The Rumpus.net » Nidya Sarria http://therumpus.net Books, Music, Movies, Art, Politics, Sex, Other Sat, 25 May 2013 01:10:34 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Uncovered Updike http://therumpus.net/2010/11/uncovered-updike/ http://therumpus.net/2010/11/uncovered-updike/#comments Fri, 19 Nov 2010 22:48:19 +0000 Nidya Sarria http://therumpus.net/?p=66909 Guernica features John Updike in a previously unpublished interview. He discusses his admiration of Nabokov, his writing and reading habits, and why he wrote a book from the point of view of a terrorist.

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]]> Guernica features John Updike in a previously unpublished interview. He discusses his admiration of Nabokov, his writing and reading habits, and why he wrote a book from the point of view of a terrorist.

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]]> http://therumpus.net/2010/11/uncovered-updike/feed/ 0 Wired and Women http://therumpus.net/2010/11/wired-and-women/ http://therumpus.net/2010/11/wired-and-women/#comments Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:34:47 +0000 Nidya Sarria http://therumpus.net/?p=66561 Wired featured a pair of breasts on the cover of its November issue to promote an article on tissue engineering.

In an open letter to the magazine, Cindy Royal argues that this cover, like many covers in Wired‘s past, is sexist.

]]> Wired featured a pair of breasts on the cover of its November issue to promote an article on tissue engineering.

In an open letter to the magazine, Cindy Royal argues that this cover, like many covers in Wired‘s past, is sexist.

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]]> http://therumpus.net/2010/11/wired-and-women/feed/ 0 “My son finally hit this jerk in the face.” http://therumpus.net/2010/11/my-son-finally-hit-this-jerk-in-the-face/ http://therumpus.net/2010/11/my-son-finally-hit-this-jerk-in-the-face/#comments Tue, 09 Nov 2010 16:53:28 +0000 Nidya Sarria http://therumpus.net/?p=66117 As a single mother living in a majority-Republican town, Alana Noel Voth is determined to raise an open-minded son against all odds.

She talks to her son frankly about sex and sexuality, despite the sometimes overwhelming negativity she encounters from people with different value systems.

]]> As a single mother living in a majority-Republican town, Alana Noel Voth is determined to raise an open-minded son against all odds.

She talks to her son frankly about sex and sexuality, despite the sometimes overwhelming negativity she encounters from people with different value systems. Her relationship with her son and her commitment to upholding respect for others is more important to her than the local consensus. Alana Noel Voth writes about parenthood, honesty, and sexuality.

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]]> http://therumpus.net/2010/11/my-son-finally-hit-this-jerk-in-the-face/feed/ 0 Pick Up the Phone http://therumpus.net/2010/11/pick-up-the-phone/ http://therumpus.net/2010/11/pick-up-the-phone/#comments Mon, 01 Nov 2010 15:00:12 +0000 Nidya Sarria http://therumpus.net/?p=65338 Jeanne Leiby, editor of The Southern Review, calls writers when she accepts their work for publication. Since rejection is a major aspect of her line of work, she considers acceptances a special occasion. By calling writers who have had their work accepted by the magazine, Leiby establishes relationships with her contributors.

]]> Jeanne Leiby, editor of The Southern Review, calls writers when she accepts their work for publication. Since rejection is a major aspect of her line of work, she considers acceptances a special occasion. By calling writers who have had their work accepted by the magazine, Leiby establishes relationships with her contributors. She is also able to celebrate their acceptance with them.

Not many editors call up their contributing writers. Would the literary world be better for it?

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]]> http://therumpus.net/2010/11/pick-up-the-phone/feed/ 0 Authors’ Lost Libraries http://therumpus.net/2010/09/authors-lost-libraries/ http://therumpus.net/2010/09/authors-lost-libraries/#comments Tue, 21 Sep 2010 21:37:20 +0000 Nidya Sarria http://therumpus.net/?p=62510 What happens to an author’s personal library after his death? A reader discovered the answer to this question when she found a used copy of Don DeLillo’s book White Noise in notable Manhattan independent bookstore, The Strand. Once owned by David Markson, this book was one of many of his books floating around the store.

]]> What happens to an author’s personal library after his death? A reader discovered the answer to this question when she found a used copy of Don DeLillo’s book White Noise in notable Manhattan independent bookstore, The Strand. Once owned by David Markson, this book was one of many of his books floating around the store. The reader’s discovery prompted a search by Markson fans to recollect his library.

But why? Many people contend that an author’s library reveals something about the owner. For instance, Melville read and reread Paradise Lost while writing Moby Dick – an influence that shows in his novel. And yet libraries rarely survive an author’s death intact.

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]]> http://therumpus.net/2010/09/authors-lost-libraries/feed/ 0 Does Your Language Shape How You Think? http://therumpus.net/2010/08/does-your-language-shape-how-you-think/ http://therumpus.net/2010/08/does-your-language-shape-how-you-think/#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:32:09 +0000 Nidya Sarria http://therumpus.net/?p=61028 The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis theorizes that if a language has no word for a certain concept, then the speakers of that language cannot understand that concept. Though this has been disproved, it’s still pretty interesting. How do words shape our behavior given the inherent differences between different languages?

