Sobriquet 51.13

I'll keep tonight's entry short. I hit the ten-page mark on the Disgrace chapter this afternoon and promptly fell asleep for three hours. I still have my doubts about the overall quality of this chapter but, I have to admit, having read it over, I think I did a satisfactory job.

Other than writing, I have been devoting a bit of time to (re)reading some critical literature, combing the pages for material that will flesh out my arguments. I imagine that other dissertation-writers will smirk when I say this, but I delight in uncovering leads that, if I am lucky, will result in little more than a footnote in my larger project. I don't know why. I guess it makes me feel like a "real" researcher or something.

Speaking of which, I had the rather surreal experience of seeing my name listed under "Suggested Reading" on what appears to be a high school's AP English syllabus. The text on the syllabus, an essay I wrote on phrenology and physiognomy in Edgar Allan Poe, was actually the first critical essay I published and, despite its flaws, one I recall fondly. So that pleasant little discovery provided me with a modicum of confidence as I sat down to write this afternoon. I mean, really, it's quite nice to think that, in some little corner of the world, something I spent a long time bringing into being (not unlike my current project) is breathing life into a discussion I probably would have enjoyed in my high school days.

For tomorrow: Take today, repeat. Otherwise, read.