tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post3576101698706693514..comments2024-03-27T23:55:17.673-07:00Comments on Flogging Babel: Lost Techniques for Conveying the Unspoken and the UnspeakableMichael Swanwickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18389836784776252022noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-44917335968671343802012-04-12T20:00:39.563-07:002012-04-12T20:00:39.563-07:00It's kinda sad that something like the interpr...It's kinda sad that something like the interpretation of a line space has to be taught. I think part of it is in the students that are being taught are probably really bright, but haven't yet read enough to discern what a line space means on it's own. Another part could be the 'nothing left to the imagination" age of film and TV. <br /><br />I've never thought myself a good reader: I know there is much I miss that probably should scream out at me, but this just seems so obvious as to make my head hurt.Chad Hullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17774092046594256969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-90487156841989728532012-04-11T17:59:04.658-07:002012-04-11T17:59:04.658-07:00God bless shameless teachers!
When high school st...God bless shameless teachers!<br /><br />When high school students have the chance to speak honestly with writers, the chief thing they want to know is, "Do you guys REALLY put all that crap in your stories?"<br /><br />Then, when we say yes absolutely, they glare at us with disbelief.Michael Swanwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18389836784776252022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-25577068275892484042012-04-11T15:21:56.916-07:002012-04-11T15:21:56.916-07:00Back in High School, we read The Sun Also Rises, a...Back in High School, we read The Sun Also Rises, a book that buries major portions of its plot in the subtext. Subsequently, we'd often return from our assignments confused, "So wait, where was Jake wounded?" "Why did Jake and Brett share a bedroom if Jake was wounded there..."<br /><br />Our teacher, thankfully, was more than willing to blow our minds and rankle senses of decency by telling us what had probably gone on.skyknythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06944007837820118992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-46421831013724841772012-04-11T13:02:16.324-07:002012-04-11T13:02:16.324-07:00Chip wrote a long and brilliant essay on discoveri...Chip wrote a long and brilliant essay on discovering gay themes in works of literature written when including them could land you in jail. I'll never look at Tom Jones in quite the same way again.Michael Swanwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18389836784776252022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1484180326012950400.post-89496278426673674822012-04-11T11:08:45.057-07:002012-04-11T11:08:45.057-07:00Those were unspeakables whose nature was well know...Those were unspeakables whose nature was well known to both the writers and the audience. I wonder if there are some that are implicit, known at some level but not publicly acknowledged, much as the existence of homosexuality was denied in American fiction of the early- and mid-20th century. So you couldn't even speak about the taboo in a public setting, and therefore couldn't have a public ban on mentioning it, as you could with sex or violence.<br /><br />Violating those bans would raise a lot more controversy than violating the public bans. An example might be the reaction to Sturgeon's short story, "The World Well Lost".SpeakerToManagershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17543351493493167488noreply@blogger.com