Hi everybody. Sorry for the vague title; I'll try to explain. And also, this may not be only a query for books, but for the best sub where I should ask this question.

So my question is not about alternative music as such, but about a bunch of late '70s-80s phenomena that seem to me to share a sensibility, and often even participants. You can find books on the individual topics, but I wonder if there's some kind of study or cultural history that brings them all together. I'm referring to things that share a strong DIY / zine aesthetic and that also have an interest in "the fringe," as you might call it, whether that means extreme industrial or experimental music, body modification, anarchism, cult movies, UFOs, or conspiracy theories. This is close to punk culture, but not exactly the same as it. I'm referring to bands such as Negativland or the Residents (or, on the more commercial side, Devo), publishing companies such as Loompanics, the various publications of Re/Search magazine (Industrial Culture Handbook, Modern Primitives, Incredibly Strange Music, Pranks! etc.), or even the Church of the Subgenius (and perhaps its predecessor, Discordianism). You might even include here things like Dr. Demento (who was definitely associated with the Church of the Subgenius), early Weird Al, the Illuminatus trilogy, etc.

Does this all make sense? It's a sensibility that seems to fade out by the early '90s, and if some of these are revived on the internet, it's in a very different context. If you can think of other cultural figures or phenomena that might fit, please let me know.

I took Russian in high school and think I remember learning a little advertising ditty Puskin wrote (possibly for baby bottles or similar?). Does this ring any bells? I've searched but keep getting modern ads. Appreciate any info or ideas for research!

I got so many great answers on my last post, so that's why I want to ask something again... Now, I understand that Ancient Greece was a very different place than it is now, but I still don't get why they cherished tragedies so much? I hope I get a lot of different responses! Thanks!

I am writing a short story about someone who finds out the world is about to end. They decide to have a peaceful evening for their last few hours and I was thinking of having them read an excerpt of a poem before everything ends. Any poetry suggestions?

It will have been around two years since I finished my masters in English in a few months.

Since MPhil programmes have more or less been completely scraped in my country, I've been trying to get admitted into a PhD programme. I threw together a halfway decent research proposal, since that's what most state funded universities here require. Even so, it is the best I could do with my idea (I'll specify if asked but honestly, I'm thinking of scraping it and starting over) and my understanding of research. But after several failed interviews I've come to the conclusion that I know much less about literary research than I'd flattered myself to believe. It makes sense, I engaged in very little research work in my bachelor's and master's, working instead in editing articles for the college journal (which I frankly did not read the contents of very well, my work was mostly checking format and bibliography). I think I produced one research paper excluding term assignments.

So my question is: what is lit. research? how do you begin the work of research?

Extending it to a second question, what is the current research landscape like around the world?

And if I may be forgiven a third, how would one begin preparing to apply to PhD programmes abroad (the Americas, Europe perhaps)?

Thank you for reading this far, I apologise if this post doesn't belong here, or if I asked too many questions in one post.

Why didn't Sophocles write a single longer play because there was only one myth that inspired the trilogy? Was it just the norm at the time? Or was it something else. As I am quite new to this topic, please don't be afraid to dumb it down for me. Thank you!

Just wondering what you think. I am an international student in a Comparative Literature PhD program at a US R1 (California)

Curious if fields like comp lit will be affected/lose funding (not that they had much to begin with anyway).

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Anybody have any works they like - preferably monographs, but chapters/essays too - on these sorts of negative moods, as affect, aesthetic, poetics, whatever? Casting a very broad net here, I know, but eg I love Sianne Ngai’s work and I don’t love Fisher’s The Weird and the Eerie, but looking for more in that same ballpark.

hello! i am looking for novel/novella/short story recommendations that have a diversity of voices (preferably sociolects, dialects are fine but not modified English like Finnegans Wake)

i am easing myself into sociolinguistics and want to explore stories that i can refer in my research or classes. i’m already thinking about The Color Purple but other recommendations would be really helpful! thanks :)

What is a good approach to get a concise and comprehensive overview of the development and movement concerned with Modern European Drama?

Any recommendations for respectable academic work that rigorously analyzes T.S. Eliot's work?

G'day! What resources can you recommend to read on the subject of the poetics of nature in literature?

