{"id":4577,"date":"2016-07-11T15:42:48","date_gmt":"2016-07-11T15:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/repeatright.com\/engine\/?p=4577"},"modified":"2018-10-08T19:56:38","modified_gmt":"2018-10-08T19:56:38","slug":"alexander-shana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.repeatright.com\/engine\/alexander-shana\/","title":{"rendered":"ALEXANDER, Shana"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453315804311{margin-top: -40px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1449531588223-e020d87d-f7dd094f-cf637725-a512″][vc_column_text]\n

\u201cBetween the two poles of whole-truth and half-truth is slung the chancy hammock in which we all rock.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Shana Alexander<\/strong>, American commentator & journalist<\/p>\n

\u201cSplashing Around in Other People\u2019s Lives\u201d (February 1970) McCall\u2019s<\/em> magazine; <\/em>reprint in Talking Woman<\/em>, 1976, New York, NY: Dell, first printing, Nov. 1977, p. 25; online via Open Library [free subscription service] openlibrary.org<\/a><\/p>\n

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Extended excerpt\u00a0<\/em><\/strong> [Magazine essay reprint, in Alexander collection. Section one, essay one.]:<\/p>\n

\u201cGossip is often true. Sometimes it becomes true. People get hooked on their own bad press and begin to act out the new roles being written for them. But mostly, gossip is half-true. Between the two poles of whole-truth and half-truth is slung the chancy hammock in which we all rock<\/span>.\u201d (p. 15)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1449531589797-29580b31-8c50094f-cf637725-a512″][vc_column_text]\n

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Source<\/em><\/strong><\/span>: Library \u2013 Talking Woman<\/em> (1976 Delcorte Press) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/talkingwoman00alex#page\/14\/mode\/2up\/search\/chancy+hammock<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315829087-ce67c619-0fbc7725-a512″][vc_column_text]\n

\u201cGood drama should sandpaper the mind.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Shana Alexander<\/strong>, American commentator & journalist<\/p>\n

\u201cChildren of Vietnam\u201d (19 March 1973) Newsweek <\/em>magazine essay; <\/em>reprint in Talking Woman<\/em>, 1976, New York, NY: Delacorte Press, first printing, 1976, p. 229; online via Open Library [free subscription service] openlibrary.org<\/a><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1453315829475-7c82a017-1e627725-a512″][vc_column_text]<\/span><\/p>\n

Extended excerpt <\/em><\/strong>[Magazine essay reprint, in Alexander collection. Section five, essay eleven \u2013 italics original to cited text.]:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is this playwright\u2019s talent first to make you smile at Middle America\u2019s family foibles, and then to ram that smile down your throat, and I wish that Sticks and Bones, which a year ago won a top prize on Broadway, could receive the broad national audience it deserves. Good drama should<\/em> sandpaper the mind.<\/span> Still, the network is right that the nation\u2019s attention is \u201cemotionally dominated\u201d just now by the images of returning POWs and others who have suffered the ravages of war.\u201d (p. 229)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1453315829682-63e8fade-cf4c7725-a512″][vc_column_text]\n

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Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>: Library \u2013 Talking Woman<\/em> (1976 Delacorte Press) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/talkingwoman00alex#page\/228\/mode\/2up\/search\/sandpaper<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453316221301{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315828001-b5e2e52e-ea1e7725-a512″][vc_column_text]\n

\u201cI reserve my greatest admiration for those who continue to struggle to embrace the whole impossible tangle of snakes that is our society; those who fight to identify and strengthen human connections, and defeat polarizing forces that strain to drive us apart.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Shana Alexander<\/strong>, American commentator & journalist<\/p>\n

\u201cWatergate Finale: Good Guys and Bad Guys\u201d (5 August 1974) Newsweek <\/em>magazine essay; reprint in Talking Woman<\/em>, 1976, New York, NY: Delacorte Press, first printing, 1976, p. 154; online via Open Library [free subscription service] openlibrary.org<\/a><\/p>\n

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Extended excerpt\u00a0<\/em><\/strong> [Magazine essay reprint, in Alexander collection. Section three, essay nine.]:<\/p>\n

