Lonesome rangers : homeless minds, promised lands, fugitive cultures /

John Leonard, "the fastest wit in the East" (The New York Times Book Review), is back with the off-beat, wide-ranging style that earned his last book, When the Kissing Had to Stop, a place among the Voice Literary Supplement's "25 Favorites of 1999." Now, with an eye to the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Leonard, John, 1939-2008 (Author)
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: New York : New Press : 2002.
Subjects:
Online Access:Program air date: June 30, 2002
Description
Summary:John Leonard, "the fastest wit in the East" (The New York Times Book Review), is back with the off-beat, wide-ranging style that earned his last book, When the Kissing Had to Stop, a place among the Voice Literary Supplement's "25 Favorites of 1999." Now, with an eye to the social and political experience of writers, Leonard's Lonesome Rangers explores the literature of exile. In these pages, he considers Salman Rushdie as a rock 'n' roll Orpheus, who -- after ten years in fatwa-enforced exile -- bears a striking resemblance to his continually disappearing characters. He addresses Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone, where exile manifests itself in solitary bowling, reflecting a declining sense of community. And Leonard also explores Primo Levi's exile of survival, Bruce Chatwin's self-imposed exile in travel, as well as the work of Saul Bellow, Ralph Ellison, Philip Roth, Barbara Kingsolver, and Don DeLillo, among others. As always, Leonard's writing jumps off the page, engaging the reader in what Brigitte Frase termed his "criticism as performance art," making Lonesome Rangers an enjoyable read for anyone.
Item Description:Essays originally published between 1997 and 2001.
Physical Description:xxix, 318 pages ; 22 cm
ISBN:156584694X
9781565846944