February 7 to 15, 1997

February 7 to 15, 1997

Subject: Foxfire challenged in Canada
Date: Fri, 07 Feb 1997 10:57:42 -0800
From: Randy Souther Randy Souther
To: jco jco@usfca.edu


After one day of operation, we have a handful
of subscribers to this list, so I thought I
would inaugurate the occasion with the first
message.

Some interesting news that has been sent my way
from two separate sources:

"The Toronto Globe and Mail today ran a story that Foxfire is under
attack for its use on an alternative reading list for senior high school
students in Milton, Ontario. A parent was upset by the language and
created a flyer in conjunction with a local religious group to get the
book off the curriuculum."

and

"...I am working for CTV, Canada's National News Agency and
their is a big controversy here over "Foxfire" by Joyce Carol Oates. A
local school is no longer teaching it because a parents organization
says that it is not appropriate for schools."


While I think that everyone, including high-school students, should
be free to read what they want, I am a little surprised that foxfire
made it to a school reading list considering that it does have some
very explicit scenes.

The American Library Association keeps track of such "challenges"
to various books. One I will never forget is the attempt to remove
a particular English dictionary from a school. The reason--inappropriate
language. I kid you not.

Randy Souther

Subject: Read any good books lately?
Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 16:55:01 -0800
From: Randy Souther Randy Souther
To: jco jco@usfca.edu


I would be interested to know what works of
JCO people have been reading, and what they
have liked and disliked.


Or what is your "favorite" JCO book or story.
Alternately, what you think is her "best" book(s)
or story (not necessarily the same question).


This is a new group--you'll have to forgive my
blatant attempts at seeding the conversation. ;)


The last JCO book I read was in fact her last novel,
We Were the Mulvaneys. I did like the book, though
oddly enough, it's the ending, the unusually warm
ending, that I keep thinking about--probably because
you don't see such ending in JCO novels. It was just
rather unexpected. I would be interested to hear other
thoughts on this.


My favorite JCO book by far is Mysteries of Winterthurn.
I actually found the book to be one of the more difficult
reads for me, and I was confused when I finished it. Maybe
I'm just not too quick, but I think a lot of reviewers were
confused as well. On a second reading, so much became clear,
and it was utterly enjoyable.


Well, I will be happy to write more, but I would like to
hear what some other people think. And if you didn't like
something, that would be very interesting to hear as well.


Randy Souther

Subject: [Fwd: Rutgers Honorary degree for JCO]
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 21:04:12 -0800
From: Randy Souther Randy Souther
To: jco jco@usfca.edu


An interesting tidbit to pass along to the list:


>
> In May Rutgers/the State University of New Jersey will present Joyce
> Carol Oates with an honorary degree to celebrate the extraordinary
> achievement of her work ...
>
> Barry V. Qualls
> Rutgers English
> New Brunswick, NJ

Subject: Essay
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 22:08:46 -0800
From: Randy Souther Randy Souther
To: jco jco@usfca.edu


A short essay by JCO appears in the Feb/Mar issue
of CIVILIZATION, p96.

It features a photograph of Oates at age 3, with her
mother Carolina. It is called "Caption: What's in a Picture."

From the essay:

"Memory is our domestic form of time travel. The invention of
photography--in particular, the "snapshot"--revolutionized
human consciousness, for when we claim to "remember" our pasts,
we are surely remembering our favorite snapshots, in which the
long-faded past is given a distinct visual immortality."


Also, news that JCO's latest novel, WE WERE THE MULVANEYS, has
been bought by Showtime.


Randy Souther

Page address:
http://jco.usfca.edu/discussion/archive001.html