I’ve had the privilege of academically diving into the idea of recognizing the violence in so many of our most beloved childhood stories at Bryn Mawr College. In some of my English classes, we’ve analyzed the works of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Lucy Maud Montgomery, all three Brontë sisters. Now outside of my usual academic setting,Continue reading “Miss Rumphius and Reflecting on the Violence and Romanticization of Childhood Stories and Memories”
Category Archives: Books
Sparrows, Mao’s “Little Red Book”, and Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge
If you’re a real follower of this blog then you’ve undoubtedly read my Biomythography. Chapter V is titled “Sparrow” and you can imagine my surprise when this same bird was mentioned in my little, red copy of Mao’s Quotations. I was reading on a pink kayak in the middle of a lake (I paddled outContinue reading “Sparrows, Mao’s “Little Red Book”, and Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge”
John Steinbeck’s The Log from the Sea of Cortez, Childhood Expedition, and a World Already Discovered?
A book with a map as its cover, about some great expedition over water; these kinds of stories are simply irresistible to a literate sailor like me. Add the value of reading the work of people as important as Steinbeck and you’ve created my next read. This book reminded me of what it is likeContinue reading “John Steinbeck’s The Log from the Sea of Cortez, Childhood Expedition, and a World Already Discovered?”
The Young Comrade, the Soc-Dem to Marxist Pipeline, and Göran Therborn’s From Marxism to Post-Marxism?
To the young comrade, yeah, you. To the young comrade who has finally found a social theory, a political frame, a new set of glasses that doesn’t ignore the wretches, the purposefully impoverished, the systematically oppressed. To the young comrade who too many in their times has asked, if we have too many houses whyContinue reading “The Young Comrade, the Soc-Dem to Marxist Pipeline, and Göran Therborn’s From Marxism to Post-Marxism?”
A Brief Book Review: Marx’s Concept of Man by Erich Fromm
I must admit I stumbled upon this copy in the basement of a local bookstore in the used section. Any book about Marx for $3.00 is a steal and before I knew it I was reading my own copy in my light-filled room the next morning. In some ways, I agreed with Fromm’s ideas andContinue reading “A Brief Book Review: Marx’s Concept of Man by Erich Fromm”
Storytelling, Fred Hampton, and the OG SDS
I just finished reading a fairly long book called The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther by Jeffrey Haas. I received this book as a present and remembered hearing a good review on how this book illuminates the historical context behind the FBI’s role in theContinue reading “Storytelling, Fred Hampton, and the OG SDS”
Frankenstein’s Creation and My Own Creation of a New Self
Perhaps this title is somewhat misleading. I haven’t created entirely a new self per say. Instead, a self that is new because of its liberation from the bounds and restraints from an older identity and version. When I set out to read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, my goal was to inform myself of her literaryContinue reading “Frankenstein’s Creation and My Own Creation of a New Self”
A Brief Book Review: Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? By Mark Fisher
This book is sort of like the modern-day Communist Manifesto. Short, but every sentence carries a vastness of ideas, constructions, and theories that make your head spin. Much like parts about Capital stuck out to me when reading Marx, there definitely were some points that stuck with me more, although I do confess this bookContinue reading “A Brief Book Review: Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? By Mark Fisher”
A Brief Story Review: “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin
This summer I read Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin. Baldwin’s style of writing immediately stood out to me as extremely personable and relevant to this current day. His relationship with words and stories and sentences really put me in awe as a reader. I found myself re reading pages as IContinue reading “A Brief Story Review: “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin”
A Great Revolutionary was Murdered: My Time Learning about the Great Malcolm X
Reading Malcolm X’s autobiography was one of the most life changing texts I’ve ever been able to experience. Malcolm X to me became more than just a historical figure, more than a man you read about in the classroom (if you’re lucky). I spent a good amount of time savoring his narrative, I brought itContinue reading “A Great Revolutionary was Murdered: My Time Learning about the Great Malcolm X”
