1. travel
2. tourist facilities
3. hotel

Issue No. 5 │ April 2015
Contributors
On the Cover
Summer Afternoon
by Thomas Ask, page 15
Issue 5
April 2015
Ruth Olmstead
Anne F. Connor
Ron Milos
Vaishali Jahagirdar
Larnice Tetreault
Stephen Tytko
Bethany de Barros
Mark Kenyon
Ross Acevedo
Jason Hughes
Editor-in-Chief
Managing Editor
Design, Production
Administrator
Poetry Editor, Traffic
Coordinator
Chris Westcott
Poetry Editor
Susan Woerner
Fiction Editor
Non-Fiction Editor
Non-Fiction Editor & Video
Photography Editor
Photography Editor
Art Editor
David Sherman
Music Editor
Michele Dutcher
Editor-at-large,
Communications
Chris Johnson
Fiction Editor
Excelsior ReView is produced by a committed
staff of volunteers and highlights the creative
and artistic talents of Excelsior’s worldwide association of students, alumni, exam takers, instructors, professors, and staff. It is representative of the diverse community that is Excelsior
College.
The magazine is published online twice a year.
Submissions are always being accepted. Guidelines, information, and procedures are available
at review.excelsior.edu.
Art
4  Ride to Salema
by Laura Eklund, Faculty, School of Liberal Arts, Kentucky
11 Brud
by Sandra Dutton, Faculty, New York
15  Summer Afternoon
by Thomas Ask, Alumnus, Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, 2002,
Pennsylvania
19  Winter Calm
by Erin Morris, Faculty, School of Liberal Arts, Arizona
27  Plein Air
by Sandra Dutton, Faculty, Liberal Arts, New York
Non-Fiction
7  Moving to Planet Claire With the B-52’s
by Amy Student, Faculty, New York
16  Google GLASS : Hands-Free First Person Photography
by Michele Dutcher, Staff, New York
18  Reiterating Basic Leadership
by Martin Vasquez, Alumnus, Veteran, Bachelor of Science in
Liberal Arts, 2013, New York
23  What Do Writers See When they Look Inward?
by Robert Galin, Alumnus, Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies,
1984, Colorado
Photo
6  Iceland Road
by Kayla May, Student, Bachelors in Nursing, New York
13 Ice
by Alan Moorse, Staff, New York
17  Haleakala Sunrise
by Charles Reichardt, Staff, New York
21  Google GLASS : Hands-Free First Person Photography
by Michele Dutcher, Staff, New York
22  Iceland Road
by Kayla May, Student, Bachelors in Nursing, New York
Poem
5 Sojourner
by Robert Galin, Alumnus, Bachelor of Arts in Liberal
Studies, 1984, Colorado
12 She
by Tanya R. Whitney, Alumnus, Veteran, Bachelor of Arts in
Liberal Arts, 1988 Louisiana
14  The Eros
by Marck L. Beggs, Faculty, School of Liberal Arts,
Arkansas
20  Autism in a Boy Too Tall
by Thomas Ask, Alumnus, Master of Arts in Liberal
Studies, 2002, Pennsylvania
28  Jockeying a Horse Named Loser
by Brett Stout, Student, South Carolina
30  Death by Video
by Thomas Ask, Alumnus, Master of Arts in Liberal
Studies, 2002, Pennsylvania
Video
29  Google GLASS : Hands-Free First Person Video
by Michele Dutcher, Staff, New York
Happenings and Comments
Congratulations to Wendy Trevor in her new
position as Executive Director for the Excelsior
Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and
Assessment. Consolations to the Excelsior ReView
staff for losing her guidance and thoughtfulness as
Editor-in chief. Her replacement is Ruth Olmstead,
School of Liberal Arts Program Director.
“I love Excelsior ReView magazine. Its content
distribution and appearance supersedes that of
many other schools with similar publications. Not
only does it bring us to the digital age with style,
but with all of the other important attributes of the
humanities that transcend time.
