Tag Archives: Writing

1905: Electric Ladyland

Posted on November 20, 2021 by corvusfugit

This story by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain appeared in The Indian Ladies’ Magazine in 1905: Sultana’s Dream One evening I was lounging in an easy chair in my bedroom and thinking lazily of the condition of Indian womanhood. I am not … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1900's, 2010's, 20th Century, 21st Century, Begum Rokeya, Chitra Ganesh, Feminism, India, Printmaking, Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Science Fiction, USA, Women, Writing | Leave a comment

1953: Description

Posted on July 3, 2021 by corvusfugit

A description of what we would now call a depressive episode from a 1953 story by Jean Ferry, “The Traveler with Luggage”: As a result of incidents still obscure to me, I suffered an absolutely atrocious mental breakdown in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1950's, 2020's, 20th Century, 21st Century, African-Americans, Art, Books, Damon Davis, France, Jean Ferry, Mental Health, Sculpture, USA, Writing | Leave a comment

1994: An Insane Premise

Posted on September 2, 2019 by corvusfugit

In an afterword to the 25th anniversary edition of Portnoy’s Complaint, Philip Roth tells a story about the first lines of his novels. When he was living in Chicago in the late 1950’s, he says, he once went to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1970's, 1990's, 20th Century, Autobiography, Books, Film, Judaism, Novels, Philip Roth, USA, Writing | Leave a comment

1895: A-ka-u-ku

Posted on May 12, 2019 by corvusfugit

In 1895, King Njoya of the Bamum, an ethnic group from what is now western Cameroon, invented an alphabet to record the history of his people. Njoya, who traced his linaege back 16 or 17 generations of kings, was insipred … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1890's, 19th Century, Africa, Books, Cameroon, Colonialism, Dreams, France, Language, Njoya, Writing | 1 Comment

1991: Time’s Arrow

Posted on December 31, 2018 by corvusfugit

In Martin Amis’s 1991 novel, Time’s Arrow, time flows backwards. It’s not simply that the events are narrated in reverse order; rather, it’s as if the characters were in a film being show in reverse. Here’s how eating works, for … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1990's, 20th Century, Books, Fascism, Germany, Great Britain, Holocaust, Josef Mengele, Martin Amis, Time, Writing, WWII | Leave a comment

1753: Dedication

Posted on October 24, 2018 by corvusfugit

Tobias Smollett dedicated his third novel to himself: TO DOCTOR ——— You and I, my good friend, have often deliberated on the difficulty of writing such a dedication as might gratify the self-complacency of a patron, without exposing the author … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Art, Books, Great Britain, Novels, Painting, Portraits, Scotland, Tobias Smollett, Writing | Leave a comment

1939: That Mighty Obstruction

Posted on October 7, 2018 by corvusfugit

Ernest Vincent Wright’s 1939 novel, Gadsby, was written without words that contain the letter “e.” Here is the opening: If youth, throughout all history, had had a champion to stand up for it; to show a doubting world that a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1930's, 20th Century, Books, Ernest Vincent Wright, John Keats, Lipograms, Novels, USA, Writing | Leave a comment

1927: Work in Progress

Posted on August 9, 2018 by corvusfugit

On May 20, 1927, James Joyce wrote to Harriet Shaw Weaver about what should happen if he were unable to complete Finnegans Wake. Another writer, Joyce said, should take it up and finish it; he had the person in mind: … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1920's, 20th Century, Food and Drink, Goats, Ireland, James Joyce, James Stephens, Novels, Poetry, Writing | Leave a comment

1939: Typewriter

Posted on August 6, 2018 by corvusfugit

This giant Underwood typewriter was on display in the Business Systems and Insurance Building at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. It weighed 14 tons and worked—letters could be typed on stationery measuring 9 by 12 feet.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1930's, 1940's, 20th Century, Engineering, Miniatures, USA, Writing | Leave a comment

1936: Then It Will Be Over

Posted on July 8, 2018 by corvusfugit

Here we are, alone again. It’s all so slow, so heavy, so sad … I’ll be old soon. Then at last it will be over. So many people have come into my room. They’ve talked. They haven’t said much. They’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 1930's, 2000's, 20th Century, 21st Century, Adam Stennett, Animals, Art, Books, Death, France, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Mammals, Medicine, Mice, Novels, Painting, USA, Writing | Leave a comment