Reviews (4)

The Best of Law and Literature Scholarship
For those with a general background in literature and in law, this book is straightforward and easy to follow.The book explores the complicated act of confessing in a myriad of contexts, greatly enriching the reader's understanding of this most troubling speech act.When so much "scholarship" in the nascent field of law and literature is banal, a profound work such as this one gives the entire field much needed legitimacy.

like nothing I've ever read
There's no shortage of originality in Peter Brooks' recent foray into the confessional act.Indeed, "Troubling Confessions" is a kind of sui generis text on the place of confession in Western Culture, and as such it bears absolutely no resemblance to other and earlier critical treatments of confessional literature.What's remarkable, looking back on the rich tradition of literary and cultural scholarship that came out of Yale during the 70s and 80s, is that nobody even *thought* to broach exactly these questions.That a work so plainly underivative should appear now, after the long and arid years during which the Yale school had grown into a pale and emaciated shadow of its former self -- well, it gives one pause.And one could justifiably argue that this is the effect of Brooks' oeuvre as a whole, which, if read cover to cover, induces the kind of silence from which even the keenest intellect can scarcely be roused.

Speaking No Ill of Speaking Guilt
Those with an interest in law and literature have awaited this book, and for them there should be no disappointment. From a variety of perspectives, Brooks reflects on the extraordinary value that Western culture places on the act of confession, and the equally extraordinary problems that Western culture has assessing individual confessions. We want confessions, yet we are equally suspicious of them. Brooks' method for examining this cultural ambiguity is to juxtapose literary and legal traditions of confession (the religious tradition also receives significant attention). By juxtaposing these traditions, Brooks argues that we can better see the demands that are made of confession in Western culture, as well as the demands that confession, in turn, makes of us as members of social communities and as individuals. His interdisciplinary moves are skillful, his historical and legal glossings are accessible, and his readings of literary texts (and films) are smart. The chapters can be read individually, allowing the reader to jump around at will. Chapter 1 looks at how the Supreme Court has tried to address the problem of confession, primarily through Miranda. Chapter 2 looks at the relationship between the confessor to the confessant in various contexts -- law, literature, religion, psychoanalysis. Chapter 3 looks at the problem of the voluntary vs. the coerced confession with a close reading of Culombe v. Connecticut. Chapter 4 discusses how the religious tradition of confession affects modern understanding of identity and selfhood. Chapter 5 addresses the law's difficulty addressing psychoanalytic concepts of truth, identity, guilt, and victimhood. Finally, Chapter 6 sums things up by looking at what motivates or compels an confession at all.Among other literary works, Rousseau's Confessions, The Brothers Karamazov, Alfred Hitchcock's film I Confess, The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man and Camus' The Fallmake extended appearances. These texts are hardly obscure, and neither are the general outline or the finer points of Brooks' argument. Very helpful to anyone interested in confession, narrative and rhetoric, or the general relationship between law and literature. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Gay & Lesbian    3. Literary Criticism    4. Literature - Classics / Criticism    5. Ethics & moral philosophy    6. Literary Criticism & Collections / Gay & Lesbian    7. Literary studies: general    8. USA   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. American - General    3. American literature    4. English literature    5. Gay & Lesbian    6. Gay Studies    7. Gay/Lesbian Nonfiction    8. Gays' writings, American    9. Gender Studies    10. General    11. History    12. History and criticism    13. Art / Popular Culture    14. Cultural studies    15. Lesbian studies    16. Social history    17. United Kingdom, Great Britain    18. World history: postwar, from c 1945 -    19. c 1960 to c 1970   

Reviews (1)

Move over, Sappho and Gertrude Stein!
So much writing about homosexuality covers men in the West only.Through his monographs, Stephen Murray has done a lot to cover same-sex love between men outside of the West.Finally, this anthology is an attempt to cover non-Western lesbian and transgendered women.
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Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Cross-cultural studies    3. Developing countries    4. Homosexuality    5. Human Sexuality    6. Lesbian Studies    7. Lesbianism    8. Social Science    9. Sociology    10. Anthropology    11. Cultural studies    12. Literary Criticism & Collections / Gay & Lesbian   

