Landon's subversively hilarious six-hour play is a high black comedy in doggerel verse with music for six fiercely opinionated and outspoken characters with radically different perverspectives apropos of what constitutes "art," ranging from the commercially pragmatic to the philosophically effete. The opinions expressed are in no ways frivolous but evolve into transcendental matters verging on Life and Death. The setting is Pimpleton State Luniversity, which offers a post-doctoral degree called a "stool" for scholars ...
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Landon's subversively hilarious six-hour play is a high black comedy in doggerel verse with music for six fiercely opinionated and outspoken characters with radically different perverspectives apropos of what constitutes "art," ranging from the commercially pragmatic to the philosophically effete. The opinions expressed are in no ways frivolous but evolve into transcendental matters verging on Life and Death. The setting is Pimpleton State Luniversity, which offers a post-doctoral degree called a "stool" for scholars specializing in absurdly arcane areas of research (e.g., Primaeval Linguistics, Feline Transgender Studies, and Astromusicology). Amongst the stool program's leading contenders is a bombastically pretentious charlatan named Phangbang Bonation, who is the prolific progenitor of a post-postmodernist aesthetic known as "Nadaism," which espouses the submicrominimalist credo that producing zilch (i.e., nothing at all) is a legitimate form of artistic expression. This deranged ideology draws a huge cult following amongst critics of all artistic genres and earns Phangbang untold wealth in the sales (thru auctions) of various non-opuses from his Nadaistic oeuvre. Two of his fellow stool candidates-Pelvin Penisovich and Purvel Schlignatz-are so violently repelled by Phangbang's grandiose pretensions (especially subsequent to his diverting the amorous attentions of their main squeezes exclusively to himself), that they spare no effort in forging an elaborate scheme to expose him for the cunning impostor they adamantly believe him to be in the hopes of not only irrevocably invalidating him and his cockamamie ideas about art but also of obliterating him and his Nadaistic movement from the face of the earth. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing turns out the way Pelvin and Purvel envisioned it ought to have subsequent to carrying out their nefarious enterprise, as they learn, to their utmost dismay, that they have unwittingly opened a whole new (and even more appalling) Pandora's box of depraved theoretical dogmas as to what constitutes an authentic form of creative expression. Thus, their foiled attempt to subvert what they perceive as the unholy aesthetic crusade of their rodomont adversary ends up backfiring upon them in the form of a new post-postmodernist school of thought that blindly enthused critics coin as "revisitationism," which engenders in its turn the unleashing of a plague of criticastically acclaimed, up-to-the-minute, pseudo-artistic horrorshows all across the land. The following caveat should not be construed as a spoiler alert but rather as a friendly heads-up to prospective explorers of this text. Readers and audients are duly advised of the very palpable likelihood that they will be rendered speechless-even dumb-when they find out what the aforementioned revolutionary artistic innovation embodies. Be forewarned: This play is not intended for weak-kneed invertebrates or the squeamish of heart.
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Add this copy of Nothing is More: a High Black Comedy in Verse with to cart. $17.85, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2019 by Independently Published.
Add this copy of Nothing is More: a High Black Comedy in Verse With to cart. $36.13, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2019 by Independently published.
This physiological thriller is amusing and engaging right from the start. Act one introduces us to the characters, all of which I found interesting but one more particularly so was Purvel Schlignatz. He's a graduate student who is focused and open-minded, but gets convinced to do things that he sometimes does not subscribe to and I was not comfortable with the influence that Pelvin Penisovich had on him.The drama and romance blended easily and were equally entertaining. I loved how Purvel Chlignatz was ready to risk everything just to be with Kitty Walters. I closely followed the drama that led to Pelvin Penisovich and Dronah Stackbut's break up and learned a few things about friendship along the way. The romantic themes explore how pals and lovers sometimes get betrayed, and the result is anger that could be destructive.Dolly Gray Landon's story is exciting if not interesting and filled with characters with quirky names having engaging conversations. Melody wasn't a favorite for me, but not for a lack of character development, quite the opposite. Her attitude and lack of empathy made me dislike her character. She was full of herself and abused the influence she had. I, however, appreciate that the author made her one of the main characters, as her role added more spice in the book. I also got to learn a few new words, as the jargon used by the Stool candidates was compelling. 'Nadaism' is one of the words I found to be amusing throughout the book. Everything from the plot, literary stylistic devices used, character and writing style were excellent. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading plays and wants to enjoy a good story. Keep a dictionary handy as this story will surely increase your vocabulary.Wealth, power, the socialite life, education, relationships, and peer influence are some of the themes covered in the book. The author's sense of humor is subtly apparent throughout and serves to deliver a larger satirical story that kept me laughing, entertained, and quickly flipping pages.