The term "floating world" has deeper meanings than at first glance.
Tag: language
Writing Fiction in English as a Second Language: Code Words.
A single word or image can mean different things to different readers.
Being Futsu
"Futsu" is an overlooked word but essential in Japanese fiction.
Koyashi
One word can ruin the translation of a literary work.
Lit Lite
Multi-culturalism is not about bemoaning Eurocentric culture while you wait for foreign perspectives to be delivered to you in English.
A Solution for Female Writers
If the situation for female writers in America is so dire, why not come across the pond?
Do you have to understand every word?
When Joseph Conrad's Nostromo was first published in 1904, many of the words used in the text must have been unfamiliar to the general public. The common folk of the neighborhood, peons of the estancias, vaqueros of the seaboard plains, tame Indians coming miles to market with a bundle of sugar-cane or a basket of maize worth … Continue reading Do you have to understand every word?
Write Not What You Are Not
An intriguing story by Susan Barker appeared on the pages of The Los Angeles Review of Books titled "Should Ethnicity Limit What a Fiction Writer Can Write?". The article relates the authors experiences of a recent book tour she made in China after publishing her book The Incarnations set in modern China. The author is … Continue reading Write Not What You Are Not
Joyce Maynard vs James Patterson
In the cult movie The Decline of the American Empire, a young intellectual confesses he has sexual fantasies about sleeping with Susan Sontag. The movie was released in 1986, so Susan Sontag was about 53 years young. Times were different then. Men in their early twenties having fantasies about sex with fifty-something writers was considered … Continue reading Joyce Maynard vs James Patterson
My First Novel
I grew up writing and telling stories. When I was twelve, they were mostly Harry Potter style adventures. Not about wizards, but about average boys with normal fears and abnormal skills who face enemies and dangers best left for Superman to confront. In my early teens they were mostly poetry. Depressing stuff. It was the … Continue reading My First Novel
Samurai Novelist 