Subjects:  1. American fiction    2. Detective and mystery stories, American    3. Espionage    4. Gay & Lesbian    5. History and criticism    6. Lesbians' writings, American    7. Literary Criticism    8. Literature - Classics / Criticism    9. Mystery & Detective Fiction    10. Women authors    11. English    12. Novels, other prose & writers: from c 1900 -   

Reviews (1)

Comprehensive and thought provoking

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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. American - General    3. Gay & Lesbian    4. History    5. History and criticism    6. Intellectual life    7. Lesbian Studies    8. Lesbians    9. Lesbians' writings, American    10. Literature - Classics / Criticism    11. Social Science    12. Sociology    13. Theory, etc    14. United States    15. Women and literature    16. Literary Criticism & Collections / Gay & Lesbian    17. Literary studies: from c 1900 -    18. Postmodernism   

Subjects:  1. 1854-1900    2. 1866-1934    3. 19th Century English Literature    4. 20th century    5. Biography    6. Biography & Autobiography    7. Biography / Autobiography    8. Biography/Autobiography    9. Dandies    10. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    11. Friends and associates    12. Gay & Lesbian    13. Gray, John,    14. Great Britain    15. Literary    16. Poets, English    17. Sexuality In Literature    18. Specific Groups - Male Gay Studies    19. Wilde, Oscar,    20. Gray, John    21. Wilde, Oscar   

Subjects:  1. Fear in literature    2. Gay & Lesbian    3. General    4. History and criticism    5. Horror    6. Horror in mass media    7. Popular literature    8. Sociology    9. Crime & criminology    10. Cultural studies    11. Media studies    12. USA   

Reviews (1)

Groundbreaking View of Sexuality in the Ancient World
It seems to be generally accepted that Alexander the Great did not go without love on his wars. First he took several wives, but second he seemed to have a, shall we say, very close companion. ==In our homophobic world, Alexander just simply couldn't be called a queer. You certainly wouldn't want to use such derogatory language to his face, it doesn't seem to have been such a nice person either.
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Subjects:  1. (Biblical figure)    2. Ancient and Classical    3. David,    4. Gay & Lesbian    5. Gay Studies    6. Gender Studies    7. Gilgamesh    8. Homosexuality in literature    9. Homosexuality in the Bible    10. Jonathan    11. King of Israel    12. Literary Criticism    13. Sexuality & Gender Studies    14. Biblical studies, criticism & exegesis    15. Gay & Lesbian studies    16. Hellenic languages    17. Literary Criticism & Collections / Gay & Lesbian   

Reviews (2)

A Powerful, Disruptive Challenge to Classicism
Sappho of Lesbos, appropriated in modern times as a classical literary progenitor of sexual transgression, lived and wrote in the 7th century B.C.E. Apart from that fact, however, little is known of her life or the circumstances in which she wrote and performed her poetry. Indeed, the poetry itself exists only in fragments. In the words of Page duBois, the author of this thought-provoking collection of essays, "[s]he is not a person, not even a character in a drama or a fiction, but a set of texts gathered in her name." A Powerful, Disruptive Challenge to Classicism
Sappho of Lesbos, appropriated in modern times as a classical literary progenitor of sexual transgression, lived and wrote in the 7th century B.C.E. Apart from that fact, however, little is known of her life or thecircumstances in which she wrote and performed her poetry.Indeed, thepoetry itself exists only in fragments.In the words of Page duBois, theauthor of this thought-provoking collection of essays, "[s]he is not aperson, not even a character in a drama or a fiction, but a set of textsgathered in her name."Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient and Classical    2. Gay & Lesbian    3. Gender Studies    4. Literature - Classics / Criticism    5. Literature: Classics    6. Social Science    7. Sociology    8. Ancient (Classical) Greek    9. Poetry & poets: classical, early & medieval    10. Social Science / Gender Studies   

