| back to high school |
[Apr. 29th, 2008|08:54 pm] |
So I found out that my book has somehow made it into my old high school's library. I can only assume that none of the administrators or the librarians turned a single page. The simple idea that a book I wrote with a lengthy footnote explaining what the ancient Romans thought about anal sex sits within the walls of my old backwards, soul-crushing school makes the whole experience of writing it and getting somewhat screwed over by the publisher worth it. |
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| Comments: |
Are they going to publish your book in the US or is that the getting screwed part?
Getting screwed part*, although I've had several friends swear they've seen my book in several bookstores stateside. It still doesn't show up on the US Amazon page, though.
*They haven't broken contract with me, so I guess "technically" they didn't screw me over (but of course that's how people get away with that. They avoid doing it "technically.")
...explaining what the ancient Romans thought about anal sex...
What did they think about anal sex? Just wondering since you mention it.
Well, there's sort of an ongoing debate going on and it's more than a little complicated (in no small part because of Foucault's wrongheaded thoughts about sexuality in antiquity and the not-quite-accurate common belief that there was "no such thing as homosexuality" in ancient Rome), but basically the Roman elites were alright (sort of; for one thing, the Stoics and the Cynics sometimes argued that any form of intercourse that didn't result in procreation was unnatural) with anal sex as long as the active partner was a citizen and the passive partner was a slave, a freedman, or a foreigner.
You should check out Amy Richlin's In The Garden of Priapus. It's about sex and aggression in imperial Roman culture; admittedly it might be a bit too academic for your tastes, but it gives an interesting view of Roman culture. The title itself comes from the Roman custom of putting up statues of the phallic god Priapus on their properties, which would include poems that would threaten any trespassers with rape.
My sentiments exactly :).
LMAO - that is too damn funny!
Marvelous. I hope some bi-curious sophomore finds that footnote and is inspired.
Or by my chapter on the lesbian mass murderer Elizabeth Bathory!
Man, one of your books might inspire a lesbian mass murderer? The most social disruption one of my books will cause is inspiring someone to become an astronomer.
Oh my gosh. I have to tell everybody to check it out. | |
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