Pathetic Literature, edited by Eileen Myles, is an extremely satisfying anthology both for the works included and for the thought-provoking introduction.

I can't say for sure that what I take to be pathetic literature is the same as what Myles expresses, even if it is their introduction that got me to think about it. My take (and don't hold any gross conceptual errors against them, any errors are all mine) is that we are going back to the root of pathetic, think pathos here. Appealing to emotions and stirring feelings as one source states it. But I think inclusion in the category goes beyond simply that. It is from these emotions and feelings that meaning comes. Rather than a purely rational expression (which isn't to say these are irrational) we are led to experience conflict, pain (physical, emotional, and spiritual), discomfort, and other feelings but through someone else's perspective, their eyes, their hearts, their fears, and their reality. Then we can hopefully make some meaning from it all.

Even setting aside trying to fully understand the definition of pathetic literature, this is a wonderful anthology, period. No, you likely won't be equally moved by every work, such is the nature of any collection. But you will read works from familiar writers and some you aren't likely aware of. You'll read excerpts from longer works, some you probably know, which, taken separately, can alter how they speak to you. And hopefully, through feeling and emotional connection, you will arrive at some new and/or modified meaning of the world around you.

In recommending this book I would include those who want to read it straight through as well as those who will use it as reading for when you have little time. I went through it rather quickly so I could share my thoughts, but it is the kind of book I would prefer to work through over several weeks or a couple of months. Read an entry or two, think about it, feel it, maybe look up things it might make me think about. Then either reread or move on to the next entry. Even any piece you don't care for, ask yourself why. Was it the voice? Was it truly an authorial voice or the racial/ethnic/gendered/etc voice that turned you off? And again, why? Discomfort? Dislike? Lack of knowledge? Feelings and emotions don't have to be separate, use them with your so-called rational mind to look closer at the work, our society, and yourself.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )