Talk:An American Dream Expanded

Welcome to the digital Humanities project, AAD Expanded. This page will facilitate the discussion on the development of this project, beginning in the spring of 2019.

Purview

This project aims to create a critical and cultural context around the composition and subsequent reaction to Norman Mailer’s novel An American Dream. It will begin with J. Michael Lennon’s 2004 Norman Mailer's Letters on An American Dream, 1963–1969. Additional interviews, reviews, essays, and miscellany will be added as they are collected, permissions cleared, and digitized.

Access

Participation requires:

1. An account on Project Mailer. This cannot be created by users, but must be done by the editor, Gerald R. Lucas. Send him an email requesting an account (please include the username you would like).
2. Access to original documents. Original documents are stored on Google Drive. Please request access using your Google account. There will be numerous source documents we will be working with on this project.

To Do

See the to-do list on the talk page for Norman Mailer's Letters on An American Dream, 1963–1969.

Discussion

. . . @Grlucas: Link to my PM Sandbox. Please give feedback when you can and let me know if I have linked this to the wrong location. Thanks! Dmcgonagill/sandbox for PM(Dmcgonagill (talk) 12:43, 30 March 2019 (UTC))

@Grlucas: My article is ready to be moved from my sandbox to PM. Am I supposed to move it or are you supposed to review it and then move it?--Dillbug (talk) 17:53, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

@Dillbug: OK, looking good, but it's not quite ready. All citations should be formatted correctly using the citation templates for whatever it is you're citing, like a book or journal article. Simply cut and paste the template and fill in the info for each reference (many can already be found on the site's crit bibliography). Use McKinley's article as a guide. The notice up top does not really make sense, either. Next, you need to convert all parenthetical citations to shortened footnotes. Again, use the McKinley article for your reference. I'll do one or two for you as an example. Finally, I see some typos. Be sure you proof it well. Thanks. (I fixed the beginning for you and gave you some examples to work with.) —Grlucas (talk) 21:25, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

@Grlucas: Dr. Lucas, I tried to add two articles from the Misc. drive and am having issues with getting the image. I am going to continue to try and add the images.--Dillbug (talk) 18:28, 10 April 2019 (UTC)

@Grlucas: I have attempted to post a review, an article to the Gallery, and a Snippet. Please advise if I have done so correctly. I would like to do more but do not want to until I am sure I am on the right track.--Dillbug (talk) 16:57, 16 April 2019 (EDT)

@Dillbug: Looking good. I cleaned up the language a bit. —Grlucas (talk) 07:51, 17 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: Please take a look at the news paper review by William F. Buckley, Jr. at User:Dillbug/sandbox.review#Sort_of_Conservative and see if the review is ready to be moved to the main page. Thank you.--Dillbug (talk) 20:22, 16 April 2019 (EDT)

@Dillbug: Check spelling of his name. Mailer should only be linked once — usually the first time he is mentioned. Otherwise, proofread and it looks good. —Grlucas (talk) 07:51, 17 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: I have made the necessary corrections. I do believe, the article is now ready to be moved. Do you want me to try to move it, or will you?--Dillbug (talk) 11:59, 17 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: Feeling ready to post this review or edit with further direction or model from you on desired formatting. Please take a look and advise. Thanks! User:Dmcgonagill/sandbox/review ~~(Dmcgonagill (talk) 12:01, 17 April 2019 (EDT))

@Grlucas: I uploaded envelope from misc folder but due to lack of access to a pdf convertor, it stays in that form and appears to be of little value on Wiki. Searched internet for work arounds but found nothing. I'm leaving upload but not adding it to gallery. Please advise. Thanks! ~~(Dmcgonagill (talk) 14:51, 17 April 2019 (EDT))

@Dmcgonagill: Yes, that's right. I would have to install the PDF viewer here. Do you think I should? —Grlucas (talk) 19:52, 17 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: Yes, please. Increased group contribution would result. Thank you! ~~(Dmcgonagill (talk) 09:07, 18 April 2019 (EDT))

@Dmcgonagill: OK, but give me a bit of time. I'll get to is ASAP. —Grlucas (talk) 10:42, 18 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: I edited the advertising copy for the gallery. Please take a look at the link and let me know if I am supposed to add the reviews that have been crossed out. I did not know how to cross through them once posted. An_American_Dream_Expanded/Advertising_Copy Thank you.--Dillbug (talk) 12:20, 23 April 2019 (EDT)