Thanks so much for doing a great job!”
- Viondette Lopez
Alumnus, Bachelor of Arts Liberal Studies, Virginia
Call for Submissions
The Excelsior ReView is accepting submissions for its
fifth issue. Please read guidelines, requirements, and
formats before sending material.
Inquiries may be directed to [email protected].
Download
a PDF of this issue.
View Back Issues
Disclaimer: any opinions expressed by the author(s) are solely their own and in no way reflect the policies of
nor are they endorsed by Excelsior College.
Art
Dimensions: Size of original Art: 24"x 18" Medium: Oil on paper
Ride to Salema
by Laura Eklund
Faculty, School of Liberal Arts, Kentucky
I made the original sketch on a train ride from Lisbon, Portugal, to the Algarvae (Salema).
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Poem
Sojourner
by Robert Galin
Alumnus, Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies, 1984, Colorado
The sun leaves evidence of its existence-
A bright blue line sits on the mountain
tops, there to meet the royal blue of twilight.
Remnants of day move to one side as night takes its place,
to be moved yet again for tomorrow.
A shining star, not the North, is rising
to join the lesser lights of its neighbors.
The dark hue of night painstakingly reaches down
its arms to the black rooftops of Earth,
the pinnacles of land, the spires of this church.
As the heavens descend, the outline of Earth
blends with it; not totally lost as night matures.
Human lights compete with nature’s for attention,
yet, the natural light shines truer, for the will
remain, beyond humanity, to light the night
for sojourners yet to come.
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Photo
Camera: Cell Phone, Dimensions: 960 x 960, orizontal Resolution: 96 dpi, Vertical Resolution: 96
dpi, Bit Depth: 24
Iceland Road
by Kayla May
Student, Bachelors in Nursing, New York
This photo was taken from my cell phone in the world’s most beautiful kept secret... Iceland.
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Non-Fiction
Moving to Planet Claire With the B-52’s
by Amy Student
Faculty, New York
As I write this, I am listening to my B-52’s Pandora station and wondering how many
people are actually doing the same. My hope is that everyone has at least one of their
songs on their iPod, but that’s probably not true. B-52’s fans are far and few between.
Some probably have bee-hives and red lips. Some probably live in their mothers basements at the age of 50. Some are probably just like me; young people just looking
for a musical escape from the crap that goes on every day. Whatever they look like,
I would love to invite them over to my house one day for a big party so that I could
have some affirmation that I am not crazy. I want to know that there are other people
in the world that believe in the power of the B-52’s.
The only person I know who likes the B-52’s is my dad, and I don’t even think he
likes them that much. I never expected my football playing, Camaro driving, jock of
a father to like a band as wacky as the B-52’s, but when he put the record on for the
first time we instantly had something to connect us. I was 7 years old when I heard
a song of theirs for the first time. “Planet Claire” had a way of making its way into
nights of ping pong with my dad. He would share his albums with me, and I thought
it was so cool that I was so young and knew what a vinyl record was. I wanted to
know everything about them.
We had a collection of about 100, which I now know is not that many, but at the
time it seemed like a whole new world to discover. I would sit on the floor of our
basement for hours looking at the covers and wondering who all these awesome
looking people were. I would tell my friends at school about the new songs I had
heard, and would try to convince them to listen to them. My friends would humor
me but quickly direct the conversation back to The Backstreet Boys or N’SYNC. It
wasn’t like I didn’t like current music; I just didn’t feel like it said quite as much as
the oldies.
The B-52’s have made me a music snob. I’m only interested in listening to music
that ‘says’ something, even though most of their songs don’t seem to say much at all.
Now, when I say that I like music that “says’ something, I mean that it is not just a
bunch of terrible pick-up lines or a ballad expressing someone deep obsession with
milkshakes. I like music that makes me feel an emotion, whether it be happy, sad or
excited. I want to know that the person who is singing actually believes in the words
coming out of their mouth, and that they want to get people excited about their
music.
