Romain Gary Romain Gary (21 May [O.S. 8 May] 1914 – 2 December 1980), born Romain Kacew, and known by the pen name Émile Ajar, was a French diplomat, novelist, film director and World War II aviator of Litvak origin. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt twice (under his own name and under his pseudonym). Early life[edit] Career[edit] Following the Nazi occupation of France in World War II, he fled to England and under Charles de Gaulle served with the Free French Forces in Europe and North Africa. As a pilot, he took part in over 25 successful sorties, logging over 65 hours of air time.[8] During this time, he changed his name to Romain Gary. Literary work[edit] Gary would become one of France's most popular and prolific writers, authoring more than thirty novels, essays and memoirs, some of which he wrote under a pseudonym. He is the only person to win the Prix Goncourt twice. Personal life and final years[edit] Bibliography[edit] As Romain Gary[edit] As Émile Ajar[edit] Filmography[edit]
Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926) — better known as Rainer Maria Rilke (German: [ˈʁaɪnɐ maˈʁiːa ˈʁɪlkə]) — was a Bohemian-Austrian poet and novelist, "widely recognized as one of the most lyrically intense German-language poets",[1] writing in both verse and highly lyrical prose. Several critics have described Rilke's work as inherently "mystical".[2][3] His writings include one novel, several collections of poetry, and several volumes of correspondence in which he invokes haunting images that focus on the difficulty of communion with the ineffable in an age of disbelief, solitude, and profound anxiety. These deeply existential themes tend to position him as a transitional figure between the traditional and the modernist writers. Biography[edit] Early life (1875–1896)[edit] Rilke, three years old, circa 1878–1879 Munich and Saint Petersburg[edit] In 1898, Rilke undertook a journey lasting several weeks to Italy. Paris (1902–1910)[edit]
Rhizome (philosophy) "As a model for culture, the rhizome resists the organizational structure of the root-tree system which charts causality along chronological lines and looks for the original source of 'things' and looks towards the pinnacle or conclusion of those 'things.' A rhizome, on the other hand, is characterized by 'ceaselessly established connections between semiotic chains, organizations of power, and circumstances relative to the arts, sciences, and social struggles.' Rather than narrativize history and culture, the rhizome presents history and culture as a map or wide array of attractions and influences with no specific origin or genesis, for a 'rhizome has no beginning or end; it is always in the middle, between things, interbeing, intermezzo.' "In this model, culture spreads like the surface of a body of water, spreading towards available spaces or trickling downwards towards new spaces through fissures and gaps, eroding what is in its way. Deleuze, Gilles and Félix Guattari. 1980.
Madame Bovary Madame Bovary (1856) is the French writer Gustave Flaubert's debut novel. The story focuses on a doctor's wife, Emma Bovary, who has adulterous affairs and lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life. Though the basic plot is rather simple, even archetypal, the novel's true art lies in its details and hidden patterns. Flaubert was a notorious perfectionist and claimed always to be searching for le mot juste ("the precise word"). Plot synopsis[edit] Madame Bovary takes place in provincial northern France, near the town of Rouen in Normandy. One day, Charles visits a local farm to set the owner's broken leg, and meets his client's daughter, Emma Rouault. At this point, the novel begins to focus on Emma. One day, a rich and rakish landowner, Rodolphe Boulanger, brings a servant to the doctor's office to be bled. When Emma is nearly fully recovered, she and Charles attend the opera, on Charles' insistence, in nearby Rouen. Characters[edit]
Famous Advice on Writing: The Collected Wisdom of Great Writers By Maria Popova By popular demand, I’ve put together a periodically updated reading list of all the famous advice on writing presented here over the years, featuring words of wisdom from such masters of the craft as Kurt Vonnegut, Susan Sontag, Henry Miller, Stephen King, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Susan Orlean, Ernest Hemingway, Zadie Smith, and more. Please enjoy. Jennifer Egan on Writing, the Trap of Approval, and the Most Important Discipline for Aspiring Writers “You can only write regularly if you’re willing to write badly… Accept bad writing as a way of priming the pump, a warm-up exercise that allows you to write well.”