In my reading life I’m currently bouncing around between Claude Simon, Robert Pinget, Pierre Michon, and other authors of a similar Nouveau Roman or Oulipic breed, though recently I came across Philippe Sollers, and was both exhilarated to be able to check his work out at my university library, and soon dismayed to find out that his major works are unavailable in English. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with his works Paradis, Lois, and Drame, as well as hearing their thoughts on it.

Also, how advanced is his French in these works? As an English speaker and reader, as well as someone with a major interest in languages, I can get by when reading French, but to read a ten page long sentence from Simon in the original, or whatever, is impossible for me to comprehend.

Is there an easier-to-read modern English version of the Divine Comedy that maintains fidelity to the original text?

Hello,

This is not strictly on topic as it is not a question within the scope of literary studies but it is related! I'd love to hear about the experiences of people who successfully pursued literary studies in any capacity whilst coming from a working class background and any literature I can draw my strength from when I struggle with the elitism a bit:)

I have provided some background context on myself below, it is not necessary to read it but I just wanted to provide some context on my angle:)

I am completing my undergrad in literature whilst working 20+ hours per week in hospitality/hotel industry as my funding is insufficient. I live and breathe words and literature, and recently I have been getting frustrated at how time poor I am compared to my course mates and feeling a bit disappointed that I don't have the time I desire to dedicate myself to my studies or passion inspired research. I have particularly been getting frustrated as our university offers a lot of opportunities for literature adjacent arts internship positions/work experience that is unpaid and doesn't work with my work timetable. I

TLDR: Time poor undergraduate student frustrated at opportunity cost of working through university

Let us know what you have been reading lately, what you have finished up, any recommendations you have or want, etc. Also, use this thread for any questions that don’t need an entire post for themselves (see rule 4).

Hello everyone!

I am now writing an essay on cyberpunk through a cognitive and aesthetic approach. My goal is to analyze how we as readers experience non referential spaces, in particular that of the cyberspace in SF novels. Any suggestions on essays and/or fictional works to read? Especially those that deal with:

• analysis of fictional space, through a cognitive approach. I've already read plenty of possible world theory (Pavel, Doležel, Ryan).

• description of cyberspace in first person narrative. The closest thing I've stumbled upon was Melissa Scott's representation in Trouble and her friends, although adopting the third person narrative.

Obligatory "english is not my first language". I know it sounds oddly specific. Thanks in advance :)

Hi all,

I was a literature and creative writing student many moons ago, and reading Charles Baxter's book of Essays on fiction has really reinvigorated my passion. I intend to read his other books, but wondering if anyone can recommend similar works?

Baxter's book is characterised as being about the craft of writing, but I think what appeals to me is that it's not really a 'how-to-guide' but rather looks at how different aspects of literary technique or principles - e.g, epiphanies, defamiliarisation, melodrama, counterpointed characterisation etc - operate in short stories and novels, bring about their effects etc.

Thanks!

I'm searching for any form of literature that has similar themes to those presented in Toni Morrison's novel *Sula.*Specifically, the themes of female friendship and the lines of how female identities are intertwined through relationships women have with one another.

If you haven't read, one of the largest plot points is when the main character, Sula, has been found to have slept with her best friend, Nel's husband. As Nel tries to come to terms with this news, she originally refuses to carry on her friendship with Sola, but later has an epiphany: “You. Sula. What’s the difference?

I am inclining towards exploring "Magical Realism" in Native American literature for my research proposal.I have 'Tracks' by Erdrich in my mind but need more works to explore and read about. Edit: Thanks for all the recommendations!

Hello! I've always been very affected by the imagery in a specific Sappho poem fragment. I'm not sure where I came across it originally but I would guess somewhere online. I studied a bit of Ancient Greek in high school and we did some very rudimentary translation of her Hymn to Aphrodite so maybe I originally came across the poem back then. Regardless, I recently picked up Anne Carson's "If Not, Winter" (which is great by the way) and was excited to find how she translated the poem in her much more direct and faithful style. However, I couldn't find the poem fragment anywhere in that book.

