Discussing The Exiles #1: From Masha

So, I’m hoping that we can discuss the whole idea of censorship, especially relating to the supernatural and fantastical in the story. Especially the attitude of Dickens, who denies that he really belongs because he ‘isn’t a supernaturalist’ like the rest of them, but Christmas is, after all, every bit as dangerous to the sanitized mind as Halloween. What are your thoughts? What did this story bring to mind? Anyone, Anyone??

Content warnings - a Recommendation from Laura

(Content note: discussion of rape and violence in literature)

 

           Hey, so I was wondering if we should have a content warning / content note system in place for book club discussion? Especially since the group has expanded, it might be a good thing to keep in mind. Here's an example relevant to the book club context: I don't personally mind reading stories with rape scenes in them, but I do like fair warning, so that I can skim or skip if I'm not feeling up to reading it at the moment. A warning also gives any of us who might never feel up to reading a rape scene the opportunity to choose to sit this one out or not. This is a courtesy I've definitely come to appreciate.

Expanded example: I just read a great story where the rape was just DROPPED IN to the middle of a paragraph and I would definitely have appreciated some kind of heads up. So, if it were my turn to pick for book club and I chose that story, I would include in my blog entry, somewhere visible, "Content note: rape" or some such thing (like the parenthetical above).

       Or, if I were recommending this historical essay I've been considering about early American schools, I might include a (Content note: Descriptions of violence, corporal punishment), as a fair warning for anyone who wanted to put off reading about those things until they were feeling better, or just appreciated being mentally prepared to read about a lot of sixteen-year-olds getting beat up in various contexts.

The problem is figuring out when to include content notes & how specific to be -- but that can be a subject for discussion. It's fairly easy to do this on a common-sense, your-own-best-judgement basis and fine-tune it as we go.

 What do you think?

Let's begin!

Short Story #1: “The Exiles” by Ray Bradbury. You can find it in the collection The Illustrated Man.

It should be pretty easy to get a hold of, but if you’re having trouble, give me a yell in the comments and I’ll help out. I thought it’d be a great one to start with because it’s fun, but it does have some meat as well. I’d love to hear your thoughts as soon as you have them, I’ll be posting mine in a day or two, and meanwhile, don’t forget the introductions!

Remember that you can either send me an email (cyganeria.milika@gmail.com) to be posted as it's own blogpost, or if you just have tiny bit to say, you can use the comments, that works too. I'm trying to give us a lot of options for actual discussion, so we don't feel all cramped up in the comment's section or bound by only my posts for discussion.

Enjoy!

Introductions

We’re starting this week everyone!

I’ll post the title and author of our first story tomorrow, but first I want to just say “hi” and make sure everything is working here.

The plan is, I get to pick the first story, and we’ve got the next couple weeks to discuss it. Go ahead and send me an email (I can be reached at cyganeria.milika@gmail.com)   with your thoughts anytime in that week, I’ll post it as a blog and discussion can follow. That way, we can delve into different aspects and interpretations of the story without hijacking the comment thread. Sometime in the next week, I’ll draw the name of our next chooser, and whether he or she will be choosing a story or an essay. Anyone is welcome to join, just comment below with a brief introduction and I’ll put your name in the hat!

We are only reading short stories or short essays, because most of us don’t have time to add anything longer to our reading lists, but any topic is acceptable, providing it’s not obscene. We read every two weeks and encourage discussion throughout the reading process, you can also feel free to go back and comment on old topics!

To introduce myself, I’m Masha, I blog at Cyganeria and Piekno. The first is focused primarily on art, beauty, and faith; the second on my daily life in an off-the-gird yurt. I spend most of my time chasing after my daughter, drinking coffee, and fighting chaos. Who are you?