A Galaxy Not So Far Away: Writers and Artists on Twenty-five Years of Star Wars - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0805070745 ISBN 13: 9780805070743

Publisher: Holt Paperbacks, 2002

Synopsis

A dazzling collection of original essays by some of America's most notable young writers on the cultural impact of the Star Wars films

A Galaxy Not So Far Away is the first ever exploration of the innumerable ways the Star Wars films have forever altered our cultural and artistic landscape. Edited by Glenn Kenny, a senior editor and critic at Premiere magazine, this singular collection allows some of the nation's most acclaimed writers to anatomize, criticize, celebrate, and sometimes simply riff on the prismatic aftereffects of an unparalleled American phenomenon. Jonathan Lethem writes of the summer he saw Star Wars twenty-one times as his mother lay dying of cancer. Neal Pollack chips in with the putative memoir of a certain young man having problems with his father, written in the voice of Holden Caulfield. Erika Krouse ponders the code of the Jedi Knight and its relation to her own pursuit of the martial arts. New York Times film critic Elvis Mitchell meditates upon the mysterious figure Lando Calrissian.

A classic assemblage of pop writing at its best, A Galaxy Not So Far Away is a book for everyone who loves Star Wars films and seeks to understand just what it is about these films that has so enchanted an entire generation of filmgoers.

About this title

Review:

A Galaxy Not So Far Away is a collection of essays that set out to seriously explore the vast landscape of the Star Wars cultural phenomenon. Premiere magazine editor Glenn Kenny has complied 18 well-crafted pieces from a wide array of pop culture aficionados, including ribald filmmaker Kevin Smith and Onion satirist Todd Hanson.

The pieces range from serious scholarship to self-deprecating geek confessionals. Some--such as "Pale Starship, Pale Rider: The Ambiguous Appeal of Boba Fett" by Tom Bissell--tend toward the esoteric minutiae of fandom, and are sure to please the rabid devotee. But most are kindly universal and range far beyond the spacey subject matter into more human territory. Thankfully, most of the writers don't take themselves too seriously as they make the jump to hyperspace. Thus, the collection is a pleasure to read and an interesting foray into the passionate media culture surrounding the Star Wars universe. Overall, an excellent intellectual exercise for anyone who has ever found escape in a galaxy far, far away. --Jeremy Pugh

About the Author:

Glenn Kenny is a senior editor and chief film critic for Premiere magazine. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

About this edition

• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0805070745
• ISBN 13: 9780805070743
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256
• Editor: Kenny Glenn