Taylor Kurtz

1/26/10

Didion: I Am New Journalism

            According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition of new journalism is, “Journalism that is characterized by the reporter's subjective interpretations and often features fictional dramatized elements to emphasize personal involvement.” Joan Didion’s A Book of Common Prayer is a perfect example of that era’s new journalism. Didion’s story is narrated by Grace Strasser- Mendana, who marries into the Mendanas, one of the major political families that run all of Boca Grande politics. Boce Grande is supposed to be a fictional country located in Central America.

 According to the Academy of Achievment , Joan Didion is recognized one of the most influential writers in the new journalism movement: “The atmosphere of California in the 1960s provided [Didion] with ample opportunities for writing in the personal mode that was becoming known as the New Journalism” (http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/did0bio-1, pg 1).  Joan Didion was inducted into the Academy of Achievment in the year 2006. Didion was also married to an aspiring novelist named John Gregory Dunne, who wrote for Time magazine. According to the website, books she wrote which were inspired by a political polot, such as A Book of Common Prayer, were due to the extensive traveling she did in Central America and the Pacific.

            A common characteristic new journalism is for the story to be presented in a manner unique to that particular writer, and in the case of A Book of Common Prayer, the story is narrated by Grace Strasser- Mendana, but she is not even the man character of the book. The main character of the book is a woman by the name of Charlotte Douglass. Thus, there is a very unique presentation of the story since it is from the perspective of a third party individual, thus somewhat providing the reader with the story from the outside looking in. There is the possibility that had the story been told from the perspective of Charlotte Douglass, the reader may have been reading a completely different story coming from a different character. Especially due to the fact that there was a political struggle going on which induced horrible events, including the disappearance of Marin, Charlotte Douglass’ daughter, who runs off with a group and becomes a believer in Marxism, which devastates Charlotte and even leads to the end of her marriage.

            However, that is not what Joan Didion intended for A Book of Common Prayer. The fact that an outside perspective is provided to the reader allows Joan Didion to tell her story in a very unique way as she can pretty much narrate the entire through her own eyes, even though the story is techinically depicted through the eyes of Grace Strasser- Mendanna. Although that is what makes not only the story, but Didion’s writing style in general. She allowed the reader to hear of a tragedy in politics as it actually unfolded in Central America from the perspective one of the main political family members. Thus, due the fact that the story is narrated by a character who is not even the central character perfectly illustrates how A Book of Comon Prayer is written by Joan Didion in the style of new journalism.

Works Cited

Didion, Joan. A Book of Common Prayer. New York: Vintage International, 1995. Print. The book the assignment was on.

“Joan Didion Biography.” Academy of Achievement . N.p., 3 Jan. 2007. Web. 26 Jan. 2010. . An in depth biography of Joan Didion.

“New Journalism.” Def. 1. Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2009. Web. 26 Jan. 2010. . The official definition of New Journalism.

 

 

 

 

Ginsberg: Kickin it with Bob Dylan

Taylor Kurtz

1/13/10

Ginsberg: Kickin’ it with Bob Dylan

            The connection between famous poet Allen Ginsberg and legendary musician Bob Dylan is in no way a secret. Dylan has cited Ginsberg as an enormous influence on his music on numerous occasions. An interesting note however, is that they were only fifteen years apart in age, despite the fact they are often viewed as having a father-son relationship. Regardless of the age difference, Ginseng, the Beat poet, had an enormous impact on the legendary songwriting of Bob Dylan.

            Dylan did not even begin writing poetry or music until he was out of high school. According to Dylan, it was not until he was eighteen years of age when he discovered Ginsberg and began composing poetry and lyrics. Thus, Ginsberg and the Beat generation were enough to inspire Dylan to start writing.

            It was not until 1961 when Ginsberg and Bob Dylan were first introduced by Al Aronowitz, who was both a journalist and mutual friend of Ginsberg and Dylan. Not only was Dylan tremendously influenced by Ginseng, but the respect was absolutely mutual. Ginseng loved Dylan’s work and felt as though he was “returning poetry to the human body through the medium of music.” He was so impressed by Dylan, that he even wrote 3 separate poems dedicated to praising Dylan and the music he composed.

To further solidify their status as being considered having father-son relationship, they collaborated on several projects, including several songs where Ginseng would take over lead vocals and Dylan would work the guitar, harmonica, and backup vocals for the music. All of the songs were recorded in New York. The songs received high praise from those that heard them, but they were originally intended to be released on an album called Holly Soul Jelly Roll, which was never released to the general public for sale. Yet most of the songs are available via bootleg on the Internet. Furthermore, on his Rolling Thunder Revue tour, which was later turned into a dvd, he can be seen on stage being joined by Ginsberg for the performance of the song “This Land is Your Land.” In subsequent shows he also performed backup vocals and the harmonics.

Dylan also managed to have a dramatic impact on Ginsberg as well. After meeting Dylan, Ginsberg became much more involved in both social and political activism, even going as far as to join with Norman Mailer to stand up for the book The Naked Lunch. However all in all, Ginsberg is seen as a major mentor figure to not only Dylan, but Beat poetry in general. Dylan has even been known to include some references to Ginsbergs poetry or even some of his poetry recitations in his music.

The similarities between the two are often found in the spirit of their artwork. While Dylan learned quite a bit from Ginsberg, the way they interacted and also collaborated indicates the way they both benefited from their relatioship and the way they both helped bring Beat poetry into the 60s.

Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Publishers. 2001.

"Father and Son."  http://www.beatdom.com/Father_and_son_allen_ginsberg_and_bob_dylan.htm