One of the most nightmarish things about a dark age is the degradation that it entails for life’s overall tone, not least in the dehumanization that occurs when a people’s intellectual, emotional, moral, spiritual, political, social, and cultural life in general is reduced to a ghastly level of brutishness and ignorance. As is now plainly…
So just what the hell is post-modernism?
Background: Last week somebody posts a famous quip from Oscar Wilde at a popular message board: “In the old days books were written by men of letters and read by the public. Nowadays books are written by the public and read by nobody.” This leads to a conversation about what the quote means and whether…
R.I.P. Robert Anton Wilson and Douglas Harding, 1/11/07
I was rather stunned to receive the news today that two of my most cherished philosophical and spiritual influences have just died. Robert Anton Wilson (1932-2007) was an American author, philosopher, wiseguy, and all-around mega-genius who co-wrote, along with Robert Shea, the legendary Illuminatus! trilogy that became an instant counterculture classic when it was published…
The scholar as poet, and vice versa
Here’s wishing a happy 2007 to whoever’s reading this. The holiday break is now over and I’m back in my classroom, typing these words on my lunch hour. In the past I’ve been seriously and dramatically demotivated about the imminent resumption of my teaching duties after a brief break, but none of them compares to…
Autumn Longing: Peter Shaffer and AMADEUS
First, my standard proviso: If you haven’t already read the first installment in this series of posts, then please do so before reading this one, since the first one lays the groundwork for what I’m going on about. But for now, to reiterate briefly: Since childhood I have been overcome from time to time by…
The Daemon is someone inside you
Apologies for my failure yesterday to make my regular Monday blog post. I really have no excuse, especially since I was off work yesterday due to last week’s winter storm that has resulted in several days of school cancellations. Today we’re in our fourth day of this unexpected vacation, with a return to work tomorrow…
Religious Horror: the burgeoning cultural moment
What an interesting cultural moment it is for somebody like me, who holds an obsessive interest in religion, horror, and the interface between them. For example, it’s widely recognized that zombies have become the monsters of the moment in contemporary horror entertainment. Zombie-themed movies have been flooding movie theatres for the past five or six…
The inner locus of creative inspiration
Last Monday I was the subject of an author chat at The Lost and the Damned. I think it went pretty well. I certainly enjoyed myself, and a small crowd showed up to pick my brain about topics that proved quite interesting to me. I just hope my answers proved equally interesting to them. A…
Autumn Longing: Edgar Allan Poe
First, my standard proviso: If you haven’t already read the first installment in this series of posts, then please do so before reading this one, since the first one lays the groundwork for what I’m going on about. I assume Poe needs no introduction to most readers, seeing as he — or at least a…
Brian McNaughton’s “lost” introduction to DIVINATIONS OF THE DEEP
I just returned last night from attending the World Fantasy Convention in Austin, Texas. I’ll be posting a full report on my experiences there some time in the next week or so, but right now, in order to meet my self-imposed weekly blog deadline, I thought I’d go ahead and share something I’ve been planning…