![]() Just ask Lady Gaga-zing! My point is that poets have had a really hard time overcoming the poets who came before them. How do you compete? Do you do basketball and ditch school to differentiate yourself? My conclusion: poets have to get past the (sometimes overwhelming) influence of their poet ancestors and formulate an original vision or they just won't, er, make the team. It's like having a really smart big brother who's also on the football team. (Can we take a second to reflect on how cool that is?) Anxiety of Influence refers to the tough relationship poets have with the poets that poeted before them. So this is the name of my most famous book, but it was such a big deal that the title actually became a term used in literary studies. ![]() As readers, we must have faith in the sovereign soul. Literature cannot (and should not) be reduced to politics and ideology. Sure, Lear's daughters are brats, but does that mean we have to do a feminist reading of Goneril's bad attitude? I say nay. To me, aesthetics are the beauty of a literary work-forget about making a big deal about its moral or political message.Take King Lear, for example. ![]() Aestheticsįor a lot of literary critics, "aesthetics" is a nasty word. But in all fairness, there are a few expressions that come up pretty consistently in my work, so let's define them. Those kinds of clever little catch phrases like "diversity awareness" and "multiculturalism" actually make my ears bleed. Listen up, peeps: I'm not into buzzwords. ![]()
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