People are calling Stephen Fry’s comments about sex abuse victims “an extraordinary attack,” because he had the temerity to suggest that trigger warnings on literature are bullshit and that self-pity is an ugly, self-defeating emotion. He stated this bluntly and without the usual hand-wringing and tiptoeing that accompanies discussion of sex abuse in liberal circles. OH NO.Continue reading “Stephen Fry is right about trigger warnings – he’s especially right about self-pity”
Author Archives: Natalia Antonova
His Sin, Her Soul: On Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita (republished from The Second Pass)
Original publication date: MONDAY NOVEMBER 30TH, 2009. Republished with kind permission from John Williams. His Sin, Her Soul By Natalia Antonova Reviewed: Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov The luster of scandal wore off Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita a while ago. Anyone reading the testimony of Roman Polanski’s teenage victim on The Smoking Gun must have little capacityContinue reading “His Sin, Her Soul: On Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita (republished from The Second Pass)”
Zombie Survivor: A rant on The Walking Dead’s terrible season 6 finale
SPOILERS through season 6 of The Walking Dead. The purpose of this blog is not to shout in exasperation when a television show goes thoroughly off the rails, but I’m so frustrated with “The Walking Dead” right now that it’s either this, or beat a motherfucker with another motherfucker. As I’ve said before, the showContinue reading “Zombie Survivor: A rant on The Walking Dead’s terrible season 6 finale”
Thing, a short biography
Once upon a time, there was a girl who had an official name – the name on her birth certificate, a name for bureaucrats and people who didn’t know her well – and a true name. The true name was Thing. Thing was taught charts and graphs early on. She knew one’s beautiful years must beContinue reading “Thing, a short biography”
Why don’t you treat men this way? The false dichotomy of “mother vs. artist”
This post of on combining art and motherhood made the rounds this past winter. There were a lot of responses, public and private. Two of the more recent responses made me feel like revisiting the issue: 1. The Divided Heart is a more honest exploration of what it’s like to be a mother and an artist.Continue reading “Why don’t you treat men this way? The false dichotomy of “mother vs. artist””
Natalia A. 