Reviews (1)

Barrington at her best
This is the poet's third book of poems and marks a big leap forward in confidence, grasp of form, and weight of subject matter. She is sometimes funny, often wise, and the poems are elegant, some in traditional forms, others merely musical. There is a notable work about New York's twin towers ("AfterImage") written in old accentual verse, which, in its true form, falls into two columns remarkably like the towers themselves. There are a few political poems, transforming righteous indignation into poetry, and many poems rooted in the natural world and focusing on animals. The horses of the title appear even in poems not directly about them. This book will appeal to a wide range of readers including those normally wary of poetry. It is both accessible and a good read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. American Contemporary Poetry    3. Gay & Lesbian    4. Lesbian    5. Poetry    6. Women Authors    7. Poetry / General   

Reviews (1)

What the Bible Really Says!
Justice for Gays and Lesbians is wonderfully accessible and useful rather than a "scholarly" dissertation or one-dimensional approach to the crisis and challenge facing mainline Protestant denominations in this country.This easy-reading book provides both clarity and comprehensive coverage of the issues involved when individuals and congregations wrestle over inclusion of gays and lesbians in church and society.Dr. McCan ably summarizes the long years of religious debate on this issue inmainline protestant churches and specifically highlights the Episcopalian odyssey. He addresses context and meaning when homosexuality is discussedin the Old and New Testaments. Dr. McCan provides a clear exposition of how Jesus burst on the scene of public ministry with a desire to redefine the ethic of Judaism. We can understand how absolutely radical Jesus was within both his Jewish community and larger community of his day.
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Subjects:  1. Gay & Lesbian    2. Literary Criticism    3. Robert L. McCan, PhD.   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. American literature    3. Gay & Lesbian    4. Gay Studies    5. Gay men's writings, American    6. Gender Studies    7. History    8. History and criticism    9. Homosexuality and literature    10. Literary Criticism    11. New York    12. New York (State)    13. United States    14. American English    15. Gay & Lesbian studies    16. Literary Criticism & Collections / American    17. Literature of special Gay interest    18. Novels, other prose & writers: from c 1900 -    19. USA    20. c 1960 to c 1970    21. c 1970 to c 1980    22. c 1980 to c 1990   

Reviews (1)

The Fall of the Imam
This book is an account of a patriarchal society in a middle eastern country. Suffice to say it contains a heavy dose of realism and confusing metaphors simultaneously. I found the storyline hard to follow; too much switching between characters; and once again the metaphors were extremely confusing and hard to follow. All in all it seems as though the book has been written in arabic and translated word for word without consideration of any gramatical writing effects. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Gay & Lesbian    4. General    5. Literary Criticism    6. Muslim women    7. Fiction / General    8. Islamic countries    9. Literary Criticism & Collections / Gay & Lesbian    10. Modern fiction    11. Women's studies   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. English fiction    3. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    4. Gay & Lesbian    5. History and criticism    6. Lesbian Studies    7. Lesbians in literature    8. Literary Criticism    9. Literature - Classics / Criticism    10. Women authors    11. Women's Studies - General   

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Gay & Lesbian    3. Gender Studies    4. Literature - Classics / Criticism    5. Social Science    6. Sociology    7. Subjects & Themes - Portraits    8. Gay & Lesbian studies    9. Literary studies: from c 1900 -    10. Photographs: portraits    11. Social Science / Gender Studies    12. USA   

Reviews (14)

