Close Readings 4
On Zadie Smith, comedy and the modern workplace...
Close readings is about spending time with the words I read, both novels and long form articles. Of developing a conversation, because to me that’s what reading is all about.
This week includes:
Morning close reads: a close reading of seven articles I read this week, and seven more for us to read next week.
A close reading of the recent New York Review of Books issue.
A dissection of my weekly literature reading.
Morning Close Readings
From the 7 articles I picked lat week, here are the ones that resonated with me most during my morning reading session, and 7 more for us to explore next week.
10/05 — With the Revolver in the Library: Hélène Bessette’s Twenty Minutes of Silence
Lily is Crying by Hélène Bessette has been an anticipated read for me over the past two months and once I get through my arc reading I hope I can pick it up this month! It looks as if Fitzcarraldo are working their way through Bessette’s discography and publishing her works which is wonderful — because I have yet to read a Fitzcarraldo that disappoints.
Upcoming in Twenty Minutes of Silence which is a loose murder mystery and seems to be a roman poétique in style. If I like Lili is Crying then I shall try this one too. I have dabbled all that much in French literature but given that this was originally published in 1953 and many modernist writers wrote of their time in France I believe the ambience will be in my favour.
11/05 — Is comedy good for us?
At university I read The Odd One in: On Comedy by Alenka Zupančič for a theory class. So the philosophy of comedy is something I have stumbled on before. And of course if you have read Plato and Aristotle they aren’t necessarily fans of it — as this piece also highlights. There are also some other philosophers thrown in here which is what I like about Philosophy Now — they go broad with their philosophical explorations and you can choose which philosopher route you want to go down.
I did quite like the idea of the superiority theory of laughter: that we laugh at the weakness of others in order to elevate ourselves. For instance, when someone falls off a chair we tend to laugh even though they may hurt or embarrassed.
12/05 — Let’s Write About What Hurts
I didn’t necessarily take anything from the contents of this interview but it did spring to mind how often non-fiction can be more pleasing to analyse than fiction. We often think of fiction as being merticulously crafted with a form and semantic meaning everywhere and thus we analyse it, but rarely do we do this with non-fiction. However, Reyna Grande is this piece proves that her non-fictions are just as analysable as fiction. I always think of Fanon when it comes to this. Once I read Fanon’s essays I had this completely different relationship to the essay and that’s why I got into writing.
Next Week
15/06 — In Praise of the Nude Body
16/06 — A Critique of Antinatalism
17/06 — Toni Morrison’s Native Figures
18/06 — What is Poetry? Chelsey Minni’s Frying Pan Full of Diamonds
19/06 — We Were Forbidden
20/06 — Everybody Wants This
