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Los Angeles has always been a place of paradisal promise and apocalyptic undercurrents. Simone de Beauvoir saw a kaleidoscopic "hall of mirrors," Aldous Huxley a "city of dreadful joy." Jack Kerouac found a "huge desert encampment," David Thomson imagined "Marilyn Monroe, fifty miles long, lying on her side, half-buried on a ridge of crumbling rock."
In Writing Los Angeles, The Library of America presents a glittering panorama in fiction, poetry, essays, journalism, and diaries by more than seventy writers. It brings to life the entrancing surfaces and unsettling contradictions of The City of Angels, from Raymond Chandler's evocation of murderous moods fed by the Santa Ana winds to John Gregory Dunne's affectionate tribute to "the deceptive perspectives of the pale subtropical light." Here are fascinating strata of Los Angeles history, from the 1920s oil boom to 1980s graffiti art, from flamboyant evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson to surf music genius Brian Wilson, from German emigré intellectuals to hard-bitten homicide cops. Here are fragile ecosystems, architectural splendors, and social chasms, in the words of writers as various as M.F.K. Fisher, William Faulkner, Bertolt Brecht, Evelyn Waugh, Octavio Paz, Joan Didion, Norman Mailer, Walter Mosley, Mona Simpson, and Charles Mingus. Art Pepper discovers the Central Avenue of the 1940s jazz scene; screenwriter Robert Towne reflects on Chinatown's origin; David Hockney teaches himself to drive; Pico Iyer finds at LAX "as clear an image as exists today of the world we are about to enter."
Writing Los Angeles is an incomparable literary tour guide to a city of shifting identities and endless surprises.
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Tim Gordon
reviewed Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology on May 15, 2007
Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology
After many years I finally finished reading this anthology. Although it shouldn't have taken this long, to my credit, it is nearly 900 pages long. I bought this book to serve as a source of inspiration for my writing since the project I've been working on for the last 9 years takes place in Los Angeles. For the most part, the book served its purpose and I look forward to incorporating some of the notes I took into my work ahead. As you can imagine from its length, the anthology is very comprehensive which at times I found to be a flaw. It seemed like many of the excerpts were included simply because they took place in LA and offered little reflection about the city. Some themes, although relevant, seemed too repetitive (Hollywood, movies, driving in LA, the dependence on the car)while others (the hidden corners LA and its citizens working in the service industry)were only briefly touched upon through more modern day excerpts. I enjoyed reading the introductory paragraphs to each cited writer and there were some wonderful gems in every genre (fiction, poetry, essay, novel, memoir).
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Add Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology, Los Angeles has always been a place of paradisal promise and apocalyptic undercurrents. Simone de Beauvoir saw a kaleidoscopic hall of mirrors, Aldous Huxley a city of dreadful joy. Jack Kerouac found a huge desert encampment, David Thomson imagined, Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology to the inventory that you are selling on WonderClubX
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Add Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology, Los Angeles has always been a place of paradisal promise and apocalyptic undercurrents. Simone de Beauvoir saw a kaleidoscopic hall of mirrors, Aldous Huxley a city of dreadful joy. Jack Kerouac found a huge desert encampment, David Thomson imagined, Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology to your collection on WonderClub |
