category: literature
ZAMM and Robert Pirsig’s Locations in Minneapolis
February 12, 2012 peter bell
The literary genre known as philosophical fiction is also referred to as “novels of ideas.” Typically, novels of this particular vein use conventions of literature (story, characters, narrative arc) to make broader philosophical arguments. Often times, these novels are used to illustrate the author’s particular views on the trajectory of society (such as Infinite Jest […]
Locations of Charles Bukowski
November 22, 2011 peter bell
Called “a laureate of American low life” by Time magazine, Charles Bukowski (1920-1994) was a prolific poet and writer. His subject matter was often drawn from his own storied existence: work drudgery, drunkenness, sex, gambling, and the craft of writing. Uncompromising and confrontational, Bukowski’s style of writing has been categorized as “transgressive fiction” or “dirty […]
Factotum pub crawl
November 16, 2011 peter bell
The 2005 film Factotum is based on the writings of Charles Bukowski. Whether you love him or hate him, it’s indisputable that Bukowski has had an impact on American literature. His gritty realistic writing is like a cocktail of anger, misanthropy, addiction, and occasionally, transcendence. With lines like “my beerdrunk soul is sadder than all […]
F. Scott Fitzgerald in St. Paul, MN
November 15, 2011 peter bell
Every era of writers has their set of literary heroes, and F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of the standouts of the Lost Generation. The man who coined the phrase “the Jazz Age” while reveling in its excesses, Fitzgerald spent much of his life in the city of St. Paul. From popturf user donkeyoti comes a […]