WEEK IN FICTION CAMILLE BORDAS ON WHAT THINGS ARE WORTH WORRYING ABOUT
As for how Jordan envisioned The Borgias to end, “I wanted a totally biblical ending, for the pope to burn in hell,” he said. That is how he wrote the proposed two-hour finale, with the pope dying and no one willing to hear his confession. When they finally find a confessor and the pope starts to repent his sins, the confessor interrupts him, saying, “I’m sorry, it’s too late, you’re already dead and burning in hell.” “This satisfies all moral feelings about the pope,” Jordan said. He is now returning to movies, keeping up hope he could still make the proposed Borgias two-hour finale, maybe as a feature.
A new beginning: "The Short Story Reader's Digest"
I have been blogging about literature for several years, and -- much to the consternation of a few people -- I have deleted some of my blogs in recent months, but now against all odds, though with the encouragement of friends and family, and in response to a gift from my wife, I am turning the page on the past and attempting another new blog with a different focus and a special commitment.
This new blog is where I hope to read, review, and discuss short stories written by masters: Hawthorne, Melville, Twain, Turgenev, Chekhov, Maupassant, James, Hemingway, Welty, Joyce, Anderson, Fitzgerald, O'Connor, Chesterton, Doyle, and many others.
Because of the many limitations upon my time, abilities, attentions, and energies, the scope of the blog must be limited, so I will restrict my weekly schedule to reading one or two stories (announced to you in advance) and writing one or two new postings.
My "reading syllabus" begins with some selections recommended by Harold Bloom in his book, which I recommend, How to Read and Why (Scribner, 2000):
The first selections -- which I will read in order -- are as follows:
Turgenev's "Bezhin Lea" and "Kasyan from the Beautiful Lands"
Chekhov's "The Kiss," "The Student," and "The Lady with the Dog"
Maupassant's "Madame Tellier's Establishment" and "The Horla"
I cordially invite you to read along and join the discussions.
Perhaps you will help me begin this new blogging experience; please tell me a little bit about your favorite short stories
I was walking along the street in downtown Portland, when I was startled to see a piano placed in a park. There it was, a piano in a park. How strange, I thought.
Then a couple of days later my wife and I drove out to a park at the junction of the Columbia and Willamette rivers. And once again, there was a piano sitting all by itself in the park.
On further investigation I discovered a program, “Piano! Push. Play”. that rescues old pianos and puts them on the street or park for everyone to enjoy. They’ve been doing this for the past four summers.