Not My Cup
My stars are generous. I liked this memoir the first time I read it, but upon reading it a second time I could only wonder what I was thinking the first time around. As fellow reader Bruce suggests, Tea's story DOES have merit and, I would add, social importance, but the ways in which she conveys her story--or fails to convey it sometimes--leaves much to be desired.
a third attempt shows true writing skills....
tea's first two memoirs are full of action and sesationalistic experiences with lovers, drugs and prostitution.where you really find out about the skills of a writer is their ability to make the quieter, less thrilling moments of life interesting.tea's ability to do this is best discribed as average.though i appreciate her story of growing up working class in a poor neighborhood outside of boston, it was somewhat of a struggle to get through this book.i would venture to suggest that tea is certainly an important voice in young, queer culture, she's just not always so well spoken.

overwrought, over-the-top, Tea's harsh memoir falters badly
After trudging through Michelle Tea's gritty, depressing and desperately uneven recollections of her degraded and desolate childhood and adolescence, exhausted readers will have reason to congratulate both the author and themselves for survival skills.Written in staccato bursts of stream of consciousnessness vignettes which yearn for an editor's red pencil, "The Chelsea Whistle" valiantly attempts to not only narrate but explain how poverty and hopelessness blight lives.Unfortunately, Tea spends far too much time describing events and cataloging abuses and far too little time analyzing their influence.Sure, her horrific Chelsea, Massachusetts, the place where the American Dream goes to die, suffocates and submerges creative individualism and creative impulse.Of course, the only families that city spawns are pathetically dysfunctional.With Tea's ham-handed approach, readers will shrug their shoulders and say, "So what?"Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Gay & Lesbian    5. Literary    6. Personal Memoirs    7. Women   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Gay & Lesbian    3. History    4. Lesbian Studies    5. Lesbianism    6. Social Science    7. Sociology    8. United States    9. Women's Studies - General   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. American - General    3. English fiction    4. English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    5. Gay & Lesbian    6. Gay Studies    7. History and criticism    8. Lesbians in literature    9. Literary Criticism    10. Literature - Classics / Criticism    11. Women Authors    12. British Isles    13. English    14. Ethnic studies    15. Gay & Lesbian studies    16. Novels, other prose & writers: from c 1900 -    17. Social classes    18. USA   

Reviews (1)

memoir of the 1950s and Beat era mostly in Greenwich Village
Field, an award-winning gay poet now in his seventies, brings the bohemianism of the 1950s alive. The content is a reminiscence made up mostly of vignettes of individuals Field knew rather than literary or social history; though the impress of the bohemianism centered in Greenwich Village on American literature and culture comes out. Susan Sontag, James Baldwin, May Swenson, Paul Bowles, and Frank O'Hara all make appearances, along with numerous other famed artists and little-known, yet still colorful individuals including the author's partner Neil Derrick. The six-page index consists entirely of the names of individuals Field portrays to varying degrees. Much of the memoir focuses on the sexual escapades and relationships of many characters and how the author and others got by as homosexuals in this era when this was not as open as it is today, yet nonetheless accepted in the limited, adventurous world of Greenwich Village. For Field's position in the local art scene, his wide circle of friends and acquaintances, and his extended treatment of the libertine sexual activity, the work is a basic source on this notable, particularly fertile vein of American artistic creativity. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Authors, American    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Bohemianism    8. Gay & Lesbian    9. Gay Studies    10. Gay men    11. General    12. Homosexuality    13. Lesbian Studies    14. Lesbians    15. Literary    16. United States    17. Social Science / Gay Studies   

Subjects:  1. Christianity    2. Christianity and literature    3. Europe    4. Gay & Lesbian    5. History    6. History and criticism    7. History of doctrines    8. Literary Criticism    9. Literature - Classics / Criticism    10. Literature, Medieval    11. Medieval    12. Medieval Literature - History And Criticism    13. Middle Ages, 600-1500    14. Religious Literature    15. Religious aspects    16. To 1500    17. Virginity    18. Women Authors    19. British & Irish history: c 1000 to c 1500    20. British Isles    21. European history: c 500 to c 1500    22. Gender studies    23. Literary Criticism & Collections / General    24. Literary studies: general    25. Social history    26. c 500 CE to c 1000 CE