\u201cMost difficult is the willingness to be complicated. I reserve my greatest admiration for those who continue to struggle to embrace the whole impossible tangle of snakes that is our society; those who fight to identify and strengthen human connections, and defeat polarizing forces that strain to drive us apart.<\/span>\u201d (p. 154)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1453315828572-dac97b48-68e07725-a512″][vc_column_text”]\n

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Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0Library \u2013 Talking Woman<\/em> (1976 Delacorte Press) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/talkingwoman00alex#page\/154\/mode\/2up\/search\/impossible+tangle<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1449531591105-7edf5f39-feaa094f-cf637725-a512″][vc_column_text]\n

\u201cMind and body are not to be taken lightly. Their connection is intimate and mysterious, and better mapped by poets than pornographers.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Shana Alexander<\/strong>, American commentator & journalist<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the Sexual Delicatessen\u201d (5 February 1973) Newsweek <\/em>magazine essay; reprint in Talking Woman<\/em>, 1976, New York, NY: Delacorte Press, first printing, 1976, pp. 177-178; online via Open Library [free subscription service] openlibrary.org<\/a><\/p>\n

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Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong> [Magazine essay reprint, in Alexander collection. Section four, essay seven.]:<\/p>\n

\u201cMind and body are not to be taken lightly. Their connection is intimate and mysterious, and better mapped by poets than pornographers.<\/span> For all the floodlit, hairy close-ups, the spasm may be in the flesh, but the feeling is in the mind.\u201d (pp. 177-178)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1449531592891-f39e055b-a66e094f-cf637725-a512″][vc_column_text]\n

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Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>: Library \u2013 Talking Woman<\/em> (1976 Delacorte Press) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/talkingwoman00alex#page\/176\/mode\/2up\/search\/intimate+and+mysterious<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453316221301{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315828001-b5e2e52e-ea1e7725-a512″][vc_column_text]\n

\u201cThe mark of a true crush…is that you fall in love first and grope for reasons afterward.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Shana Alexander<\/strong>, American commentator & journalist<\/p>\n

\u201cDublin is my sure thing\u201d (2 September 1966) \u2018Feminine Eye\u2019 essay in LIFE<\/em> magazine Vol. 61, No. 10, Chicago, IL: Time Inc., column 1, page 8; online via LIFE & Google Books, books.google.com<\/a><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1453315828385-86abfac4-79bf7725-a512″][vc_column_text]<\/span><\/p>\n

Extended excerpt <\/em><\/strong>[Magazine essay reprint, in Alexander collection. Section II, essay one. Alexander started the essay by asking, \u201cWhat does a lady who travels a lot require of her favorite city?\u201d]:<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is such a city. It is Dublin. The mark of a true crush<\/span> whether the object be man, woman, or city, is that you fall in love first and grope for reasons afterward<\/span>, and that is what happened a few years ago with me and Dublin.\u201d (p. 25)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1453315828572-dac97b48-68e07725-a512″][vc_column_text]\n

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Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0\u201cDublin is my sure thing\u201d (2 September 1966) LIFE <\/em>magazine, online via LIFE & Google Books: https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=61UEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA4&lpg=PA4&dq=There+is+such+a+city.+It+is+Dublin.+The+mark+of+a+true+crush+whether+the+object+be+man,+woman,+or+city,+is+that+you+fall+in+love+first\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1449531591105-7edf5f39-feaa094f-cf637725-a512″][vc_column_text]\n

\u201cThe paradox of reality is that no image is as compelling as the one which exists only in the mind\u2019s eye.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Shana Alexander<\/strong>, American commentator & journalist<\/p>\n

\u201cImages of Patty\u201d (Year-End, 1975) LIFE<\/em> magazine essay; reprint in Talking Woman<\/em>, 1976, New York, NY: Delacorte Press, first printing, 1976, p. 118; online via Open Library [free subscription service] openlibrary.org<\/a><\/p>\n

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Extended excerpt <\/em><\/strong>[Magazine essay reprint in Alexander collection]:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe paradox of reality is that no image is as compelling as the one which exists only in the mind\u2019s eye. The paradox of Patricia Hearst is that no one noticed her before she was kidnapped. She was made visible by her disappearance.\u201d (p. 118)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1449531592891-f39e055b-a66e094f-cf637725-a512″][vc_column_text]\n