So I went on a bit of a journey to track down what the fragment was. I found it in Mary Barnard's Sappho: A New Translation where it is given the number 23 (arbitrarily I think) and the title "And Their Feet Move." This is the text of the fragment as Barnard translates it:

"And their feet move

Rhythmically, as tender

feet of Cretan girls

danced once around an

altar of love, crushing

a circle in the soft

smooth flowering grass"

This is definitely the fragment that I remember. However, I can't find any other sources to this fragment other than Barnard and it's reposted on poetry sites simply as "And their feet move" with Barnard's exact translation. There is nothing at all like it in Carson's book besides *maybe* Sappho 24 which talks about shepherds crushing purple flowers underfoot but even Barnard has a version of that. I can't find any information online that gives me a clue as to what Sappho fragment this translation is based on which is quite frustrating. Did Barnard just make it up? I know she extrapolated a bit with her translations and wasn't always clear about her sources but she is obviously a very respected translator and scholar of Sappho. Can someone help me on this?? Am I missing something obvious? Did Carson leave out something (I know more fragments have been discovered since her book but I doubt Barnard would have access to one that Carson didn't)? Is this a fragment that is from a different poet? Or is Barnard just making stuff up?

So I read a short story a few years ago for an assignment, it was called "No Big Thing"

I cannot remember the author's name, but I'm relatively sure that their last name was Rivera, but I could be wrong. The story was about a boy who met a non-binary person (you, the reader, hence why the character is non-binary) at a skateboard park and wanted to hang out with you more

Can anyone help me find it? It doesn't show up when I look for it :(

The concept of the epistolary fascinates me and recently reading Derrida's The Post Card has made me rethink and deconstruct the way letters are. I'm more driven to towards looking at another genre of letters i.e. suicide notes. How can one look at suicide from a more literary perspective —any seminal books on its theory?

I also looked at the Suicide fragment in Barthes's A Lover's Discourse and it interpreted the act of self destruction in a fascinating way.

I'm not really familiar with details of the Crusades or medieval history, Is it still suitable for me to read Baudolino Or should I postpone reading it to the future?

Hi all! So 3 years ago I finished my Masters in Literature and Theory, and have since then taken an academic break, worked some minimum-wage jobs, and focused on other areas of my life. Now I'm ready to look back towards the sphere of literature and am heavily considering a PhD, as it is pretty much required to be able to get into the academic literary sphere.

But there's an issue - in this time away from studies, I have not read very much or widely, and have been "out of the game", so to speak. Now that I am trying to put together an abstract, I find myself at a loss for texts to study, and have maybe not enough desire or time to skim-read potentially tens or hundreds of novels to find something that might fit well enough. Is there any other way around this, or do I just have to bite the bullet and start reading?

I'm really interested in the variant death rituals in different parts of the world, particularly in the East with their mourning periods and different practices. I have no idea how to approach it from the a theorisation point of view, perhaps how it could be a site of discourse?

Is there any point I can start from? It's something I really want to unpack.

In the landmark essay "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis", Lynn White Jr. famously argued that Christianity and Humanism were the primary causes of the nature/culture binary divide, which locked human thought into an anthropocentric and exploitive relationship with the natural world. The essay was the first essay included in The Ecocriticism Reader (1996) and so was vastly influential in the emerging field of ecocriticism.

I have heard, however, that this idea has received a lot of pushback in recent years. I'm looking for anything that can "enlighten" me on this topic. What other scholars/texts support White Jr's assertion that humanism is the cause of ecological crisis? Who has pushed back against this idea?

I’m looking for a novel for my thesis. My criteria: the main character has to be a white-collar worker and die at the end. It needs to be in English. Even the tiniest help is appreciated.

does anybody know the best translation to English of marina tsvetaeva? from what i found, the collection Dark Elderberry Branch seems to be the best collection, but has a very short amount of her work, about thirty pages worth, the rest of the translations have very mixed reviews

Does this term only apply to novels that are experimental in terms of writing, narration, plot and temporality e.g. Joyce's novels or Virginia Woolf's?

Or can it also include novels that for instance feature the nonhuman as agential beings? Can a novel like The Overstory be considered rhizomatic even though it's not as experimental as Finnegan's Wake or Mrs Dalloway?