My 1980s and Other Essays
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.32 (771 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0374533776 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 336 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-04-05 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
It's human to worry, and writing about these worries is a perfect bonding agent. There's wonder here, too, and the combination of the two give me a critic that I not only want to read but a critic I want to get to know. "Bookslut. "A challenging, rich, aesthetic autobiography and intellectual high-wire act that rarely falters."Kirkus Reviews"Beyond its retro cover, however, lies an incredibly timely hodge-podge of prose that expertly blends nostalgia-free self-reflections, reluctant bits of advice, and breathless love letters to idols literary, artistic, musical, and otherwise into an immensely pleasurable read."Lambda Literary"There's anxiety in Koestenbaum's work
It then proceeds to wrestle with a series of major cultural figures, the author's own lodestars and lodestones: literary (John Ashbery, Roberto Bolaño, James Schuyler), artistic (Diane Arbus, Cindy Sherman, Andy Warhol), and simply iconic (Brigitte Bardot, Cary Grant, Lana Turner). And then there is the personalthe voice, the style, the flairthat is unquestionably Koestenbaum. It amounts to a kind of intellectual autobiography that culminates in a string of passionate calls to creativity; arguments in favor of detail and nuance, and attention; a defense of pleasure, hunger, and desire in culture and experience. Koestenbaum is perched on the cusp of being a true public intellectualhis venues are more mainstream than academic, his style is eye-catching, his prose unfai
Richard Cumming said Wayne's World. The author is one of our great public intellectuals. These essays are deeply thought out and always incisive. He writes about poets, painters, movie stars and popular culture. The essay on Lana Turner alone would be worth the price of admission. Brilliant!. My 1980s Ashley Coffey Koestenbaum is a genius. These essays are humorous, insightful, chic, authoritative but not degrading, fun, sexy, smart, unique, lovable and extremely enjoyable to read.. "Had high hopes" according to Patricia Moore. I found the book well-written and critically reviewed, but I personally found it too intellectual for my taste. I was hoping for personal experience rather than esoteric ramblings.
. Wayne Koestenbaum is an American poet and cultural critic. He lives in New York City, where he is Distinguished Professor of English at the City University of New York Graduate Center. He received a BA from Harvard University, an MA from Johns Hopkins University, and a PhD from Princeton University