? Are there any notable exceptions where family either doesn't play a huge role (i.e. they're not mentioned), or they do, and are treated much as part of the protagonist's current story line as their past reason for doing things/giving them angst and trauma?

(It could be worth looking at TV Tropes and other websites for names of particular 'tropes' to discuss and explore).