Word: lowbrows
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...interesting things about the present moment in U.S. literary history is that the tough, fibrous membrane that used to separate literary fiction from popular fiction is rupturing. The highbrow and the lowbrow, once kept chastely separate, are now hooking up, which is why we have great, funky, unclassifiable writers like Margaret Atwood, Neal Stephenson, Susanna Clarke and David Mitchell. And like Chabon, who in addition to writing The Final Solution has edited an anthology of hybrid highbrow-lowbrow tales, McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories (Vintage; 328 pages). And like Jonathan Lethem, who has just published Men and Cartoons...
...already made Spamalot a hot ticket in Chicago, where it will begin a pre-Broadway run in late December. But the show's key to success may be its unlikely director, Mike Nichols. His understated, very American comic sensibility might seem an odd fit with the Pythons' quirky, lowbrow-meets-highbrow satire. Yet the comic alchemy could bring Broadway something it hasn't experienced since The Producers: real belly laughs. "There are not enough silly shows," says Idle. "You can't rely on Washington for all your laughs." --By Richard Zoglin
...would hope that in an academic community such as Harvard’s there would be little room for lowbrow baiting and outright heckling in the face of a distinguished guest. One might also hope that the guest wouldn’t lower himself to the levels of disrespect and obstinacy broached by his audience. For those who attended presidential candidate Ralph Nader’s speech at the John F. Kennedy, Jr. Forum this past Monday, such hopes were dashed...
...real trick to their belovedness is that Joel and Ethan Coen go highbrow on lowbrow: opera parody mixes with stoner humor in The Big Lebowski, a cow explodes in the middle of a Depression-era adaptation of The Odyssey in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and quips about Renaissance music are juxtaposed with irritable-bowel syndrome in their latest, The Ladykillers, which opens this Friday. "We're not embarrassed to put in the cheapest gags if they make us laugh," says Joel, 49. "On the other hand, if something goes over somebody's head, we don't care...
...crop of contenders that has sprung up in the wake of Martha's mess is staggering. As well as "Down Under Martha" (Hay), there's "lowbrow Martha" (Semi-Homemade's Sandra Lee), "pioneer Martha" (MaryJane Butters of Moscow, Idaho), "Gen X Martha" (Katie Brown) and, following the launch of her Kmart clothing and home collection, Thalia Sodi, who will debut a magazine this month that will crown her "Latina Martha." There's even a host of "anti-Marthas," including Dan Ho, whose Rescue magazine is pitched to those in "Martha recovery." While they all tout their own particular niche, what...