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Somehow I doubt that literary theory and criticism were essential to the oeuvre of Shakespeare, Baudelaire, Dante, Tolstoy, or Dickens.

Not essential to Baudelaire? Are you familiar with his...

How has post-modern theory "run out of steam" after 9/11? By "hypercapitalistic-neoprimitivism" do you mean just simple neoliberalism? Because I do not see any vast difference between the two. How...

Superb, nothing like it. The streets of Barcelona write their own poetry. What a man! What did he recommend? And your experience reminds me of a magical realist text, perhaps the final pages of One...

Do you honestly believe that the study of literary theory and familiarity of analytical terminology is essential to the development of a good or great writer... or artist in any field for that...

I very much agree with andresarpi, anything and everything by Borges.

Ideally, read it in Arabic - only then will it truly overwhelm you. Not a single word has been altered in the Holy Qur'an since the first revelation nearly 1400 yeas ago. The first word revealed to...

When I was in Majorca, Spain, desperate for decent English literature, wandering through the sprawling streets, passing the cafes and absorbing the aroma of coffee, soaking in the the open air music,...

20th century. Without an inkling of doubt.



It's difficult to classify any literature under the broad header/pretext of a movement. But within the context and limits of post-modern theory, that...

Shadows Do Not Speak
I am afraid of my own shadow,
It walks beyond me.
And I am now the shadow,
And I am afraid. I
walk ahead,
and I am the shadow,
I am afraid.
I am poor and
I am a shadow.

That was precisely my intention. Or is it? It is true that even though multinational tobacco companies are compelled to put 'Smoking Kills' warning stickers on their cigarette packs, people still...

Are you serious? But I assure you there are standards.

Psychoanalysis aside, as I am sure you can illustrate it more coherently in relation to the story than I can, Lawrence's descriptions are nothing short of staggeringly magical. There were moments I...

When I finished it and emerged unscathed by the atrocity, what else.

That is inexcusable. Pablo Neruda, a Nobel Prize winner in Literature, wrote some of his finest, most natural and keen poems when he was only 19. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, another winner, was at such...

I wouldn't be going too far as to say Less than Zero is the worst book I have ever read.

Isn't "intertextuality" showing off? How many readers outside of academia are familiar with the term?

Eliot. Marukami. Vonnegut. Poe. To name a few.

Most postmodern literature does.

The Insides of A Glove

At quarter to eight
dinner is preposterously late
and the table cold.
Her hands are like squeamish doves,
they need not speak.

At nine
the food is served just fine,

I enter the world of the Metamorphosis as a wayfarer. And here are parts of my journey in sad words.

Suppose your world is suddenly disemboweled, the center splits open and spills out; guts,...

Ah, Kafka, what have you done to literature. This discussion is sure to stagnate around the notion of 'existentialism'. Most Kafkaites are sensationalists. May I provoke the audience to discuss the...

I wonder when Afghanistan will be internationally written off as the next Vietnam. The same money the U.K. is spending on the 'war effort' could be utilized for healthcare, education, and families...

Romantic Notions

I want poetry as a mistress.
I will take words as lovers
and tease their innocence.

I want to be estranged by sentences
that I do not understand.
I will be exiled with a...

I wonder if it can be expressed in such terms. The word 'individuality' like the word 'freedom' is a linguistic illusion. These concepts usually accompany non-conformity. But to subvert and retaliate...

I wonder how a movement can be criticized so for sentiments. Literary movements are aggravated by philosophical treatises.

The notion of 'freedom' is one that is propagated unconsciously by the bourgeoisie to perpetuate class servility. To think in terms of 'freedom' and 'enslavement' is to be a slave; a slave to a...