If I am going to be at all honest, I am terrible at holding myself responsible for anything before the absolute last minute. I won't say this is a rare trait, but it is still inescapably mine. So, when faced with a comprehensive reading exam for my M.A. program, one that covers four centuries and one niche specialisation, I at least know well enough to worry; I will, inevitably, put the worst of it off. Or at least I will be tempted to.
But this! Well, there is this. I have hopes for this.
What I need to do here is fill in a bunch of holes to a literary canon whose skeleton I've already more or less covered since entering the fray in undergrad. Some of these holes are more forgivable (Il'ya Il'f? Fet? Balmont?), some are outright embarrassing, now six years into the field (I'm looking at you, War and Peace and Anna Karenina). Most are just the result of the limitations of time. Regardless of history, however, everything lacking needs be read and critically understood before March.
This is an experiment, a deviation from how I would traditionally prepare, a (hopefully) valiant attempt to change my worst habits and hammer in some useful eidetic memories of the waves of material before Exam Day looms too large. I mean, I make my bed daily. I fold all my clothes before going to sleep. I eat kale by the handful. I can probably – probably! – handle this.
So alright, slightly massive reading list: Let's Go.
Why Woe from Lit?
