Word: twain
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Perhaps that's because the universalist desire to reform all culture, make everyone see in a new way, is dead. What's true of literature is true of all the arts now: there are readers of J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace, there are Michael Crichton's readers, and the twain don't meet. Except, possibly, theoretically in cyberspace. F. Scott Fitzgerald had it right: "Culture follows money." And the money--perhaps even the creative zeal--is now in the new media. A radically reshaped culture is beginning to be created there. We can already begin to see what the generation born...
...sense, the freshness of Thoreau's long-undeciphered writings should surprise no one. He, along with Mark Twain, essentially invented the plain but supple American prose style, carefully composed to sound casual. So, to stress the point that "high blueberries" must be looked for in swamps, Thoreau writes, "When I see their dense curving tops ahead, I expect a wet foot." He dresses his adages in homespun: "All kinds of harvestry, even pulling turnips when the first cold weather numbs your fingers, are interesting if you have been the sower and have not sowed too many...
Many of our most celebrated authors have achieved success under noms de plume: Samuel Clemens as Mark Twain, Marian Evans as George Eliot and now MICK FOLEY as Mankind. This week Foley, a pro wrestler who has been known as Cactus Jack and Dude Love, will see his first book, Have a Nice Day! A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks, hit No. 2 on the New York Times nonfiction best-seller list. In his memoir Foley relates how he overcame broken bones, a lost ear and a worthy opponent named "the Rock" to win the World Wrestling Federation belt last...
...country singer, but Hill has made the kind of crossover album you can imagine being plugged at the end of some teen-oriented WB drama such as Dawson's Creek or Roswell. Like Shania Twain, Hill loves showmanship: one of the up-tempo numbers on this album is called Bringing Out the Elvis. But while Twain often comes across as gimmicky, the songs on Hill's new album--though none aspire to great art--are tastefully rendered. Hill even serves up a romantic cover of a Bruce Springsteen song, If I Should Fall Behind. As you listen, it's hard...
...know Mark Twain...