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The B-52’s got started in 1976 in Athens, Georgia. With a style stuck somewhere
between new wave and 1960’s rock and roll they didn’t take off right away. It wasn’t
until their first single, “Rock Lobster”, topped charts in 1978 that the band really became a success. Although most of their buzz was stuck underground, they still managed to pump out hit after hit until “Wild Planet” reached 18 on the Billboard 200.
Even though their songs don’t make you think about life, they take you to a place
where you don’t have to be part of the real world for a while. You get to be under
water with a lobster, or on the road to your own Private Idaho. This band makes me
feel like no matter where I am, a bee-hive and stirrup pants are acceptable, and that
no matter what era my heart is in, I’ll still fit in.
I’ve never really lived up to any expectation of my parents, especially my dad. They
don’t understand my passion for higher education and have never read anything that
I have written. When I was in middle school my dad wanted nothing more than for
me to play sports and be popular. I suffered through a few years of soccer, but was
not much for the competitiveness. I eventually quit too pursue more “me” things,
like drama club and band, but that did not change the passion my dad had for my
sport-playing future. We were fighting every day, so I turned to music as an escape
from all the yelling. The B-52’s reminded me not only that being wacky and out of
the box is totally OK, but also that there is something that my father and I have in
common. Even though neither one of us could see it, we were both members of the
“Deadbeat Club” at heart.
All I ever wanted to do was escape to a faraway place. With my dad pushing me
towards a life I wasn’t meant to lead, and a mother trying to “stay out of it”; being
underwater with a rockin’ lobster sounded just like the place I needed to be. They
have always been able to take me away from the hassle of everyday life and make me
remember to have some fun. Even if my idea of fun wasn’t what my parents wanted
for me, I was able to find a group of people who expressed believing in yourself as
the only way to live. Secretly, I was hoping that my dad would remember the anthem
of the B-52’s and get off my back, but it would be a long time before he would sing
along with my “Song for a Future Generation.”
I didn’t want to accept that they were old news. My friends never let me forget just
how far behind I was when it came to the Top 100, but I didn’t care. The B-52’s were
brand new to me and spoke to something in me that longed to be in a different time.
There has always been a bee-hive in my heart. My whole life I have wanted nothing
more than to live in a different era. I know I wasn’t meant to be born in the 90’s,
but maybe somewhere in the late 60’s. I have an old soul, and that has made it really
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hard for me to connect with the youngsters all around me. I believe in wholesome
activities and making lifelong friendships. Although I’ve come to embrace technology, I still think there is nothing comparable to the sound of a record playing. The
B-52’s retro sound brought out the sock-hopper in me. Even though the B-52’s were
making music in the 80’s their style was still inspired by the do-wop times of the
60’s. Their music is easy to dance too and super fun. There is no violence or obscene
language in any of their songs, which makes them nothing but a good time. Their
generational displacement mimicked my own, which made me even more drawn to
them. They were bringing 60’s glam to the poppy 80’s and not everyone was catching on. Just like it took my parents a long time to accept my differences, the world
also took its time accepting the B-52’s. We were both outcasts trying to bring back
the beauty of the 60’s, the only difference was the B-52’s eventually became popular,
while I was still stuck defending my social abnormalities.
The cover of their self-titled album featured all five of the band members. There
were two women with giant hair, hair I always wanted, and three guys dressed in
1970’s chic. I wanted to be their friends so badly. They were obviously well-dressed
and totally popular; they seemed like the perfect crowd to go dancing with or just
to walk the halls of my square middle school. These people broke the mold, and I
knew that I wanted to be part of their crowd. They made me think about my father’s
own crowd in high school. Looking through his high school yearbook you see a
bunch of bowl-cuts and perms, but nothing quite as crazy as the bee-hive that Kate
Pierson and Cindy Wilson were always rocking. My dad, however, was always sporting a bright red afro and tube socks. Now, I know that 70’s style was cruel, but he
was obviously making no attempt to fit in, just like I had been doing all these years.
