Vicarious MFA
Vicarious MFA: Jonathan Safran Foer & David Markson
The Vicarious MFA
Last Friday Jonathan Safran-Foer came to do a guest lecture titled “Intersections.” It was clear that he put a lot of work and thought into the lecture and I feel like I will do it a disservice by trying to describe his overall “point,” but I will say that he showed us this short video of a completely insane intersection in Hanoi. Please click on that. It is ridiculous. He also mentioned that one of the buildings on Columbia’s campus (one that is right by the Writing Department) used to be a part of the Bloomingdale Insane Asylum. He also mentioned Hiroshi Sugimoto, a photographer who Jonathan Safran-Foer wrote a fan letter to when he was in college and whom he later got to collaborate with on a project called “Joe.”
There was a point to Safran-Foer’s guest lecture and I felt smarter and more calm when I left, but I can’t quite say why. From what I have gathered in the past 3.5 semesters in an MFA program, this is what it feels like: I have learned something; I feel different/better; I can’t explain why/what happened.
On Monday we talked about David Markson’s Reader’s Block. Some people hated it. Some people didn’t understand why it had to be called a novel. Some people loved it. Some people felt abused. I felt like I was happy that I had read it, though it could have been half as long. I agreed with the people who said the book was a little abusive, but I was also happy to learn the things that I learned. For instance. Giacometti said that if a building was on fire and he had to save either a living cat or a Rembrandt, he would go with the cat. Good move.
Tuesday was workshop. Essays discussed the elderly, Obama, a dam in California, Jay-Z, a diseased Salmon population and uncertainty.
On Thursday we’re talking about Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby in the First Book seminar.
Friday is the 1st day of Spring Break, so I will be away next week on the first real vacation I have ever taken in my life. I will be reading Running in The Family by Michael Ondaatje, and Low Life by Luc Sante.
Tags: Giacometti, Jonathan Safran Foer
I didn’t know Giacometti or Sugimoto until now, and am glad I do. Thanks for the recap!
I didn’t know Giacometti or Sugimoto until now, and am glad I do. Thanks for the recap!
Maybe once the semester is over I will start “What You Missed (while writing bad poetry) During your Art History Seminar” series… WYM-DAHS?
Maybe once the semester is over I will start “What You Missed (while writing bad poetry) During your Art History Seminar” series… WYM-DAHS?
Nice to see something here on Foer that isn’t all hatin’ on the guy.
Make some dough for writing a couple books and the whole “literary world” is dead set on tearing the guy a new one.
Nice to see something here on Foer that isn’t all hatin’ on the guy.
Make some dough for writing a couple books and the whole “literary world” is dead set on tearing the guy a new one.
catherine, if you want help on what you missed while writing bad poetry during your art history seminars, i would be glad to help.
catherine, if you want help on what you missed while writing bad poetry during your art history seminars, i would be glad to help.
blah blah blah i know stuff about stuff blah blah blah
blah blah blah i know stuff about stuff blah blah blah
i think sugimoto is the photographer whose picture is gracing the new u2 album (the same picture which also was on some other band’s album cover, oddly enough)
i think sugimoto is the photographer whose picture is gracing the new u2 album (the same picture which also was on some other band’s album cover, oddly enough)
When JSF’s first book came out Neal Pollack wrote a song about wiping his ass with it. At a book reading NP played the song and begain wiping his ass with the book. Then NP encouraged everyone to rip up pages of NP’s own book and throw them at NP. People did, gleefully, for the rest of the reading. Sadly, every time I hear JSF’s name I immediately think of that night and hopefully at least one person reading this will too now.
When JSF’s first book came out Neal Pollack wrote a song about wiping his ass with it. At a book reading NP played the song and begain wiping his ass with the book. Then NP encouraged everyone to rip up pages of NP’s own book and throw them at NP. People did, gleefully, for the rest of the reading. Sadly, every time I hear JSF’s name I immediately think of that night and hopefully at least one person reading this will too now.