The White Man's Guide to White Male Writers of the Western Canon

Description

How do you use 'taraddidle' in a sentence Is it possible to make a Gin Ricky that's also a metaphor for the American Dream How can you tell your Faulkner from your Franzen if you haven't actually read either Allow me, the @GuyInYourMFA, to expound on the most important (aka white male) writers of western literature. You've probably seen me around, observing the masses, or defying the wind by hand-rolling a cigarette outside a local, fair-trade coffeeshop. I've actually read Infinite Jest 9 1/2 times. Care to discuss From Shakespeare's greatest mystery (how could a working-class man without access to an MFA program be so prolific) to the true meaning of Kafkaesque (you know you've made it when you have an adjective named for you), the pages herewith are at once profound and practical. Use my ingenious Venn diagram to test your knowledge of which Jonathan-Franzen, Lethem, or Safran Foer-hates Twitter and lives in Brooklyn. (Trick question: all 3!) Sneer at chick-lit and drink Mojitos like Hemingway (not like middle-aged divorcees!). So instead of politely nodding along next time you make an acquaintance at a housewarming party in Brooklyn, you can roll up your sleeves and get to work schooling them in character arcs and the experimental form of your next great American novel. Dazzle your friends with how well you understand post-modernism. You'll be at a literary event asking a question "that's really more of a comment" in no time.

DANA SCHWARTZ (@DanaSchwartzzz) is currently a correspondent at Entertainment Weekly. She has written for the New York Observer, Marie Claire, GQ, Bustle, Glamour, Vanity Fair, NewYorker.com, The Guardian, Mental_Floss, The Toast, VICE, Brooklyn Magazine, and more. She's the creator of popular literary Twitter accounts @GuyInYourMFA and @DystopianYA. In 2016, Dana was #5 on Paste's list of funniest tweeters, and on Brooklyn Magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture. ASON ADAM KATZENSTEIN is a cartoonist and comedy writer for print and animation . His art and writing have appeared in The New Yorker, The Toast, MAD Magazine and on Cartoon Network. He taught Writing and Drawing Comics for a semester at Wesleyan University. He has illustrated a full length graphic novel, Camp Midnight, with writer Steven T. Seagle for Image Comics.

"Schwartz gives her most famous creation, the Twitter parody account @GuyInYourMFA, free reign to speak his opinion in this hilarious book, cathartic for anyone who's ever taken an English class. With characteristic conceitedness (which, of course, he'd deny he has), @GuyinYourMFA goes over the white male writers who have dominated curricula for all too long." - Refinery 29