Could he really be that surprised that I would follow in his off-beat footsteps? My
dad was a popular guy who liked the B-52’s and had an afro, why did he think that I
couldn’t do the same? I idolized the B-52’s because of their great style and sound. I
wanted to be friends with them because they were the kinds of people my dad took
after. If I could be like the B-52’s then just maybe my dad would see the merit in my
kookiness. Maybe he would come to see that I had more to offer the world than just
a good back swing. I hoped that being like the B52’s would bring him closer to me.
Even today I still cling to mine and my dad’s B-52 relationship. Whenever we work
on things around the house together or are driving in the car I always make sure that
the B-52’s are playing. I don’t just want him to love me; I want him too actually like
me. By playing the B-52’s there is no reason why he shouldn’t. Our differences over
the years have made it really difficult for either one of us to really open up to one an-
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other. We have no idea what the one thinks of the other. I hope deep down in my heart,
that he thinks I’m as cool as the band that brings us together. I want him to know that
even though I may not have taken the path he wanted for me, I’m still rocking, just to
the beat of my own drum. I want him to be as happy for me as I am that we have come
as far as we have and that we still have the B-52’s in common.
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Art
Size of original Art: 24"x 36", Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Brud
by Sandra Dutton
Faculty, New York
“Brud” was a local personality in Boothbay Harbor, Maine whom my husband and I befriended. He
played spoons at all the local events and ran his own hotdog stand. This painting, which I donated to
the town, now hangs in the Boothbay Harbor firehouse.
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Poem
She
by Tanya R. Whitney
Alumnus, Veteran, Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts, 1988 Louisiana
A barrage of bullets and cannon balls
One stands tall and continues to load
Taking her place among the battle weary
Keeping faith that theirs shall be glory
A misnamed headstone in a row of graves
On either side, a uniform is worn to hide
As valiant and true to the cause, she fights
Alongside her brothers anonymous and secretly
A Great War now lingers, she answers the call
In whatever manner she might be needed
The trenches of France, gas warfare, and plague
Diligent in her duty even when death calls
The second Great War, too soon follows
She is needed in great numbers and far longer
Every branch of service, every job she can fill
Prisoners of war and death she again must face
Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama
Other places and other times she is there
Quietly doing her duty, with dignity and pride
Waiting for the day she will be equal
Silver Stars, distinguished medals of valor
She can no longer be denied
Now she is needed in this new war
To patrol alongside her brothers outside the wire
From the American Revolution to the Middle East
She has served and continues to serve
Unafraid to do her duty, patriotic to the core
She is…a Soldier, a Sailor, a Marine, an Airman
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Photo
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i, Focal Length: 179mm, F Stop: F/7.1, Lens: Canon EF-S55 - 250 mm, ISO: 800
Exposure: 1/1600 second
Ice
by Alan Moorse
Staff, New York
Years ago I read about an injured photographer who was unable to leave home for nearly a year. As
mobility returned, the photographer did an amazingly creative studies of the backyard claiming it
reawakened the love of finding the right natural image and a new perspective on familiar scenes.
With my first digital SLR, I began shooting in May 2013 around my house and yard. This is one of
those images-an abstract image of ice and stones in a little watercourse that runs through our backyard in Wynantskill, NY
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Poem
The Eros
by Marck L. Beggs
Faculty, School of Liberal Arts, Arkansas
How a 350-ton ship
in the Merchant Marines
earned the name of this god
remains a mystery to me.
They clucked and neighed at me
under a moon lording over the sea,
king of a million jelly fish
rising like alien globs.
A crew of six—five seamen
and me, “college boy”— delivered
equipment and food to rigs
all over the Gulf of Mexico.
Had I died that day,
I like to think the dolphins
would have garbed me in seaweed
for the slow float down.
