F

Flavorwire

Books

Extremely Silly Photos of Extremely Serious Writers

By Emily Temple on
← →
of 15

Marcel Proust playing air guitar on a tennis racket circa 1892. Image via

← →
of 15
View all pages

Filed Under:

ColetteErnest HemingwayHunter S. ThompsonMarcel ProustMark TwainMaya AngelouNeil GaimanPhilip RothSusan SontagVladimir Nabokov
Post comment as
twitter logo facebook logo
Sort: Newest | Oldest

Not necessarily silly, or particularly serious. Just writers being human. Here's my own, of Ginsberg, neither silly nor serious, but good humoured enough to humour me: http://www.flickr.com/photos/granier/sets/

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

Playwright J.M. Barrie playing Capain-Hook-and-Peter-Pan with his friend Michael http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:J._M._Barrie_playing_Neverland_with_Michael_Llewelyn_Davies.jpg

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

September 5, 2012 Zubaida A. Sharif (313)498-8967 My book, Caged in America, was released for publication in November 2008 by a publishing company named Xilbris (see www.Xilbris.com) as part of the story line (see for free sample chapter. The book has been doing well on Amazon (ranking 40,000-600,000) and I sold 40 books at my first book signing and 35 on my second book signing. I have also had positive responses to radio interviews on Dr. Lieberman radio, B97 Bloomington, Indiana and Worldstreams Radio (http;//www.worldstreams.org). At this time I feel I could have higher sales if the book was available from a larger publisher. Because of this, I am looking for an agent to represent me. I include a short synopsis of the book and author information for you. Synopsis: The third child of a Yemenie family in Detroit,Zubaida (jasmine) Sharif took on the responsibility of protecting her mother when her father came home in drunken rages. Still, she hoped that one day she would marry her prince charming. She naively celebrated her thirteen year-old sister’s marriage and was happy with the husband her father picked out for her when she married at fifteen. She dreamed of the ideal life, but she never could escape her father’s clutches. Angry that her first husband could not finish paying her bride price, Jasmine’s father had them divorced, three subsequent marriages to abusive men, attempted escapes to women’s shelters, and trips to find help in Yemen followed. Each time Jasmine tried to leave, her family enticed her back. It wasn’t until her fourth husband threatened to kill her that Jasmine finally escaped for good with her two boys leaving her daughter behind as she was taken to Yemen at the time. Caged in America is a hard-hitting, outspoken account of secret Arabic (yemen) lifestyle being lived here in the United States. Many of the customs we hear about the Middle East are being continued right here in our own backyard. Young girls are being sold to older men for a bride price. Men are marrying women to obtain citizenship and are taking second wives in the US when they already have wives overseas. Spousal abuse is accepted, and in extreme cases, like Jasmine’s family, brothers are pitted against sisters to continue the cycle of degradation. The Author: Zubaida Sharif refers herself as Jasmine because she is still hiding from her family. After living in women’s shelters she has finally settled in an undisclosed city in Indiana with her two sons. She hopes that her story will open people’s eyes to the abuse happening in Arabic communities in the US. She also plans to one day open a woman’s shelter, that specifically care for women who have suffered from physical and emotional abuse. If you are interested in representing me, I am happy to talk to you in more detail. My phone number is 313-498-8967. Thank you very much for your time. Sincerely, Zubaida A. Sharif

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

Lovely pictures of human beings. 'Silly' is subjective.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

Nice compilation. Love that Sontag image.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

There is obviously a bundle to realize about this. I believe you made some nice points in features also.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

Mark Twain looks like he's about to stab someone.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

Nabokov was not only passionate about butterflies, he was highly respected in the field. Why do you hate science?

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

Now I really wanna read some Dalton Trumbo!

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

The photo of Nabokov does not count as silly. He was an expert on butterflies. The photo shows him engaging in one of his passions.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

The man is chasing down a butterfly. That counts as silly in my book.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

To really make my evening, a photo of that most uber serious of writers Norman Mailer in a pair of fishnets would have been perfect. But, hey, I'll settle for Sontag in a bear suit.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

Rob, very true. Butterflies are a prevalent motif in Nabokov's books... or at the very least, in his memoir - Speak, Memory.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

Hunter S. Thomson is completely crazy. Johnny Depp has many stories about the crazy things they did, or that Hunter said.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

I would say Capote is loaded not asleep...

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

Love the Ernest Hemmingway!

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

I think Nabokov took his butterflies just as seriously as his fiction.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

I just love Susan Sontag in a bear suit. So dignified. Grreat!

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

Great fotos, but you might want to consider an edit to the header -- "extremely serious" Kurt Vonnegut was in "Back to School" with Rodney Dangerfield; and Hunter Thompson? (Not to mention the aforementioned comics writing Gaiman...)

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

And the Oscar goes to Edward Gorey! ..and Marcel Proust.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

Where have you been? Neil Gaiman is very silly.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

Love the Maya Angelou. It provided a great (and touching) conversation between my little nephew and myself.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

That's Gloria Swanson on his left

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like