Tag Archives: Political Fictions

“The ability to think for one’s self depends upon one’s mastery of the language.” — Joan Didion

Posted on December 5, 2025 by sheila

It’s her birthday today. Someone said that Didion’s (seemingly) simple sentences are like a perfect puzzle. If you remove one line from a paragraph, everything falls apart. Her writing is that well-constructed. She was a notoriously painstaking self-editor. She would … Continue reading →

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The Books: Political Fictions, ‘Clinton Agonistes’, by Joan Didion

Posted on October 2, 2012 by sheila

Still on the essays shelf with another book of essays by Joan Didion, called Political Fictions. This entire article makes me shiver with revulsion remembering the days of the Kenneth Starr inquisition, when Monica Lewinsky dominated our front pages, and … Continue reading →

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The Books: Political Fictions, ‘Political Pornography’, by Joan Didion

Posted on September 29, 2012 by sheila

Still on the essays shelf with another book of essays by Joan Didion, called Political Fictions. Joan Didion is not known for her humor. I am currently reading Arguably, a collection of Christopher Hitchens’ essays, and his prose often makes … Continue reading →

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The Books: Political Fictions, ‘Newt Gingrich, Superstar’, by Joan Didion

Posted on September 27, 2012 by sheila

Still on the essays shelf with another book of essays by Joan Didion, called Political Fictions. As I mentioned in the first excerpt from this wonderful book, Political Fictions is a compilation of the eight giant political essays that Joan … Continue reading →

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The Books: Political Fictions: ‘Eyes on the Prize’, by Joan Didion

Posted on September 26, 2012 by sheila

Still on the essays shelf with another book of essays by Joan Didion, called Political Fictions. In the late 80s, early 90s, the New York Review of Books hired Joan Didion to write about politics. She wrote 8 gigantic essays … Continue reading →

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