The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Monday, September 18, 2017 — 5A
DAILY LITERATURE COLUMN
LGBTQ writers & their
place in literary cannon
Literature columnist Laura Dzubay explores the uneven
patterns of sexual identity scattered across the literary canon
When you hear “Willa Cather,”
you might think, “Oh yeah, I had to
look up My Ántonia on SparkNotes
in high school.” Or, if you’re a
big literary fan, you might recall
some of her other monumental
and frontier-focused novels, “O
Pioneers!,” “Song of the Lark” and
“One of Ours.” Or maybe you’re just
thinking, I’ve never heard of Willa
Cather before today.
But one thing a lot of people
aren’t aware of, even if they are
familiar with her groundbreaking
achievements in literature, is that
Cather was likely a member of the
LGBTQ community.
Of course, the idea of a famous
writer being LGBTQ is hardly a
groundbreaking one. So was Oscar
Wilde, so were Arthur Rimbaud
and Paul Verlaine, Allen Ginsberg,
W. H. Auden — maybe even
William Shakespeare, if you’re
ever in the mood to go down that
road. But what’s interesting about
Cather — at least in part — is how
long it took for the public to start
admitting it.
I started down this path
of discovery one day when I
was bored and started reading
famous people’s biographies on
Wikipedia. On Willa Cather’s page,
I scrolled through long passages
about her life and career before
stumbling across the information
that during college, Cather often
went by “William” and wore
traditionally masculine clothes.
Several of her works, including
her early short story “Tommy,
the
Unsentimental,”
seem
to
critique and discount traditional
gender roles and conventions, and
positively portray main characters
who undermine them. Cather also
seems to have had several same-
sex relationships, most notably
with editor Edith Lewis, with
whom she lived for the last thirty-
nine years of her life.
For some reason, though, the
matter of whether or not Cather
was lesbian, trans or otherwise
queer is still a matter of much
contention among scholars. Of
course, Cather was also a very
private person. She’s been dead
for seventy years now and never
explicitly came out during her
lifetime, and my purpose here isn’t
to make undue presumptions about
her or to direct attention away
from the quality of her writing
itself. Rather, it is to make a point
about LGBTQ writers in general,
particularly
female
LGBTQ
writers, and the ways in which they
are represented (and omitted) in
contemporary literary discussion.
For instance, remember the
writers I listed a few paragraphs
ago? You may have noticed that
they’re all white men. I refer to
them because they were the first
people to come to my head, and even
now I can’t think of any canonized
LGBTQ writers to add to the list
who aren’t either white, a man or
both. By “canonized,” I mean non-
contemporary writers whose work
is often taught, often anthologized,
and considered deeply impactful to
English literary traditions. I’m sure
there are some, but there certainly
aren’t enough for me to be able to
think of them easily.
However, it must be added here
that even gay white men draw the
short straw when you put them
up next to straight white men. Of
those above, Rimbaud and Verlaine
probably don’t count as canonical,
and some secondary schools don’t
even teach Wilde and Ginsberg
due to concern from parents over
subject matter. As for Shakespeare,
I’ve
seen
people
defend
his
straightness as vehemently as if
they were defending their own.
So what’s the deal? Is there
a dynamic in which a famous
writer can be recognized either as
influential and worth teaching or
as queer, but not both? Cather is
somewhat recognized in English
literature, but even she is taught
far less regularly than James
Joyce, W. B. Yeats, and many of her
other countless contemporaries.
This is particularly surprising in
American schools, where no doubt
Cather’s profound and beautifully
composed accounts of American
frontier
life
and
immigrant
experiences are more relevant than
European-set and focused works
like Dubliners.
The
web
of
LGBTQ
representation
in
the
writing
world is a tangled one, but the
list of LGBTQ writers who are
considered “classic” begs some
questions. Either there just weren’t
that many queer writers until very
recently, or (more likely) there
have been a lot, who have been
poorly represented in history. This
is particularly true of writers of
color and of female writers like
Cather. They have always existed,
but something has always been
swept under the rug: their sexual
or gender identity or their writing
itself, and in some cases both.
Of course, the skewed leanings
of the English literary canon where
LGBTQ writers are concerned
have been apparent for quite some
time now, and Cather is only one
example in a sea of others whose
accomplishments and/or personal
identities have been sidelined
by the narrative of scholars over
time. But it isn’t useful to simply
complain about the way writers’
identities
have
been
handled
in the past; what is useful is to
examine these patterns critically
and to acknowledge the impact
that LGBTQ writers have had on
literary traditions, so that this
subject may receive more attention
in the future.
LAURA DZUBAY
Daily Literature Columnist
MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW
If Lil Uzi Vert is setting the
bar, rap today is having a very
“post” moment.
The video for Uzi’s “XO Tour
Llif3,” released Sept. 4, is, at the
very least, post-cliché. There’s
no discernible narrative and for
over four minutes viewers are
treated to a jumbled montage
of a bejeweled Uzi dancing in
post-apocalyptic scenes. The
excessive use of blood, zombies
and The Weeknd feels right,
however, certainly compat-
ible with Uzi’s loaded career
thus far. It’s the rapper’s — or
“rock star’s” —latest display of
his post-sadboy vulnerability
machine, served with a side of
post-trap/punk/middle finger-
blasting verve, and it all further
adds to the brand.
Frequent Kanye West col-
laborator Virgil Abloh directs
the video, which explains the
traces of West’s now-iconic
2007 “Stronger” video. The
1980s-esque filters and bold
Arabic subtitles are the most
obvious parallels to Kanye’s
Akira-alluding epic, and this
time around shots of dismem-
bered bodies in a bathtub (first
shown around the 1:14 mark)
lend to the video’s post-punk
feel. That’s not to mention Uzi’s
trademark emo touch, seeping
through in oversaturated and
overstated purples.
The song itself, by now an
absolute hit, touches on death,
loneliness and life purpose,
among other introspective
crises rarely approached in this
space. And Uzi complements
the confessional with a so —
wait for it — post-rap video
that it excels more in aesthetic
than substance. He’s beyond
conventional rap spectacle, and
such flirtation with this sort of
rugged touchiness, even amidst
some aesthetic confusion, is
setting him apart day by day.
—JOEY SCHUMAN
“XO TOUR
Llif3”
Lil Uzi Vert
Virgil Abloh
Off-WhiteTM
Films
OFF-WHITE TM FILMS
In a smooth debut, ‘Deuce’
outdoes our expectations
New HBO series wows in its storytelling and creative design
“The Deuce,” a new HBO period
drama by David Simon (“The
Wire”), delivers so much more
than what its premise implies.
The story revolves around the
rise of the porn industry in 1971
Manhattan — a plot that reeks of
tasteless caricature and ostensibly
formulaic storytelling. Like, do
we really need more stories about
Italian mobsters, sex and the ‘70s?
From
the
super-sized,
84-minute
pilot
alone,
“The
Deuce” defies those expectations,
displaying
the
gritty
texture
and Greek tragedy stylings of a
character-driven morality tale.
This is not a show about the
intricacies of the porn industry per
se. It’s a show about the humanity
underlying
the
people
who
would become involved in such
an industry, and how financial
desperation and social ecosystems
lead them to make brash, self-
contradictory decisions.
Centered within the show’s
version of New York’s seedy
underbelly
are
two
identical
twin
brothers,
Vincent
and
Frankie Martino, both played
wonderfully by James Franco
(“The Interview”). While Vincent,
a
down-on-his-luck
Brooklyn
bartender, is given more screen
time
during
the
pilot
than
Frankie,
an
elusive
gambler,
Vincent’s
knack
for
business
offers a intriguing set-up for the
episodes to come. When it comes
to dramas, Franco is somewhat of
an unpredictable actor (amazing
in “127 Hours,” not so much in
“Palo Alto”), and you’d think
with a show like “The Deuce,”
he would overact the hell out of
his characters. Here, however,
Franco disappears into the roles
of Vincent and Frankie with
finesse, distinguishing the two
with charismatic ease and subtle
dramatic flair.
In addition to Franco’s standout
dual performance, the rest of the
incredible ensemble cast deserve
credit for making the most out
of their absorbing characters.
There are the ruthless pimps C.C.
(Gary Carr, “Downton Abbey”)
and
Larry
Brown
(Gbenga
Akinnagbe, “Detroit”); the forlorn
prostitutes
Candy
(Maggie
Gyllenhaal, “Frank”) and Darlene
(Dominique Fishback, “Show Me
a Hero”); and the
ambitious
college
dropout
Abby
(Margarita Levieva,
“The
Blacklist”).
Each of them are
painted
with
the
same
amount
of
robust
complexity
and specificity: C.C. and Larry
establish their friendship and
business acumen through their
punchy banter, Candy juggles her
occupation
with
motherhood,
Darlene quietly defies her boss and
Abby harnesses her independence
after deciding the college life isn’t
for her. Even the more secondary
characters, like new girl in
town Lori (Emily Meade, “The
Leftovers”) and her competition
Ashley
(newcomer
Jamie
Neumann), have some dimensions
to them. And as disparate as their
storylines are, they seamlessly
interconnect with one another
throughout the episode.
