Tolstoy's Dictaphone: Technology and the Muse (Graywolf Forum) [Paperback]

Sven Birkerts (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Graywolf Forum | Publication Date: August 1, 1996

When the great Russian writer Tolstoy was first offered the use of a brand new invention called the Dictaphone, he refused it, saying that it was sure to be "too dreadfully exciting" and would distract him from his literary endeavors.

For this provocative launch of the Graywolf Forum series, Sven Birkerts invited a number of literary writers to tell him how they were reacting to the technological innovatios of our day. Do the "dreadful excitements" promised by a digital future cause us to forfeit our time-honored cultural traditions for dubious gain? Or will the electronic millennium usher in an unprecedented age of interconnectedness and opportunities for wider communication?

In the tradition of the Graywolf Annuals, this first Graywolf Forum presents a wide range of responses from contemporary creative writers.

Contributors:

Sven Birkerts
Harvey Blume
Daniel Mark Epstein
Jonathan Franzen
Thomas Frick
Alice Fulton
Albert Goldbarth
Carolyn Guyer
Gerald Howard
Wendy Lesser
Ralph Lombreglia
Carole Maso
Askold Melnyczuk
Robert Pinsky
Wulf Rehder
Lynne Sharon Schwartz
Tom Sleigh
Mark Slouka
Paul West

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A collection of essays addressing the role of high technology in the literary arts that attempts to expand upon the dialogue initiated in The Gutenberg Elegies, Birkert's book published at the dawn of Internet mania. Among the essays in Tolstoy's Dictaphone, "Only Connect" by Lynne Sharon Schwartz considers our relationship with telephones, Daniel Mark Epstein writes about the charmingly archaic atmosphere of Baltimore's Peabody Library and Mark Slouga speaks of "the culture of distraction," arguing that electronic media are contributing to the loss of "the daily grinding of differences so necessary not only to the democratic process, but to individual growth."

From Publishers Weekly

As the information revolution explodes, will screens replace print, hypertext supplant narrative and corporate endeavors crowd out individual art? Will electronic media rot our minds, ruin our taste and alienate us from nature?or foster creativity and diversity? These 19 witty and impassioned essays explore the ever-changing dynamic between technology and the literary arts, updating C.P. Snow's Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution and the works of Marshall McLuhan. Of the seductive pull of our new toys and tools, Askold Melnyczuk cries, "Someone, tie me to the mast!". Other resisters are Paul West (who composes on a typewriter, nude) and Mark Slouka (who tells how he searched in nature for a rare slug, only to find it on television). However, optimists Carolyn Guyer and Carole Maso herald innovative forms of self-expression, and Wendy Lesser credits e-mail with reviving the personal letter. Other delights here are Daniel Mark Epstein's celebration of a great library, Jonathan Franzen's piece on material poverty and artistic riches and Lynne Sharon Schwartz's comic complaints about modern telephoning. Ultimately, these poets, novelists, editors, artists and teachers raise fundamental questions regarding values, and challenge us to discard the toxic in electronic fare and embrace the life-enhancing. As Ralph Lombreglia wisely observes, the source of our collective shallowness is us, not our technology. (Sept) FYI: Tolstoy's Dictaphone is the first in the new Graywolf Forum series aimed at eliciting essays from creative writers on relevant topics.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 266 pages
• Publisher: Graywolf Press (August 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555972489
• ISBN-13: 978-1555972486
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,544,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant, February 11, 2003

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Roo Ruf Neck - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tolstoy's Dictaphone: Technology and the Muse (Graywolf Forum) (Paperback)

This baby is packed full of brilliant writing on a damn interesting subject. Each writer is facing the question of how technology is changing culture, how is it transforming the sense of self and what will things look like as they pass away into this newness.

Lots of different opinions, but all heart-felt and all full of engergy and imagination. A few of these essays made me put the book down and just linger in the vision that was presented...