]]> The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis theorizes that if a language has no word for a certain concept, then the speakers of that language cannot understand that concept. Though this has been disproved, it’s still pretty interesting. How do words shape our behavior given the inherent differences between different languages?

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]]> http://therumpus.net/2010/08/does-your-language-shape-how-you-think/feed/ 1 Being a Good Literary Loser http://therumpus.net/2010/08/being-a-good-literary-loser/ http://therumpus.net/2010/08/being-a-good-literary-loser/#comments Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:38:33 +0000 Nidya Sarria http://therumpus.net/?p=60761 Rick Gekoswki, shortlisted for the PEN/Ackerley prize, discusses literary award ceremonies and being a good loser. Joining Julian Barnes and Colm Tóibín as would-be prizewinners, he illustrates the pain of losing in public–nervous chatter, camera closeups, post-ceremony personal judgments, and all.

]]> Rick Gekoswki, shortlisted for the PEN/Ackerley prize, discusses literary award ceremonies and being a good loser. Joining Julian Barnes and Colm Tóibín as would-be prizewinners, he illustrates the pain of losing in public–nervous chatter, camera closeups, post-ceremony personal judgments, and all.

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]]> http://therumpus.net/2010/08/being-a-good-literary-loser/feed/ 0 A Week Without Technology http://therumpus.net/2010/08/a-week-without-technology/ http://therumpus.net/2010/08/a-week-without-technology/#comments Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:55:24 +0000 Nidya Sarria http://therumpus.net/?p=59895 Five neuroscientists from Washington University in St. Louis spent a week in late May rafting, camping, and hiking in a remote area of southern Europe.

Their goal was to understand how a nature retreat would change their behavior. How do people react when they can’t answer their cellphones, access their email, or use their computers?

]]> Five neuroscientists from Washington University in St. Louis spent a week in late May rafting, camping, and hiking in a remote area of southern Europe.

Their goal was to understand how a nature retreat would change their behavior. How do people react when they can’t answer their cellphones, access their email, or use their computers? Has the way we think and behave changed as a result of technology? Click here and find out.

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]]> http://therumpus.net/2010/08/a-week-without-technology/feed/ 0 Nidya Sarria: The Last Book I Loved, The Unbearable Lightness of Being http://therumpus.net/2010/08/nidya-sarria-the-last-book-i-loved-the-unbearable-lightness-of-being/ http://therumpus.net/2010/08/nidya-sarria-the-last-book-i-loved-the-unbearable-lightness-of-being/#comments Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:00:30 +0000 Nidya Sarria http://therumpus.net/?p=59750 I’m a horrible gift-giver. I’m the person who gave you a gift certificate on your birthday, didn’t realize you’d expect a gift on our anniversary, and cooked “Christmas dinner” in lieu of a wrapped present. In short, you shouldn’t expect much from me.

]]> I’m a horrible gift-giver. I’m the person who gave you a gift certificate on your birthday, didn’t realize you’d expect a gift on our anniversary, and cooked “Christmas dinner” in lieu of a wrapped present. In short, you shouldn’t expect much from me.

When I do take the time and energy to purchase a thoughtful gift, it’s often a book. I have a few rules for gifting books. First, I never repeat books. I won’t give someone a book I’ve given someone else. Second, I never gift a book for no reason. Even if I can’t explain my reasoning to myself, the book has to feel right for this particular person in order for me to purchase it and hand it over. Third, I never explain my choice of book to the giftee.

My latest failed romantic interest was bewildered by my choice to simultaneously end our relationship and give him a copy of The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera.

“If life is insignificant, and decisions don’t matter,” he started when he confronted me about it a few hours later, probably after looking up the plotline on Wikipedia.

“It’s just a book,” I said. “Forget about it. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Of course I meant something. The Unbearable Lightness of Being posits the idea that since everything occurs only once, existence loses its weight. “For how can we condemn something that is ephemeral, in transit? In the sunset of dissolution, everything is illuminated by the aura of nostalgia, even the guillotine,” Kundera writes. The moral ambiguity behind this statement drives the novel.

Kundera follows the story of Tomas, an incorrigible womanizer, and his wife Tereza, plagued by jealousy and the inability to leave him;  he also follows Sabina, a woman defined by her love for betrayal and lack of loyalty, and Franz, the man who left his wife in order to be with her. Through his exploration of these complex relationships, Kundera portrays each character for what they are–even Tomas’ philosophy of infidelity is sympathetically analyzed and explained. The characters are examined under a microscope by readers who are encouraged by the author to view them without conventional judgment.

I read this book over the summer of 2010 on the metro in Washington, DC, a few pages every day whether I was seated in an empty train or struggling for a sense of personal space in a crowd. Though it was a slow read, it was a good one; the lack of consequences of my minute actions weighed on me on the way to a party or a networking event or a friend’s house. It only happens once. What a beautiful, freeing thought.

I don’t think I’ll ever have to explain myself to him. He may have read The Unbearable Lightness of Being, resentfully reading into every word. On the other hand, he might have never had the nerve to read it. The copy I gave him could be sitting in his bookcase, in his suitcase, or in the trash. He might have forgotten all about it. And that’d be for the best. None of it mattered, and thus it all mattered.

Anyway, it could have been worse. I could have given him a book of poetry. Wonder what he would have made of that?


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