Gilles Deleuze Gilles Deleuze (French: [ʒil dəløz]; 18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher who, from the early 1960s until his death, wrote influentially on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volumes of Capitalism and Schizophrenia: Anti-Oedipus (1972) and A Thousand Plateaus (1980), both co-written with Félix Guattari. His metaphysical treatise Difference and Repetition (1968) is considered by many scholars to be his magnum opus.[2] Life[edit] Deleuze was born into a middle-class family in Paris and lived there for most of his life. His initial schooling was undertaken during World War II, during which time he attended the Lycée Carnot. Deleuze taught at various lycées (Amiens, Orléans, Louis le Grand) until 1957, when he took up a position at the Sorbonne. In 1969 he was appointed to the University of Paris VIII at Vincennes/St. Deleuze himself found little to no interest in the composition of an autobiography. Philosophy[edit] [edit]
Illusions perdues Illusions perdues was written by the French writer Honoré de Balzac between 1837 and 1843. It consists of three parts, starting in the provinces, thereafter moving to Paris, and finally returning to provincial France. Thus it resembles another of Balzac’s greatest novels, La Rabouilleuse (The Black Sheep), in that it is set partly in Paris and partly in the provinces. Plot summary[edit] Even as Part I of Illusions perdues, Les Deux poètes (The Two Poets), begins, Lucien has already written a historical novel and a sonnet sequence, whereas David is a scientist. Lucien is introduced into the drawing-room of the leading figure of Angoulême high society, Mme de Bargeton, who rapidly becomes infatuated with him. In Part II, Un Grand homme de province à Paris, Lucien is contrasted both with the journalist Lousteau and the high-minded writer Daniel d’Arthez. Meanwhile, at Angoulême David Séchard is betrayed on all sides but is supported by his loving wife. Fundamental themes of the work[edit]
Why Pulitizer Prize-Winner Donna Tartt Is My Role Model Tartt's author photo=the coolest. I wanted to throw a parade when I found out that Donna Tartt won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her novel The Goldfinch. I know parades are usually only for, like, Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July, but if we were going to organize a national holiday around a living author, I’d vote for Tartt. I’ve been the biggest fan of Tartt’s ever since I ferociously ate her first novel, The Secret History. 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.)
Dictionary of concepts for Graham Harman’s object-oriented philosophy [draft: work in progress] | Avoiding/the\Void Object-Oriented Philosophy: A Graham Harman Dictionary of Concepts [Feel free to comment if you have improvements for any of the definitions or notice any errors. I will continually update, add new words and generally make it more comprehensive as time goes on. This is by no means a definitive list, and beware that Harman's philosophical terminology and descriptions have changed in parts from Tool-Being to Prince of Networks. Some of the definitions are a little short and scrappy, so there's lots to work to do] “Allure is a special and intermittent experience in which the intimate bond between a thing’s unity and its plurality of notes somehow partially disintegrates” (GM, p.143). “Relations between all real objects, including mindless chunks of dirt, occur only be means of some form of allusion. BONDS [incomplete] - PHYSICAL BONDS: “there is the unremitting duel between an object itself as a real unity, as a single thing, and the same object as made up of numerous specific features”.
Les Rougon-Macquart Influences[edit] Zola, with the book of the Rougon-Macquart under his arm, salutes the statue of Balzac. Early in his life, Zola discovered the work of Honoré de Balzac and his famous cycle La Comédie humaine. This had a profound impact on Zola, who decided to write his own, unique cycle. "In one word, his work wants to be the mirror of the contemporary society. "The great characteristic of the Rougon-Macquarts, the group or family which I propose to study, is their ravenous appetite, the great outburst of our age which rushes upon enjoyment. Preparations[edit] Letter by Zola to his publisher In a letter to his publisher, Zola stated his goals for the Rougon-Macquart: "1° To study in a family the questions of blood and environments. [...] 2° To study the whole Second Empire, from the coup d'état to nowadays Genealogy and heredity[edit] The tree provides the name and date of birth of each member, along with certain properties of his heredity and his life: The study of the Second Empire[edit]
James O'Barr James O'Barr (born January 1, 1960) is an American graphic artist, best known as the creator of the comic book series The Crow.[1] Personal life[edit] O'Barr, an orphan, was raised in the foster care system.[2] He studied Renaissance sculpture, live models and photographic still lifes. In the 1990s O'Barr was affiliated with the experimental metal band Trust Obey, which was signed briefly to Trent Reznor's Nothing label before the band was dropped. Trust Obey released the album Fear and Bullets: Music to Accompany The Crow in 1993. The album was packaged with a special edition of The Crow graphic novel. As of the mid-2000s, O'Barr resides in Dallas with his daughter.[3] The Crow[edit] O'Barr's own hope that his project would result in a personal catharsis went unfulfilled, he told an interviewer in 1994, saying, "[A]s I drew each page, it made me more self-destructive, if anything....There is pure anger on each page".[6] The Crow has sold more than 750,000 copies worldwide.[7] Acclaim[edit]