8.0187 Rs: Mournful Celebrations; Letters (2/36)

Elaine Brennan (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Wed, 14 Sep 1994 14:13:20 EDT

Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 8, No. 0187. Wednesday, 14 Sep 1994.


(1) Date: Wed, 14 Sep 94 08:59:03 EST (15 lines)
From: "Jeannet, Paula" <paulaj@mail.lib.duke.edu>
Subject: Last hurrahs

(2) Date: Wed, 14 Sep 94 09:38:52 CST (21 lines)
From: "Jim Marchand" <marchand@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Subject: letter writing

(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Sep 94 08:59:03 EST
From: "Jeannet, Paula" <paulaj@mail.lib.duke.edu>
Subject: Last hurrahs


In response to Robert O'Brien's inquiry: wouldn't it be worthwhile
to look for representations of "mournful celebrations" in
such movies as "On The Beach"? I think there are such scenes in
that film. There must be many other instances in apocalyptic
films, but I can't think of them right now -- haven't had my coffee
yet!

Paula
pjeannet@acpub.duke.edu

(2) --------------------------------------------------------------34----
Date: Wed, 14 Sep 94 09:38:52 CST
From: "Jim Marchand" <marchand@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Subject: letter writing

There is a huge literature on letter writing, and it depends on the angle
you want to take. On epistolary novels, for example: G. F. Singer, _The
Epistolary Novel_ (1933); C. E. Cany, _The Beginnings of the Epistolary
Novel in France, Italy, and Spain (Berkeley, 1937); F. G. Black, _The
Epistolary Novel in the Late 18th Century_ (Eugene, OR, 1940). There are
grand collections of letters and letter formularies, such as that of L.
Rockinger, Ueber Briefe und Formelbuecher, etc.; cf. also J. Robertson, _The
Art of Letter Writing_ (Liverpool, 1942); M. Rouszan, _La lettre_ (Paris,
1902). And I haven't even gotten started. There are books on letters from
heaven, from hell, fictional letters, poetic letters (Donne, Dryden, Pope,
Keats). Some of the medieval artes dictaminis are quite instructive on how
to get money from your parents when you are off at school, etc. I hope I am
not wandering too far afield, but I just pulled down from the shelf behind
my head: Epistolographi latini minores, vol. 1, Aetatem anteciceronianam
amplectens, 2 vols. (Turin: Paravia, 1970). Even the Romans worried about
how to write letters, and Cicero sure wrote a lot of them.
Jim Marchand.