Day 13: Sweet & Juicy Irony

I realized I never actually wore the cardigan with the shorts before, so here's my attempt at it. Really, I'm getting bored with the clothes already. Well, I still have 17 more days to go before I get to change my wardrobe. It does feel quite liberating (I'm surprised myself) to wake up and not fret an hour over what to wear. I'm becoming a minimalist.

Class discussions today were edifying. Especially during my English Studies lecture - we brainstormed over the necessity for symbols to appear in works. The age old debate whether we English majors are farfetched enough to decide if this character's really gay, or straight. J.K. Rowling herself revealed that Dumbledore is homo! But no, we didn't discuss the significance of that character's sexuality, we discussed literature in a broader perspective.

What makes a classic, timeless? Why read Jane Austen? Why the Bronte sisters? Why Shakespeare for that matter? After so many years, decades, centuries, we're still gaga over such archaic literary eminence. Clearly, the authors were catering to audiences of their time, but they appeal to us too. How does one create a piece whose form and prose extends beyond the boundaries of Time itself? Truly remarkable.

Speaking of which, I attended a book reading earlier this evening. This one was good. How can I tell? I didn't fall asleep. I was actually sincerely interested with the man himself, Dinty Moore. If I had a person I wish I could attribute my writing to, it would be him. For now. I even bought two books after the reading and made SURE I got his signature before he left to the mercy of Nebraskan thunderstorms.

Between Panic and Desire contains one of the most peculiar forms I've ever encountered in a creative nonfiction work. It's not the usual long passages and constant flashbacks as generic of memoirs. Moore is actually random in his writing - his passages represent his train of thoughts. Fickle as they may be, he makes sure he wraps it up at the end of each chapter. But the juiciest part is his flair for oxymoronic humor. He can make death nonsensical, a cardiac arrest hysterical, and a dying old woman admirable.

I can't wait to read it. Now, if only I had the time...