The Crucial Years Literature by and about American Women from 1963-1987. Edited by Nete Schmidt. An entire generation of men and women have grown up since Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique in 1963. In the twenty-four years since this renaissance of feminism we have seen enormous social, economic and political changes. But some lessons turn out to be those learned by our "foremothers" or antecedents, and many of our modern day philosophies resonate with the thoughts of the suffragettes. Well we may ask where we have made progress over the "wildest dreams" of the mothers of us all This is an anthology of American women's literature from 1963 until 1987. It is divided into four sections. The first section can be seen as a background, setting the framework for the rest of the book. The following three sections cover the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's. Each decade is succeeded by a summary comment, and furthermore each excerpt or story is furnished with information about the author and suggested further reading. I have selected texts by and about American women from a variety of self-defined cultures: Blacks, Chicanas, Jews, Whites, lesbians, and straights, as well as from the upper, middle and lower classes. Thus I seek to cover as many aspects as possible of the development in American women's literature over the past quarter century. These particular works also cover the various areas of women's roles that are outlined in the introduction to Herland, a Utopian feminist novel from 1915 by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It is my idea that by providing a (Utopian) model for the discussion and interpretation, the reader may "measure" the development which has also taken place for the women in women's literature - which also reflects the development in the consciousness of the female authors. Female authors both reflect the surrounding society as products of it, and project new images to influence it. It is therefore essential for women's understanding of themselves to recognize the importance of the images of women painted through literature - whether they be seen as models to be followed or rejected. [...] It will then be up to the reader - as always - to answer the final questions: how far have we come? - and how far have we yet to go? Nete Schmidt, San Francisco, February 1987
	Love and Marriage An Anthology about Love, Marriage, Children and Divorce. By Nete Schmidt. Love springs eternal, and even though "love" is not the most original theme in the world it is still extremely interesting! Our emotioal life is not always predictable, we don't always know what goals to set nor how to reach them, we don't always live up to our first ambitions about the everlasting romantic love of our life - but from the moment we discover the existence of the opposite sex, most of us can't help being influenced in one way or another by love, romance and relationships. The fact that "The Pink Lady", Barbara Cartland, is the most widely read author in the world with more than 500 million books in print, really says it all. We simply can't help ourselves. Or in the words of the poet and song writer, Leonard Cohen: "there ain't no cure for love". So since "Love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage", it seemed quite natural to start out with Love as the basis for an anthology whose main theme is Marriage and its ramifications. But unlike the fairy-tale love and marriage of the Gothic Romance novel, love and marriage in the real world continues on in many directions. It changes and develops over time, and in many cases fades and ends. Not surprisingly then, I have added two additional themes to this anthology: Children and Divorce. One meets the person of one's dreams, falls in love, marries, and has children. And in today's world there is a better than 50% chance that the married relationship will end. But for most of us the end represents only a temporary setback, as we invariably start anew with rekindled hope and energy. Thus, with marriage as its central point, this book covers four themes and comprises a varied collection of texts which the reader may use as the basis of an exploration of the many issues presented. The book covers a wide range of emotional, social and political topics, as well as a considerable time-span, with the oldest text from 1796 and the newest from 1990, in order to provide a sounding-board to help the reader explore his or her own knowledge, prejudice, beliefs, myths, fantasies and emotions as regards the themes. I have included fiction, poetry and non-fiction to show differet ways of approaching and treating the themes, and to provide material for both broad and detailed discussions of the chosen aspects. [...] The main thing is to use the book to bring out personal views and experiences, to provoke discussions, to illustrate possible approaches and solutions to the problems raised, and to generate perhaps a more qualified insight into some concepts and topics which are age-old, yet ageless and still changing and inviting new and individual attention. Nete Schmidt, Bjerringbro, 1992
	A Taste of Horror By Nete Schmidt. Why do we read horror stories when so many horrible things are happening in the real world? Why do so many people feel such a strong fascination for all the macabre, the bloody and the gruesome things they see in books and films when the newspapers and the evening news provide them with "the real thing"? What is wrong with "those people" who read horror stories, and with a society that permits writers of horror to churn them out in greater numbers? What is wrong - or is anything wrong at all? These were some of my initial questions when I set out to edit this book, questions which became ever more pressing as I watched my son grow into a lover of horror stories, films and roleplaying. When I asked my students which English/American authors they preferred, Stephen King was at the top of their list and was always included in their book reports. So I decided to look into this phenomenon which is reaching new heights of popularity in this day and age, and consider it from a historical perspective. Instead of pouncing on the favorite, Stephen King, I've chosen to go back