weekend links: highbrow fiction, Henry Darger, women punks
Henry Darger, Young Rebonna Dorthereans – Blengins – Catherine Isles, Female, One whip-lash-tail (1910-1970). Image courtesy of Hyperallergic.
Literary fiction and middlebrow culture are clashing—such was the case in Clement Greenberg’s time, and such is the case now. Can globalism save literature from its descent into genre? Only time will tell—and maybe Goethe, and maybe the writer of this essay. [The Smart Set]
Henry Darger was a fascinating artist, and his art continues to raise questions, most prominently and persistently: Why do his girls have penises? The answer may be less important than the question, and the possibilities that it entails. [Hyperallergic]
The history of punk tends to get boiled down to a handful of American and British bands, all of them male. The Sex Pistols. The Ramones. Richard Hell. The Clash. Dead Boys. But there were a lot of great women punks spawned from that first wave, and they lived all over Europe. You can find a healthy sampling of them here. [Pitchfork]
Austin artist Shawn Smith’s show “Predators, Prey and Pixels” is on display at grayDUCK Gallery through October 18, and if you haven’t checked it out yet, you should. His work is painstakingly impressive, uncanny, and occasionally creepy. Find out more about his process and inspiration in this interview. [Austin American-Statesman]
Local hero Kevin McNamee-Tweed is incredibly prolific—he’s got a new show opening tonight at pump project called “Words.” You can find out all about it in this podcast from our friends at Free Beer. [Free Beer]
The Texas Book Festival Lit Crawl events have been announced, and as you can see, we will be hosting what is sure to be a lively game of Balderdash with a slew of awesome authors, including Antonio Ruiz-Camacho, Téa Obreht, Dan Sheehan, and more. The fun takes place next Saturday night at Gelateria Gemelli. Look for more details from us later this weekend! [Texas Book Festival]
—Sean Redmond