A Pop Culture Moment

Date: Fri Jul 6 2:39 PM, 2007

A Pop Culture Moment

Date: Sat Aug 4 7:11 PM, 2007

Well, sign of the times, isn't it? I saw the first episode of Hex too and it was really disappointing. Just a teenager-oriented product: shallow entertainment.
As to the use of Donne's text, I no longer expect respectful use of quotations of any author so I always expect the worse and it does not take me by surprise. Mind you, I still get a sting of irritation. Well, the exception is Wit, a hard play as life can be (I saw the film with Emma Thompson in the main role).
Not long ago I bought a Spanish novel whose protagonist is... biggrin yes! Donne himself. It is in my "fun" reading list so it'll be a while before I can read it. When I have read it, I will tell you all about it. Maybe some of you have even read it already. confused The bibliographical citation is: Mantero, Manuel. Antes muerto que mudado. Ediciones Paradigma. Barcelona: Plaza y Janés, 1990. 236 pages.

All the best.

J. Cora.

Date: Wed Aug 8 9:19 PM, 2007

Hmmm. I was not being ironic when I said "as obscene as one could wish." It seems to me that recognizing Donne's obscenities is a _good_ thing. Still, I agree that _Hex_ as a whole is so-so. Not particularly interesting. I thought the Donne thing was a highlight, actually.

I must respectfully disagree about "W;t." It's a fine bit of theater (I too saw the Emma Thompson film, and found it very moving). But I think it is an insult to academe and to Donne; gets female scholars all wrong, and represents Donne as heartless, soul-less wordsmith. Of course, the insults are merely accidental. Edson knows nothing of academe or Donne, and is using them to get at the things she does know (as a former nurse): the cruelty of cancer, the unfeeling professionalism of some physicians, and the starkness of human suffering. I just wish she'd used some other writer to get there!

Have fun with the Mantero novel, and please do report when you finish it!

Date: Thu Aug 30 7:16 AM, 2007

My understanding of W;t is that the author was a graduate student in English for a short time (perhaps at Georgetown) but when she wrote this play she was a kindergarten teacher in Atlanta.

I thought when I saw the play that it was written by someone who hated graduate school, but who had never really read Donne with any range or with any care. Do our colleagues at Georgetown have anything to answer for here?

Date: Tue Aug 31 2:10 AM, 2010

I really like that hex tv shows, interesting one. Hex is a supernatural television series, that ran for two seasons. Set in a boarding school, with a history of witchcraft and supernatural events.