Comments on: Gessner on Mailer (and others) http://billanddavescocktailhour.com/gessner-on-mailer-and-others/ Raise a glass to the lost arts of reading, writing, and drinking. Thu, 16 May 2013 19:52:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: Donna Treolo http://billanddavescocktailhour.com/gessner-on-mailer-and-others/comment-page-1/#comment-7869 Donna Treolo Mon, 02 May 2011 01:45:24 +0000 http://billanddavescocktailhour.com/?p=1738#comment-7869 When I came to page 197, I was finally able to grasp what is so surreal about The Armies of the Night. The story has a mythical quality to it. As Mailer describes his "long revery about the war in Vietnam....not the most comfortable slumber, for the mattress had old stuffing and was not two inches thick (as well as dirty) and the springs on the cot had lost their tone so the bed curved like a hammock...." Sounds like... The castle dungeon was very dark and cold when Arthur finally lay down on the straw mat on the dank floor; Arthur thought of his sword and wondered if it was still hidden in the forest where he had left it two nights ago. Unable to sleep Arthur listened to the other prisoners as they whispered rumors about the trial.... We have been taught to believe the Nonfiction genre is well defined and the rules are stringent. It is ok to laugh, cry and evoke human emotions in our work, to stray too far into the fiction realm is treason! Or at the very least an uncomfortable workshop experience. I'm glad we read all of the books! When I came to page 197, I was finally able to grasp what is so surreal about The Armies of the Night. The story has a mythical quality to it. As Mailer describes his “long revery about the war in Vietnam….not the most comfortable slumber, for the mattress had old stuffing and was not two inches thick (as well as dirty) and the springs on the cot had lost their tone so the bed curved like a hammock….”
Sounds like…
The castle dungeon was very dark and cold when Arthur finally lay down on the straw mat on the dank floor; Arthur thought of his sword and wondered if it was still hidden in the forest where he had left it two nights ago. Unable to sleep Arthur listened to the other prisoners as they whispered rumors about the trial….

We have been taught to believe the Nonfiction genre is well defined and the rules are stringent. It is ok to laugh, cry and evoke human emotions in our work, to stray too far into the fiction realm is treason! Or at the very least an uncomfortable workshop experience. I’m glad we read all of the books!

]]> By: George de Gramont http://billanddavescocktailhour.com/gessner-on-mailer-and-others/comment-page-1/#comment-7827 George de Gramont Sat, 30 Apr 2011 12:33:21 +0000 http://billanddavescocktailhour.com/?p=1738#comment-7827 Interesting change of pace.Encouraging comments about your students. Interesting change of pace.Encouraging comments about your students.

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