Blog Post 7: Author Presentation Reflections (Actual)
I thoroughly enjoyed Anna’s piece on Anthony Bourdain, she gave a well-developed analysis of Bourdain’s major life moments leading up to his worldwide success with “Parts Unknown.” I felt that her description of Bourdain as a dishwasher and giving some insight into his culinary training was helpful, but perhaps the most eye-opening aspect of her presentation was her description of Bourdain as a literary journalist. I’m still not sure if I’d label him as a literary journalist, but I’d say he was a travel documentarian and author, whose works perhaps felt literary through the use of techniques. I would have liked to see more passages that showcased Bourdain as a literary journalist. As a fellow global citizen and world traveller, I have always been interested in Bourdain’s work and this presentation re-ignited the spark I needed to read more work from the author. It was also nice to discuss the implications and possible reasoning behind Bourdain’s apparent suicide, despite his cultured and adventurous lifestyle.
Mauricio’s presentation on Tom Wolfe was also interesting as he presented Wolfe as very unconventional and someone that isn’t the most trustworthy journalistic source due to his controversial opinions. Because Wolfe has been criticized for being racist and misogynistic among other things, and has yet to apologize for this, I will not be reading additional pieces from him. However, I felt that Mauricio’s choice to include certain quotes by him was a great decision, and his responses to our questions during class were insightful and backed by adequate research. Mauricio’s awareness of Wolfe was refreshing and I’m glad he chose to present on such an enigmatic figure, despite not being able to fully agree with his thoughts. In my own presentation, I wish I had read an excerpt of Danyel Smith’s work to give the class a more comprehensive view of her as a person.
