Interesting things included

Interesting things I read in newspapers this weekend included: a new anthology about fathers and daughters has this reviewer asking "Why do some writers treat the essay form like a therapy session instead of a piece of prose composed for a wider audience?" Which is the end too many anthologies have led me to, but then flipping through the original Dropped Threads the other day, I got the sense that the quality of essays contained there was much better. I could be wrong, didn't read it so closely, but I wonder if that these essays were written before the craze of anthologies and creative-nonfiction means that they were less self-conscious, less prescribed. Now so many nonfiction essays appear to be based upon the same template, and so mediochre (remember the anthology that made me want to die?) Anyway.

I really loved Sheema Khan's column this week, urging Muslim women to stand up against male domination. She closes with "Social injustices should be confronted head-on with spiritual conviction and the resolve to face stiff opposition. An echo from another era by a Canadian woman of faith, Nellie McClung, should inspire us: 'Never retract, never explain, never apologize - get things done and let them howl.'"

A fascinating piece Post 9/11 Fiction. On gay lit, the biggest ghetto since "women's fiction". A blog entry on Zelda Fitzgerald (who I spent my late-teens absolutely obsessed with), but as always don't bother with the comments (particularly the one in which the writer claims that F. Scott was not successful).