Thursday, May 21, 2009

A little rant about Flannery O'Connor

I had a conversation with my professor Susan yesterday. Somehow Flannery O'Connor came up, and she told me how O'Connor was a devout Catholic. I was utterly surprised. I didn't know anything about O'Connor, except that she was from the South. I read "Wise Blood" a while back and thought it was amazing in the way that it questioned religion while maintaining its spirituality. I even read it as semi-antichrist. Obviously I was way off.

But this is precisely why I don't really care for this kind of reading of literature. I believe that we should read a text with absolutely no consideration of the author's intention whatsoever. She might have had an idea for what she was trying to do, but as soon as the text gets out into the public, I can do whatever I want with it. Whenever people try to guess the writer's intention, I usually find their points invalid, and find that their reading is limited. Once you forget about the author, the possibility is endless.

As a writer I know that on some level my works are influenced by things that happen to me or things that happen around me. But I don't think people can tell exactly what kind of person I am and what I am trying to say by reading my work, nor do I want people to. If writers were worried about how they might be thought of by their readers, how dull would their works be?

Just a thought.

Susan also loaned me a copy of Charles Baudelaire's "Les Fleurs Du Mal" (translated by Richard Howard) which is absolutely gorgeous. I am completely enamored by it.

...

Today I have been reading Octavia E. Butler's "Parable of the Sower" for my class. Usually I don't like science fiction, but this one is quite good. I'm enjoying it so far, which is always a good thing when you have to read something for a class. It feels nice to be reading while bathing in the sun. I'm beginning to enjoy this weather.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

It's been a while...

I just can't seem to commit to blogging, I suppose. I actually really like blogspot, but I just can't seem to find anything to write about. This blog is supposed to be about the books I read, but that's gonna change from now on. (That way I'll manage to find something to write about.)

FYI I have a Livejournal but only a few people are allowed to read it. Pretty much I don't really want any of you to know too much about me.

I feel like my life is just about one word after another. I think there are more of other people's words coming out of my mouth each day than my own words; that is to say that I read out loud more than I talk. I think that's a good thing--but what does that say about my social life?

Well, I'm not here to whine. I guess I just want to write something and know that somebody is reading it. So here I am. And, just for randomness's sake, this is a picture of what I ate this morning for breakfast:
I thought it was pretty and gross at the same time. I guess it's pretty gross. But not really. It's just this Trader Joe's mixed berries cereal thing that I'm in love with, and I put some frozen blueberries in it--I thawed them out first, of course. It tasted divine, let me assure you.

Anyway, that's it for now. I promise to write more. But I wouldn't count on it if I were you.

PS. I'm planning to attend two performances of Shakespeare's plays this weekend--"Richard II" and "Much Ado About Nothing"--so that should give me something to write about. Keep reading!