“The compass of possibilities”: Re-Mapping the Suburbs of Los Angeles in the Writings of D.J. Waldie
This article uses the works of the writer, memoirist, and Lakewood, California public official, D. J. Waldie to deepen our concept of “region” and to re-assess many of the stereotypical discourses associated with the American suburbs. In the fashionable parlance of Mike Davis’ City of Quartz, Los An...
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European Association for American Studies
2011-11-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/9424 |
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| author | Neil Campbell |
| author_facet | Neil Campbell |
| author_sort | Neil Campbell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article uses the works of the writer, memoirist, and Lakewood, California public official, D. J. Waldie to deepen our concept of “region” and to re-assess many of the stereotypical discourses associated with the American suburbs. In the fashionable parlance of Mike Davis’ City of Quartz, Los Angeles has become defined by its “suburban badlands”; however, Waldie‘s work takes a different view in which his suburban home in LA is the focus for a more complex, multi-faceted approach to post-war suburbia. Typified by his re-assessment of the suburban grid as a “compass of possibilities,” his writings encourage a more nuanced and layered view of the communities and cultures fostered in such places. His key work Holy Land is an argument about why a disregarded place, an ordinary place like suburbia, can in fact contain qualities of life that are profound and reassuring. Through examining his work in its cultural and theoretical context this article looks below the expected “grid” of suburbia to demonstrate the rich life beyond its apparent anonymity. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6dd2b4a96c8247328488a77046ffb62a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2011-11-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-6dd2b4a96c8247328488a77046ffb62a2025-01-06T09:10:23ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362011-11-016310.4000/ejas.9424“The compass of possibilities”: Re-Mapping the Suburbs of Los Angeles in the Writings of D.J. WaldieNeil CampbellThis article uses the works of the writer, memoirist, and Lakewood, California public official, D. J. Waldie to deepen our concept of “region” and to re-assess many of the stereotypical discourses associated with the American suburbs. In the fashionable parlance of Mike Davis’ City of Quartz, Los Angeles has become defined by its “suburban badlands”; however, Waldie‘s work takes a different view in which his suburban home in LA is the focus for a more complex, multi-faceted approach to post-war suburbia. Typified by his re-assessment of the suburban grid as a “compass of possibilities,” his writings encourage a more nuanced and layered view of the communities and cultures fostered in such places. His key work Holy Land is an argument about why a disregarded place, an ordinary place like suburbia, can in fact contain qualities of life that are profound and reassuring. Through examining his work in its cultural and theoretical context this article looks below the expected “grid” of suburbia to demonstrate the rich life beyond its apparent anonymity.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/9424Los AngelesSuburbiaWestern Cultural StudiesCritical RegionalismEverydayHoly Land |
| spellingShingle | Neil Campbell “The compass of possibilities”: Re-Mapping the Suburbs of Los Angeles in the Writings of D.J. Waldie European Journal of American Studies Los Angeles Suburbia Western Cultural Studies Critical Regionalism Everyday Holy Land |
| title | “The compass of possibilities”: Re-Mapping the Suburbs of Los Angeles in the Writings of D.J. Waldie |
| title_full | “The compass of possibilities”: Re-Mapping the Suburbs of Los Angeles in the Writings of D.J. Waldie |
| title_fullStr | “The compass of possibilities”: Re-Mapping the Suburbs of Los Angeles in the Writings of D.J. Waldie |
| title_full_unstemmed | “The compass of possibilities”: Re-Mapping the Suburbs of Los Angeles in the Writings of D.J. Waldie |
| title_short | “The compass of possibilities”: Re-Mapping the Suburbs of Los Angeles in the Writings of D.J. Waldie |
| title_sort | the compass of possibilities re mapping the suburbs of los angeles in the writings of d j waldie |
| topic | Los Angeles Suburbia Western Cultural Studies Critical Regionalism Everyday Holy Land |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/9424 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT neilcampbell thecompassofpossibilitiesremappingthesuburbsoflosangelesinthewritingsofdjwaldie |