The American Dissident
A Journal of Literature, Democracy, & Dissidence
A Forum for Vigorous Debate, Cornerstone of Democracy,
And for Examining the Dark Side of the Academic/Literary Established-Order Milieu


Essays That Tell It Like It Is

It is surprising how much, from the habit of regarding writing as an accomplishment, is wasted on form.  A very little information or wit is mixed up with a great deal of conventionalism in the style of expressing it, as with a sort of preponderating paste or vehicle.  Some life is not simply expressed, but a long-winded speech is made, with an occasional attempt to put a little life into it.

          Henry David Thoreau


Borduas, Paul-Emile, “Refus global”
Camus, Albert, “L’Artiste et son temps”
Céline, Louis-Ferdinand, Voyage au Bout de la Nuit
Chomsky, Noam, “Propaganda, American-style”
—Coleman, Wanda,
"Coulda Shoulda Woulda"
Douglass, Frederick, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

Emerson, Ralph Waldo, “Self-Reliance”

Ferré, Léo, “Préface”

Falardeau, Pierre, La Liberté n’est pas une marque de yaourt

Foucault, Michel, "Discourse and Truth: the Problematization of Parrhesia" (six lectures given at the Univ. of California at Berkeley, 1983)
Fromm, Eric, The Sane Society

Goldman, Emma, “Patriotism, a Menace to Liberty”
Goytisolo, Juan, “Vamos a menos”

Havel, Vaclav, Open Letters (e.g., “Dear Dr. Husak" and "The Power of the Powerless”)

Ibsen, Henrik, An Enemy of the People (Editor's analysis)
—Ingersoll, Robert Green, "Liberty in Literature" et al
—Landry, Ulysse,
“La verite en mange une claque”
Lévesque, Raymond, A bon entendeur, salut!

—Levi, Primo, Se questo e un uomo
King, Jr., Martin Luther, "The Purpose of Education"
Lewis, Sinclair, "Letter to the Pulitzer Prize Committee"
Lewis, Sinclair, “The American Fear of Literature” (Nobel Lecture-1930)

Mamet, David, “First Principles" (Writing in Restaurants)

Mencken, H.L., A Mencken Chrestomathy (“Bearers of the Torch,” etc..)

Nader, Ralph, “The Concord Principles:  An Agenda for a New Initiatory Democracy”
Orwell, George, “Prevention of Literature”

Orwell, George, "As I Please" (Orwell's newspaper column)
—Poe, Edgar Allan, "Criticism" (The Quacks of Helicon)
—Rushdie, Salman,
"A legal shield against offense?"

Saramago, José, “Hemos llegado al fin de una civilización” (El País, 11/19/00)
Shalamov, Varlan, Kolyma Tales

Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr, “1978 graduation ceremony address to Harvard University”
Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr, The Oak and the Calf

Thoreau, Henry David, “Civil Disobedience"
—Tremblay, Odile, "Guidounes culturelles"
Xingjian, Gao, “The Case for Literature” (Nobel Lecture-1999)