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Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0Library \u2013 Talking Woman<\/em> (1976 Delacorte Press) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/talkingwoman00alex#page\/118\/mode\/2up\/search\/paradox+of+reality<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453316221301{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315828001-b5e2e52e-ea1e7725-a512″][vc_column_text]\n

\u201cThe real weakness of all porn, it seems to me, is its necessary repetition…the pornographer must continually invent new sauces for old meats.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Shana Alexander<\/strong>, American commentator & journalist<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the Sexual Delicatessen\u201d (5 February 1973) Newsweek <\/em>magazine essay; reprint in Talking Woman<\/em>, 1976, New York, NY: Delacorte Press, first printing, 1976, p. 176; online via Open Library [free subscription service] openlibrary.org<\/a><\/p>\n

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Extended excerpt <\/em><\/strong>[Magazine essay reprint, in Alexander collection. Section four, essay seven.]:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real weakness of all porn, it seems to me, is its necessary repetition. Since the body is finite, with only seven or eight immutable orifices, the pornographer must continually invent new sauces for old meats.<\/span>\u201d (p. 176)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1453315828572-dac97b48-68e07725-a512″][vc_column_text]\n

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Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0Library \u2013 Talking Woman<\/em> (1976 Delacorte Press) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/talkingwoman00alex#page\/176\/mode\/2up\/search\/old+meats<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe sad truth is that excellence makes people nervous.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Shana Alexander<\/strong>, American commentator & journalist<\/p>\n

\u201cNeglected Kids \u2013 the Bright Ones\u201d (24 June 1966) \u2018Feminine Eye\u2019 essay in LIFE<\/em> magazine Vol. 60, No. 25, Chicago, IL: Time Inc., column 1, page 26; online via LIFE & Google Books, books.google.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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Extended excerpt\u00a0<\/em><\/strong> [Magazine essay \u2013 Alexander defending special education services for academically advanced children]:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sad truth is that excellence makes people nervous.<\/span> What was also troubling this mother, I suppose, was the notion that special education for the specially gifted is somehow \u201cundemocratic.\u201d It appears to be setting up an intellectual elite. It smacks somehow of the dirty word \u201cdiscrimination.\u201d (pp. 33-34)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1449531592891-f39e055b-a66e094f-cf637725-a512″][vc_column_text]\n

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Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0\u201cNeglected kids \u2013 the bright ones\u201d (24 June 1966) online via LIFE<\/em> magazine & Google Books: https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=o1UEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA26&dq=The+sad+truth+is+that+excellence+makes+people+nervous.++What+was+also+troubling+this+mother,+I+suppose,+was+the+notion+that+special+education\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453316221301{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315828001-b5e2e52e-ea1e7725-a512″][vc_column_text]\n

\u201cThis is what holidays, travels, vacations are about. It is not really rest or even leisure we chase. We strain to renew our capacity for wonder, to shock ourselves into astonishment once again.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Shana Alexander<\/strong>, American commentator & journalist<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Roman Astonishment\u201d (29 September 1967) LIFE\u00a0<\/em>magazine, Vol. 63, No. 13, Chicago, IL: Time, Inc., column 3, p. 24; online via Google Books, books.google.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong> [Magazine essay – Alexander is referring to the Roman fountain & statue of Marforio, an ancient river god]:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know of course that these gigantica are not considered first-rate art,\u201d a Roman friend remarks. I say it is not the art but my own response that matters. In finding Marforio I have found astonishment. Marforio is making me see Rome. The fountains spout higher, the marble flesh grows warm, the fading frescoes glow again and the winds of baroquery blow wilder at all the gesturing angels.<\/p>\n

This is what holidays, travels, vacations are about. It is not really rest or even leisure we chase. We strain to renew our capacity for wonder, to shock ourselves into astonishment once again<\/span>.\u201d (p. 24)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1453315828572-dac97b48-68e07725-a512″][vc_column_text]\n

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Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>: \u201cThe Roman Astonishment\u201d (29 Sept. 1967) LIFE<\/em>; via Google Books: https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=clYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA24&dq=This+is+what+holidays#v=onepage&q=This%20is%20what%20holidays&f=fals<\/a>e<\/p>\n

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Resources<\/h4>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css_animation=”none” el_class=”Wrapper-Author-Resources”]Learn more about Shana Alexander<\/strong><\/span> | Here are a few good places to start –<\/p>\n