Notes on Sontag
"Notes on Sontag" is a frank, witty, and entertaining reflection on the work, influence, and personality of one of the "foremost interpreters of . . . our recent contemporary moment." Adopting Sontag's favorite form, a set of brief essays or notes that circle around a topic from different perspectives, renowned essayist Phillip Lopate considers the achi
...moreHardcover, 247 pages
Published
May 1st 2009
by Princeton University Press
(first published March 9th 2009)
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Closer to 3.5 stars... Lopate, who was an acquaintance of Sontag's and apparently a well-known essayist himself (this is my first exposure to his work), has written a somewhat informal collection of notes that is, first and foremost, a felt reflection on her writing. Every one of her books gets at least a few lines, but the bulk of Lopate's considerations are focused on the essays (and rightly so). He has much to say on her aphoristic style, her polemical "radicalism" in art in the ...more
The blurb describing this reflective collection of essays reads: "Despite admiring and being inspired by her essays, he admits a persistent ambivalence about Sontag." Most peole who dare to approach Sontag invariably fall into this ambivalence. "She was great. Then she kinda' changed. But she was still great, but in a different way. Or maybe not; maybe she became too snobby and opinionated. Maybe she always was." Whatever she was, I love reading about her wry way of looking a...more
Phillip's easy gait through Sontag's body of work belies the intellectual rigor such a task requires at every turn. I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to journey along -- without having to do any of the heavy lifting.
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Phillip Lopate is the author of three personal essay collections, two novels, two poetry collections, a memoir of his teaching experiences, and a collection of his movie criticism. He has edited the following anthologies, and his essays, fiction, poetry, film and architectural criticism have appeared in The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Essays, The Paris Review, Harper's, Vogue, E...more
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