Hot Spots in Literature

That's a lot of dead trees there.

• The Banning of Books
• Literature by it's nature has always caused controversy regardless of the era. From the usage of deragatory language, to uncomfortable social critique, authors throughout history have a knack for creating things that challenge the social status quo. (See Controversial and Banned Books)
• Stretching the Definition
• What we define as "Literature" used to be something as simple as a book, and only that. However, with the advent of other media, that definition is now being stretched to include potential examples such as comic books, manga and even recursive or "fan" fiction! As such, there are now conflicts in Academia about an official ironclad definition for Literature. (See What Counts as Literature?)
• Regarding the "Word of God"
• One of the more recent developments in Literary history is the ability for the Author to make statements about their work after the book is already published and sold. Possibly the most famous example is J.K. Rowling, who often makes claims as to what is canon in her book series that often contradict what is written in the actual books. This has lead to the creation of "New Criticism", which seeks to judge books by what is only in the text and not by any outside circumstances. (See J.K. Rowling retconning Harry Potter on Twitter has consequences and New Criticism)

Whereas Authorial statements can be ignored in favor of what is already written, and banned books can easily be found online in some form or manner, I feel that the biggest issue is the definition of what we consider Literature. There are so many different forms of New Media developed in the last few decades that could technically fit under the same umbrella as books, but due to their "newness" are considered to be lesser by many, despite the fact that there are quite literally hundreds of thousands of books which are hardly worthy of the title of "literature". Instead of pushing back so hard against admitting these new arrivals, we as a community of readers should be welcoming them with open arms.

Image Credit: "Books" obtained via Wikimedia Commons

Beauty, Truth, and Love

One of Mucha's famed posters.

My most long-standing friend is my cousin Adam. One of the first things I remember of him is his amazing artistic ability. Growing up, I was always in awe of his drawings, which largely consisted of lanky ladies in lavish outfits. My second summer of high school, at our local Barnes and Noble, Adam introduced me to one of his favorite artists—Alphonse Mucha.

Looking through Mucha's works, I realized why my cousin admired him. His pieces were completely captivating, unlike anything I had ever seen before. The artist's trademark style has an ethereal quality to it; the subjects appear enchantingly regal, like quietly omnipotent goddesses; the paintings are highly impressionistic but still precisely detailed. Mucha's unique Belle Epoque style is unmistakable, even among other art nouveau.

Mucha, like my cousin, had always been an artist, even before he could walk. Still, he struggled to make ends meet at first. Finally, at age 34, Mucha was by chance tasked with creating a poster for the upcoming performance of famous Parisian performer Sarah Bernhardt. He used a narrow poster and pastels to create the advertisement, and Bernhardt loved the distinctly modern-yet-sophisticated style so much she had him create posters for all her performances. People were so obsessed with the posters they would cut them down off their posts for themselves.