/lit/ - Literature

>>8787891
>>8787895
Are these Louise Bourgeois' spiders?

>>8616905
>be me, in a college creative nonfiction class
>lots of journalism students a level above "I want to write my diary Tbh"
>lots more who just wanted to write their diaries
>one or two artsy ones who read Haruki Murakami exclusively
>one other /lit/tish person besides me
>the scene is set, we read DFW's "A Supposedly Fun Thing" essay
>the other /lit/ person is smart but insufferable, and when we start discussing the essay he blurts "it's very postmodern"
>I sperg and say that DFW is a post-postmodern writer
>literally no one else in the class knows about or cares about literary movements, they just like good books/writing
>I have nothing more to add to the discussion because I didn't read the whole thing

>>8494078
Meh, humanity's (or conscious beings' in general) thrust is in overcoming its primal, "cruel" nature. Irony can be used to make incredible art (e.g. lots of pomo literature), but hiding behind irony in order to justify animal-nature-behavior-and-thought is simply limiting.

Grad school and/or PhD for English?

Anyone knowledgable on this? I'd like to become an English professor and write fiction/poetry in my free time. I know it's difficult to become a professor, but I'm guessing that Grad school or a PhD would make it easier. My dad makes a decent living so debt isn't really an issue; he's also supportive of me going on to grad school.

Any current English grad/PhD students on here? Thoughts, advice, opinions? My main strengths in life are English and writing so I don't have many options. I've heard that Philosophy degrees tend to have the highest salaries in the humanities; maybe I could go for that instead. I don't really have any problems with Philosophy because it would help with writing just as much (if not moreso).

Joan Didion - "The White Album" is a great essay if you've never read her before.

Jo Ann Beard - "Inzanesville" is a novel on my shortlist (about adolescent girls), but I recently finished "The Boys of my Youth", her essay collection, which had some sublime realizations about childhood but was a decidedly female perspective throughout.