Bram Dijkstra
Encyclopedia
Bram Dijkstra is a professor
of English literature
. He joined the faculty of the University of California, San Diego
in 1966, and taught there until he retired and became an emeritus (retired professor who still holds the title) in 2000. He is married to the literary agent Sandra Dijkstra.
He is the author of seven books on literary and artistic subjects. These include:
He is probably best known for two books that have escaped the academic world into the world of popular culture:
These two books discuss vamp
imagery, femmes fatales
, and similar threatening images of female sexuality
in a number of works of literature and art. His epithet-laden rhetoric directed against the mostly forgotten nineteenth century artists, especially in Idols of Perversity, has been perceived as excessive. In comedian Steve Martin
's short novel Shopgirl
, Martin's heroine claims that Idols of Perversity is her favourite book.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
. He joined the faculty of the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
in 1966, and taught there until he retired and became an emeritus (retired professor who still holds the title) in 2000. He is married to the literary agent Sandra Dijkstra.
He is the author of seven books on literary and artistic subjects. These include:
- Cubism, Stieglitz and the Early Poetry of William Carlos WilliamsWilliam Carlos WilliamsWilliam Carlos Williams was an American poet closely associated with modernism and Imagism. He was also a pediatrician and general practitioner of medicine, having graduated from the University of Pennsylvania...
(1969) - Georgia O'KeeffeGeorgia O'KeeffeGeorgia Totto O'Keeffe was an American artist.Born near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, O'Keeffe first came to the attention of the New York art community in 1916, several decades before women had gained access to art training in America’s colleges and universities, and before any of its women artists...
and the ErosEros (love)Eros is one of the four words in Ancient Greek which can be rendered into English as “love”. The other three are storge, philia and agape...
of Place (1998) - ExpressionismExpressionismExpressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
in America (2001)
He is probably best known for two books that have escaped the academic world into the world of popular culture:
- Idols of Perversity: Fantasies of Feminine Evil in Fin-de-siècle Culture (1986)
- Evil Sisters: The Threat of Female Sexuality and the Cult of Manhood (1996)
These two books discuss vamp
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
imagery, femmes fatales
Femme fatale
A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art...
, and similar threatening images of female sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
in a number of works of literature and art. His epithet-laden rhetoric directed against the mostly forgotten nineteenth century artists, especially in Idols of Perversity, has been perceived as excessive. In comedian Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
's short novel Shopgirl
Shopgirl
Shopgirl is a 2005 American romantic drama film directed by Anand Tucker. The screenplay by Steve Martin is based on his 2000 novella of the same name.-Plot:...
, Martin's heroine claims that Idols of Perversity is her favourite book.