Captain Lou weighed nearly 300 pounds,
drank two fifths of Wild Turkey
per day, and sweated like
a frat boy in a maternity ward.
He once ran into a barge,
staring into the radar instead
of out the window. He once got lost,
directionally, in the Mississippi river.
But he also once saved my life.
Tied up against another ship, I thought
I could make the jump between, but
went down like a shot seagull.
Drunk as he was, Captain Lou
tossed down a rope and pulled
me up seconds before the ships
clanked together, heavy as iron whales.
That night, I sat out
on the dock playing harmonica
to a wild dolphin family
of exceptional musical taste.
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Art
Size of original Art: 16" x 20" inches, Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Summer Afternoon
by Thomas Ask
Alumnus, Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, 2002, Pennsylvania
Sail boat on a beautiful summer afternoon.
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Non-Fiction
Google GLASS : Hands-Free First Person
Photography
by Michele Dutcher
Staff, New York
What is Google GLASS?
In addition to providing a voice-controlled ability to search online, make phone
calls, send messages, receive directions and use numerous mobile apps, GLASS takes
hands-free photos and video. And, though this wearable technology in its BETA
stage does not offer zoom, filtering, scenario settings or instant editing as part of its
hardware, it allows the wearer to instantly take a photo from a first person vantage
point without the use of their hands. In other words, the person becomes the tripod.
As you can imagine, this opens a world of opportunity for what can be photographed
and when, not just how. Once a picture has been taken, it can either be shared instantly with family and friends or sent to a Google+ account where photos and
videos are stored. There it can be edited, deleted or shared as the GLASS wearer
sees fit.
Google GLASS enjoyed an extensive BETA phase wherein explorers were handpicked to “test” and provide feedback on this fairly new wearable technology. Currently, this GLASS technology is moving toward industry-specific uses (health care,
training/education, etc) with potential public use in a yet to be determined future.
The BETA version of GLASS will not be sold in its original form but instead feedback from its explorers will be used to develop new models and features for its most
relevant uses.
In this issue, you’ll find photos and video taken with Google GLASS during the early
BETA phase.
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Photo
Camera: Canon EOS 70D, Focal Length: 91mm, F Stop: F/5.6, ISO: 4000, Shutter Speed: 1/40
Haleakala Sunrise
by Charles Reichardt
Staff, New York
Haleakala Crater dominates the eastern half of the Island of Maui, and is usually shrouded in clouds
due to its elevation. This photo was taken facing northeast, the direction from where the trade
winds blow. Clouds accumulate on the northeast slopes of the mountain caused by humid tropical
air that is forced to rise over the mountain, and then dump copious amounts of rain on the northeastern slopes. Sunrise is the favorite viewing time on the mountain rather than sunset, since the
view is not obstructed by the observatories to the west. The western slopes of the mountain are
semi-arid. Also visible from the summit are the islands of Hawaii (big island), Molokai, Lanai, and
on a clear day, Oahu. Haleakala is now an extinct volcano.
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Non-Fiction
Reiterating Basic Leadership
by Martin Vasquez
Alumnus, Veteran, Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts, 2013, New York
Staff Sergeant, E�6, Vasquez served in the united States Army incurring injuries in
Afghanistan. He was awarded the Purple Heart among other medals. He is currently
studying for the PhD in Business Leadership.
Leadership is a word that is taken for granted too often and for many people it’s broad
in definition. The effectiveness of leadership begins with an individual’s character and a
person’s ability to accept challenges that will build those traits that lead to great leadership. Perseverance and Resiliency is what drives a person to perfect those traits that allow
others to follow when the traits are perfected. The real issue occurs when people are restricted of growth and ideas suppressed by organizational models that are not intended to
expand on a person’s ability to lead.
This creates a negative factor that leads to toxicity within an organization. The control
objectives of an organization can also be a failing point to achieve the maximum potential
of an employee’s progression. There is nothing better than investing in those employees
that endure numerous changes in management and the multicultural aspects of business.