The theme of independent
women
being
corrupted
by
abusive men is a prominent — and
unfortunately relevant — part of
“The Deuce,” especially in how
the male characters attempt to
dominate the female characters
through toxic masculinity and
the male gaze. The women, for
the most part, are able to subdue
their male counterparts through
their own agency, such as when
Candy explains the limitations
of her practice with an overeager
teenage
customer
or
when
Darlene asks her client to give her
an advance for letting her watch
“A Tale of Two Cities” with him
during their usual session.
Along
with
its
colorful
characters,
“The
Deuce”
incorporates
impeccable
production
values
and,
most
importantly, a clear tone, mood
and atmosphere. The visuals ooze
with steely, cold blues, juxtaposing
the darkness of
the night scenes
with the glowing
artifice of Times
Square, the show’s
setting.
There’s
an
obvious
significance
to
this
aesthetic
contrast
—
the
darkness
embodying the corruption on the
streets and in janky hotels versus
the brightness and flashiness of
the “rich and famous” lifestyle that
the characters seek. But it’s shown
with such rich astuteness, a clear
indication of the brilliant artistry
of Simon, cinematographer Pepe
Avila del Pino (“Ozark”) and
director
Michelle
MacLaren
(“Breaking Bad”).
Granted, there’s some confusion
during the episode about who’s
who and what’s happening, a flaw
that can easily be fixed as the story
continues. The beauty of non-
expository dialogue and situations
allows the audience to connect the
dots on their own rather than have
the writers do it for them. In fact,
there isn’t even a single mention
of the porn industry in the first
episode. Instead of resorting
to exploitation like it could, or
crafting a simplistic, glamorous
story for entertainment’s sake,
“The Deuce” does its own thing
and unapologetically so.
SAM ROSENBERG
Daily Arts Writer
HBO
HBO’s new series “The Deuce” premiered last week
TV
“The Deuce”
HBO
Sundays at 9
p.m.
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ACROSS
1 Amount to
5 Evening affair
11 Cavern critter
14 Clarinet cousin
15 Many charity golf
tournaments
16 Wall St. specialist
17 24-hour
broadcaster
that keeps you
up-to-date
19 CBS police
series with three
spin-offs
20 Moog, briefly
21 Detroit NFLer
22 Hershey’s toffee
bar
23 Music from Glenn
Miller, Tommy
Dorsey et al.
26 Chintzy
29 Type of waste
pump
30 Buyer’s financing
31 Army installation
35 Last Marx
brother,
alphabetically
38 Well-suited
39 Ship’s area for
medical
assistance
41 Spy novelist
Deighton
42 Bette’s “Divine”
nickname
44 Bills at bars
45 Almanac tidbit
46 Long-running
dispute
48 Braggart’s retort
50 Singer dubbed
“King of Country”
55 Doctor Zhivago’s
love
56 Island band
The __ Men
57 Garlicky mayo
61 Musician’s suffix
62 Saturated like the
ends of 17-, 23-,
39- and 50-
Across?
64 Lawn coating
65 Exercise pieces
66 Russian range or
river
67 Symphonic gp.
inducted into the
Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in
2017
68 Head out
69 Start of a
choosing rhyme
DOWN
1 Pen occupants
2 Do what’s asked
3 Scattered, as
seeds
4 Nuclear restraint
topic
5 Globe shape:
Abbr.
6 Dental care brand
7 Ancient Aegean
land
8 Talked nonstop
9 Removes errors
from
10 Bilingual subj.
11 “Just in case”
strategy
12 Fiery crime
13 “Fun, Fun, Fun”
car in a 1960s
song
18 Greenside golf
shot
22 “Win __, lose ... ”
24 Mongolian desert
25 Postwar
supermodel
Parker
26 Mollusk in a red
or white linguine
sauce
27 Arizona native
28 Consumes
enough to
nourish mother
and unborn child
32 Play a part
33 Calypso cousin
34 Recede, as the
tide
36 Lats relatives
37 Not fooled by
39 Highly self-
satisfied
40 Singapore’s
continent
43 Blood bank supply
45 Exhaustion
47 Candidates’ face-
off
49 “So long, Paulo!”
50 Soar without
effort
51 Painter’s stand
52 Stopped
slouching
53 Silents star Bara
54 Not as prevalent
58 Kid lit monster
59 Low-fat
60 In an aimless
fashion
62 Married
63 WWII carrier
By Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke
©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
09/11/17
09/11/17
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
RELEASE DATE– Monday, September 11, 2017
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
xwordeditor@aol.com