I'd like a contemporary US playwright who wrote a comedy, juliana. And one that is thought of as semi-canonical. I mean, Sam Shepard is the right demographic but the wrong genre.
Mal: Okay. She won't be winning any beauty contests anytime soon. But she is solid. Ship like this, be with ya 'til the day you die. Zoe: 'Cause it's a deathtrap.
'Out Of Gas'
Natter 58: Let's call Venezuela!
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
Kat - Apr 24, 2008 5:28:23 pm PDT #3442 of 10001
"I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret." Leigh Bardugo
Pix - Apr 24, 2008 5:28:45 pm PDT #3443 of 10001
The status is NOT quo.
There's an interesting article about the evolution of "romance" as a genre here: [link]
Hil R. - Apr 24, 2008 5:29:20 pm PDT #3444 of 10001
Sometimes I think I might just move up to Vermont, open a bookstore or a vegan restaurant. Adam Schlesinger, z''l
Gawain and the Green Knight would be fun. Nice and creepy and gory.
Pix - Apr 24, 2008 5:30:35 pm PDT #3445 of 10001
The status is NOT quo.
Does the playwright have to be American? Samuel Beckett comes to mind.
Also, I will ask ND. A big chunk of his MFA was focused on 20th century American theater.
Kat - Apr 24, 2008 5:31:04 pm PDT #3446 of 10001
"I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret." Leigh Bardugo
Burrell, I'm with you on the romance front. I mean, Possession doesn't work under the medieval front at all (and someone at the College Board makes an interesting case for it here [link] but it might be nice for all of the secondary works to be the traditional medievally defined Romance as a contrast point.
Burrell - Apr 24, 2008 5:31:25 pm PDT #3447 of 10001
Why did Darth Vader cross the road? To get to the Dark Side!
Someone argued that Siddharta was a romance in that medieval sense because it's got journey, hope, heroism. I was like, "Dude left his wife and kid alone for YEARS. Are you shitting me!?" That's like saying the BIBLE is a romance!
Okay, there's the distinction. Medieval romance is totally different than the current definition of romance novel.
To me, P&P is quintessentially a novel because it simply plays around with the tropes of traditional romance in an entirely new, and much more realistic, context.
Pix - Apr 24, 2008 5:35:30 pm PDT #3448 of 10001
The status is NOT quo.
ND says certainly Neil Simon is probably the best benchmark for mid-20th century American theatre comedy.
Kat - Apr 24, 2008 5:36:09 pm PDT #3449 of 10001
"I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret." Leigh Bardugo
It doesn't have to be American, Kristin, but my core reading list is more light on American writers. (Shakespeare, Atwood, Wilde, Marquez, Byatt, and then the comedy .....). Even my secondary list is light on American writers. But a nice balance of men and women at least. I think the Americans I have on the secondary list might only be Kingsolver so far!
Kat - Apr 24, 2008 5:37:32 pm PDT #3450 of 10001
"I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret." Leigh Bardugo
OH Neil Simon might be good! I wonder if he's considered canonical enough to pass the College Board audit?
Cool article on the changing idea of Romance!
Kat - Apr 24, 2008 5:39:20 pm PDT #3451 of 10001
"I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret." Leigh Bardugo
I also think I need a new name for my grotesque category. With Dorian Gray, Metamorphosis, Frankenstein, and Jekyll and Hyde it's something not really grotesque. Something like the anti-industrials!