and look at his literary ancestors, his roots, and present horror as a valid literary genre related to history, surviving through the centuries and reflecting the society from which it has sprung. My thought was that, even though one might not like the stories, they do exist, they have existed for a long time, and they should be explored rather than ignored. As any teacher will tell you, knowledge is power, and in this case, that knowledge includes understanding what many youngsters are reading today. Only by understanding the history and genre of horror can one hope to give his or her students a broader perspective on their chosen literature. The most correct thing would have been to go back to Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, written in 1765. This story is one of the first, and probably the best, of the so-called Gothic novels, a curious literary genre which flourished from about 1765 till 1825. Even though it is a precursor of Romanticism, horror is nevertheless the theme of the story. But it is horror on a far more psychological and supernatural level that most of the stories written today. Not much blood and gore in Walpole! The story is too long to be included in an anthology of this short and introductory nature. It would suffer too much from abridgment and the Gothic atmosphere might well be lost. But I can recommend it as an admirable background piece for delving into the special universe of the horror genre. The selections in this anthology are all masterpieces, written by authors who know their craft. They have been chosen to cover a period of approx. 150 years and show the development that has taken place within this genre from 1842 up to modern day. I conclude with Clive Barker, the man who has been called Stephen King's equal. Thus it is my intention that the person working with this book, through the stories and the questions presented, should be able to form some opinions about, and maybe even answer, the questions I raised in the first paragraph! [....] There are detailed questions for all the texts, biographical notes on the authors, and an extensive glossary. Above all, I recommend reading these stories in a safe and well-lit place. Who knows where a simple taste of horror can lead? Nete Schmidt, Bjerringbro, May 1993
	Gen X & After A Douglas Coupland Reader: Gen X and After. By Nete Schmidt. Who or what is Generation X? According to a growing consensus in the U.S. this generation comprises the socalled Busters, living in the shadow of the sweeping floodwave of Baby Boomers and ex-hippies from the 60´s who have already "been there and done that". Douglas Coupland didn't coin the term Generation X, but when he wrote a novel by that name, he assumed or was assigned the role of mouthpiece for a whole generation. He is the best known author to portray the phenomenon, and in his four books he gives his readers a picture of a segment of modern America. The structure and technique of Coupland's writings are such that fragmentation is the essence. It is obvious that life is not regarded as a coherent entity but rather as a series of separate events linked by a vision. The fragmented structure reflects the author's view of reality in small, and often unrelated pieces, thus lending itself well to our process here of lifting out specific excerpts of his writings and looking at them in isolation. The selections in this reader have been chosen carefully to give a valid representation of Coupland's works. And since he's the primary author on this subject, they are doubly relevant in the portrait both of an emerging generation and some of the crucial trends in American society today. The U.S. is a trendsetter of enormous proportions. Innumerable elements have wormed their way into our culture and consciousness, from its distinct vocabulary, through its choice of food and clothing to its entertainment and media systems, just to mention a few. Since our Danish culture borrows, adapts and uses so many of the American trends, it is easy to forget that it takes years of immersion in another culture before it can be demystified or judged with any degree of real understanding. In a limited way, A Douglas Coupland Reader attempts to exemplify and explain parts of the American scene as they now exist. Knowledge is the best way to combat prejudice and ignorance, and the aim of this book is to provide food for thought, material for discussion, and information about the society to which Douglas Coupland belongs and which he uses as his creative source. The book, Microserfs, in particular, overflows with American paraphernalia, drawing the reader into the minutest details of life in the fast lane. This universe envisoned and partly invented by Bill Gates has created new norms and laid the foundation of a new lifestyle. If one puts the pieces of the puzzle together, one aquires an inside view of the cultural make-up of an important subculture within the U.S. If, then, one adds the insight gained from going through the other excerpts in this reader, one can begin to scratch beneath the surface of the larger cultural phenomenon referred to as Generation X. Coupland defines Generation X as the group of people born between 1961 and 1981. And as one reads through his descriptions of this generation's lifestyle, it becomes very obvious that he doesn't think Generation X has had the advantages of the past generations. However, his books all end on an optimistic note, a note of hope for the future and, ironically, a call for a return to the more basic values which have been pushed aside in the frenzy over new technological toys. He shows Generation X as survivors with a well-developed ability to adapt to their conditions and make the most out of them. In their own words: "We have inherited both the simplistic innocence of our mass-mediated social engineering and the postmodern psychedelic ability to reframe reality as if from the outside. These two genetic threads - the joy of unselfconscious participation and the irony of metaparticipation - are the GenX birthright." (D. Rushkoff, The Gen X Reader). And being myself a part of the Baby Boomer generation, I may, indeed, exhort you to remember that "they are the thing that will replace us"! Nete Schmidt, Bjerringbro, 1996