To understand leadership you must be able to lead and not from a systematic standpoint,
this will require you to empower subordinates and allow them to make mistakes that will
lead to communicative guidance to achieve greater output. Secondly, it is important for
leaders to think outside the box and create innovative methods to move away from organizational rhetoric and apply contemporary precedence to critical thinking. Finally, it is important to communicate. Great leaders communicate their vision and goals, apply logical
reasoning to real life situations, uses decisive actions in application to a general consensus;
not just personal, display self-confidence, and shows enthusiasm in their leadership.
These qualities can change an atmosphere from stagnate to productive and removes the
possibilities of a toxic environment. It is important to understand that not all leadership
models within an organization are fail proof, many have flaws which require change. However, individually we can make a bigger impact that can lead to changes in those models
and create a more self-sufficient employee that is willing to take charge, instead of being
told what to do.
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Art
Size of original Art: 22"x 30", Medium: Watercolor on Cold Press Paper
Winter Calm
by Erin Morris
Faculty, School of Liberal Arts, Arizona
Snow covering a fallen tree.
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Poem
Autism in a Boy Too Tall
by Thomas Ask
Alumnus, Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, 2002, Pennsylvania
Touch the lens, brush it free,
Unfog the mist with kisses breeze,
Encrusted jewel please shine free,
Greet my eyes with a child’s pleas.
Make more than cooling shadow.
Have summer days and lazy play,
Climb trees, make well-placed throws.
Chase adventures far away.
Now I watch as a boy too tall
To bury face in sobbing breasts
Looks at walls I can’t see
Reaching to mysterious quests.
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Photo
Google GLASS : Hands-Free First Person
Photography
by Michele Dutcher
Staff, New York
These photo were taken with Google GLASS.
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Photo
Camera: Cell Phone, Dimensions: 960 x 960, orizontal Resolution: 96 dpi, Vertical Resolution: 96 dpi,
Bit Depth: 24
Iceland Road
by Kayla May
Student, Bachelors in Nursing, New York
This photo was taken from my cell phone in the world’s most beautiful kept secret... Iceland.
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Non-Fiction
What Do Writers See When they Look Inward?
by Robert Galin
Alumnus, Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies, 1984, Colorado
In June 2014, I was a judge in the Norman Mailer High School and College Writing
Awards, sponsored by the Norman Mailer Center and Writers Colony, and the National Council of Teachers of English. Many of the entries were intriguing; some students even had written publishable works. Most likely, their teachers had discussed
Mailer to some extent, but it was clear that many of the students didn’t have a clear
understanding of who Mailer was or, more importantly, the impact he had on 20th
century literature, as well as journalism, film, and television. But it was Mailer’s
inward look at his writing and his life that seems most intriguing. His pseudo-memoir,
Advertisements for Myself, does what any good author’s writing memoir should—explains their art and craft of writing, and reveals the writer’s personality.
Mailer, who died in 2007, is mostly known for his books The Naked and the Dead,
The Executioner’s Song, The Prisoner of Sex, and a couple of others. He also had a
profound effect on magazines such as The New Yorker and Esquire.
The Executioner’s Song, while ostensibly fiction, is an extension of what was then
called literary journalism (now consumed by the category creative non-fiction), similarly practiced by Tom Wolfe, Joan Didion, Ken Kesey, Hunter S. Thompson, and
even earlier authors like Jack London and Stephen Crane. Notice, too, that many of
these authors started out as journalists or had strong connections to journalism in
some form.
It has become fairly common for famous people, including writers, to publish autobiographies, or more accurately, memoirs. The most creative among them integrate their life details into a treatise or guide that appears to focus on writing rather
than the more typical list of events, places, and lovers. Examples include Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing, Dorothea Brande’s Becoming a Writer, Gay Talese’s A Writer’s Life, Stephen King’s On Writing, Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, and,
of course, Norman Mailer’s Advertisements for Myself. Mailer published Advertisements in 1959, ten years after his first novel, The Naked and the Dead, and shortly
after his third novel, The Deer Park. The work is an autobiography of Mailer’s nature
as a writer; essentially, his public self.
Unlike many of the other writing memoirs, Advertisements is a compendium of
various published works, and Mailer introduces each selection with an “advertise-
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Excelsior ReView • 23
ment” that explains its background, as well as his mental and physical states at the
time of writing; seen, of course, with the clarity—or the reinterpretation—of time.
The title might suggest that Mailer had a healthy ego, despite protestations otherwise
throughout the book. His introductions represent a duality in his representations of
himself; he denigrates many works published in the collection for the lack of quality,
yet he praises them as insights into his character.
Even with the personal focus, the book also has some relevant insights into what a
writer is and believes. In the preface, Mailer writes, “it was the first book I wrote that
had a style I thought I might be able to call my own. It was forged out of a continuing
recognition of how difficult it was to put words together when writing about oneself.”
Focusing on the art and practice of writing, he then intones that, “I began to learn
how difficult it might be for a prose writer to move from the hegemony of the word to
the resonance of the prose rhythm.” Never an understated person, or writer, Mailer
then adds, “That can be a jump greater than a leap into poetry; maybe it is analogous
to changing one’s religion.” As if the previous quotation is not clear about writers’
personalities, Mailer notes the vanity of writers, himself included: “The sour truth is
that I am imprisoned with a perception which will settle for nothing less than making
a revolution in the consciousness of our time.” And he adds later that, “Every American writer who takes himself to be both major and macho must sooner or later give a
faena” (the final passes by a matador to kill a bull) which borrows from the self-love of
a Hemingway style. Hemingway, of course, was the epitome of the macho writer (and
former journalist, not so coincidentally).
Despite claiming mild influence by Hemingway, Mailer also disparages the other’s
work. Whether or not one agrees with Mailer’s analysis of Hemingway’s writing, his
general points about style seem informative. One example:
“So he writes in the style of others looking for his own, and tends to love words
more than rhythms. In his haste to dominate the world (rare is the young writer
who is not a consummate prick) he tends to use words for their precision, their
ability to define, their acrobatic action. His style often changes from scene to
scene, from paragraph to paragraph. He knows little about creating mood and
the essence of good style is that it sets a mood thick—as a theatrical piece, and
then alters that mood, enlarges it, conducts it over to another mood.”
Mailer also rails against the literary world--to which he was certainly a part--which he
describes as necrophilic because “they murder their writers, and then decorate their
graves.” He says that while writers have been prevented from exhibiting their true potential because of weaknesses in the literary world, bad luck, and writers’ own personal
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April 2015
barriers, that “for those of us who believe the most, have spent our years writing of fear,
impotence, stupidity, ugliness, self-love, and apathy, and yet it has been our act of faith,
our attempt to see—to see and to see hard, to smell, even to tough, yes to capture that
nerve of Being on the honest life of our work, the honor of ourselves which permits us
to say no better than we have seen.”
More recent writers, such as King and Lamott, probably fit into Mailer’s description.
Both of these current authors speak of their problems with substance abuse and use it as
a tool for their writing, often couched in humorous tones. In this sense, Mailer, Lamott,
and King are different from Bradbury, who is concise, upbeat, and respectful of the
reader, and Brande, who is downright bubbly about being a writer.
Mailer, in order to explain his role as one whose grave is tread upon (though not yet being
dead), notes how mean critics can be. For his second work, A Barbary Shore, reviews
were less than positive. Sterling North in Time magazine unkindly said, “I assume the
success of The Naked and the Dead emboldened Norman Mailer to the point where he
believed he could write and publish anything he wanted to in America and get away with
it...When one has finished reading (by way of duty) this evil-smelling novel and dropped
it gingerly into the garbage can, one has an overwhelming urge to take a hot bath with
very strong soap.” After discussion of Barbary Shore reviews, Mailer admits that, “There
are few insecurities like aesthetic insecurity...” Of course, he was writing this after
gaining professional and economic security, if not artistic security.
Like many writers, during his early career, Mailer concentrated on short stories. “I used
to start a story in the morning and if I didn’t finish it in the same day, I would give up, I
would decide it wasn’t meant to be written.” At this early stage, Mailer was not writing
to sell, but to salve that part of himself that yearned to write: “...I had been looking for
therapy rather than art, I was working up my nerve to write...”
It is common for neophyte writers to copy the styles of the authors they already admire.
Several novels affected Mailer so strongly that, later, while reading American novels,
Mailer says, “My adolescent crush on the profession of the writer had been more than I
could have guessed.” It is interesting to note that one of Stephen King’s ways of learning
to write was to retype Hemingway so that he could learn the flow of sentences and use
of language.
Since Mailer wrote Advertisements at a high point in his career, he was able to get
“closure” of a sort. While writing The Deer Park, he says that, “…it would be close to
say the book had come alive, and was invading my brain.” In this work he finally was able
“to create an adventurer whom I could believe in, and as he came alive for me, the other
parts of the book which had been stagnant for a year and more also came to life….”
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It is the task of authors to bare their souls through their writing. It appears to be the task
of successful writers to do so by writing about writing, or at least about their writing,
perhaps as explanations, not just their readers, but also to themselves--of why they
are successful. After all, the image of the insecure artist is the one that stays with us,
whether it’s Van Gogh, or Lamott--or Mailer.
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Art
Size of original Art: 22"x 30", Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Plein Air
by Sandra Dutton
Faculty, Liberal Arts, New York
I painted this in Wiscasset, Maine. Many artists paint on location, and that’s what I found more interesting than the scenery: the act of painting.
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Poem
Jockeying a Horse Named Loser
by Brett Stout
Student, South Carolina
Brett is a high school dropout and former construction worker turned college graduate
and paramedic.
I now wear the remnants of past foreign wars
on the bottom of my shoe,
flashing stars
fat man
little boy
sleek and round
the tiger’s eye
gnawing teeth
camouflaged,
into the Yellow Sea’s of Japan
rusted metal on vacation
200 feet below,
I now wear the remnants of past foreign wars
on the bottom of my shoe.
now you can’t see me
white laces ride
on wings of rusted metal
kamikaze soles,
I now wear the remnants of past foreign wars
on the bottom of my shoe,
mustard colored death mask
peering skulls
eleven kills
stamped
underneath left hand side
near the checkered flags
for a race never ran,
ninety-degree dives
head first
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April 2015
Video
Click Here to Play
Google GLASS : Hands-Free First Person
Video
by Michele Dutcher
Staff, New York
This video was taken with Google GLASS during a San Francisco trip.
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Excelsior ReView • 29
Poem
Death by Video
by Thomas Ask
Alumnus, Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, 2002, Pennsylvania
Drunken eyes seducing minds
Flashing fluorescence digging
Synapses fire on and off
on and off
on and off
Eyes blink only for water
Gently cooling heated sight
Washing across digital rough
As the synopses fire on and off
Chant a dirge or scumble color
While watching forced slumber
Noises zipping, busy, fuzzy dots
Blinking, blanching, watching plots
Jam the mind in a keyboard crack
Waiting on your electro-sausage.
Synopsis. fire. on. and. off.
on. and. off.
on. and. off.
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Excelsior ReView showcases the artistic talents of the Excelsior’s creative community.
We are always accepting submissions. Cutting edge pieces that experiment with form,
narrative, and non-conventional subject matter as well as traditional literary and art
subjects will be considered for online publication.
Please review guide lines, requirements, and formats at review.excelsior.edu before
sending material to [email protected]
Read our current and past issues at review.excelsior.edu/
Excelsior ReView
Issue No. 5 │ April 2015