@Dillbug: Nice work. I took out the third image, since it was only of a blank page. You needn't worry about the x-out items, unless you want. —Grlucas (talk) 07:38, 24 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: Dr. Lucas, I transcribed the letter in my Trotter sandbox. Please review and advise on what to do for the illegible words. Thank you. Mango Masala (talk) 12:32, 23 April 2019 (EDT)

@Mango Masala: Could you give me a link, please? Thanks. —07:38, 24 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: Thank you for reviewing. Mango Masala (talk) 10:52, 24 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas and Mango Masala: I reviewed your Trotter letter at User:Mango_Masala/sandboxTrotter1965 and I hope you don't mind that I made a few minor edits such as adding italics and links. I was able to read most of the words you had questions on with exception of one word. Flat could not make it out. Will have to ask Dr. Lucas if he can and make the edit. You did a really good job on the letter.--Dillbug (talk) 12:18, 24 April 2019 (EDT)

@Dillbug: Thank you, Dillbug!

@Mango Masala: This letter has been posted, no? 😁 —Grlucas (talk) 16:38, 24 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: Thank you very much, Dr. Lucas!

MR Articles for this Project

These are available in the shared Google drive under Mailer Review.

• Vol 3: Laist: “An American Dream: American Existentialism”
• Vol 5: Sermeus: “Norman Mailer’s Mythmaking in An American Dream and ‘The White’”
• Vol 6: McKinley: “Mailer’s Modern Myth: Reexamining Violence and Masculinity in An American Dream”
• Vol 7: Batchelor: “Visions of the American Dream: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Bob Dylan, and Norman Mailer Probe at the Heart of the National Idea”

@Grlucas: I assume these articles have not been addressed? I'll take the Laist article if it hasn't been taken. I assume the goal is to locate the actual article from the abstract, seek permission, transcribe and post? I'd like to keep working on contributing, even if we're "done" as a course. It's an interesting process and everyone I know who is a mover and shaker in various English departments says that the digital Humanities is the wave of the future! --JVbird (talk) 07:27, 26 April 2019 (EDT)

@JVbird: Yes, sir! These particular articles we already have permission for, since they were published in the Review. Also, they are already in the shared drive. Just click the red link in the particular volume, and add the essay. Any help would be appreciated. See any other article in the same volume as a guide. —Grlucas (talk) 09:55, 26 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: Just fyi, I've started the Laist article at AnAmericanDream:AmericanExistentialism. It's a long one and my cut and paste tool is doing something odd suddenly and I can't move out of the layout tool for some reason. I still need to set up the notes and references as well, so this might take me a couple of days, but I'll let you know when it's ready for your review. --JVbird (talk) 15:37, 28 April 2019 (EDT)

Press

@Dillbug, Dmcgonagill, JVbird, JenniferMGA, Mango Masala, Namir Riptide, Roger C. Byrd, Sherita Sims-Jones, and Waebo: We might be getting some press about our recent contributions to this project. As you know, Project Mailer is an official site of the Norman Mailer Society, so what we do here is important. Mailer’s biographer Mike Lennon has expressed his appreciation for our efforts and others have shown interest in writing about our project! I just wanted to let you know. I’m putting together a press release about what we’ve accomplished this semester, so be sure we’re finishing up with our best, most conscientious work. Your efforts, as always, are very much appreciated. Thanks for all the hard work and congratulations for a great showing! Let me know below if there's anything you think I should add to the press release. —Grlucas (talk) 20:45, 17 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: Excellent news! -JVbird (User talk:JVbird|talk]]) 09:53, 18 April 2019 (UTC)

@Grlucas: Sweet! Mention of quick turn around from beginner to able to contribute to project would be cool. It's pretty amazing the progress.~~(Dmcgonagill (talk) 09:10, 18 April 2019 (EDT))

@Dmcgonagill: Indeed, I had planned to mention just that. I’m going to write something for the credits page, too. They may be the same thing. —Grlucas (talk) 10:33, 18 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas:Wow! I did not realize others would be able to view our work, or even appreciate it. I have so enjoyed these past two weeks, now that I have a better understanding of how to edit in Wikipedia. I am truly going to miss editing Norman Mailer!(I would have never thought I would say such a thing a couple of weeks ago.) This class is so different from any class I have taken in the past and the best part, is your assignments are real world work, where what you do makes a difference. I feel a very real sense of accomplishment. Thank you Dr. Lucas for allowing me to be a part of PM.--Dillbug (talk) 12:08, 18 April 2019 (EDT)

@Dillbug: Awesome! You all should feel a sense of accomplishment. Everyone has grown so much in just a few short weeks. I'm proud of all the work we've accomplished. You all should be proud of yourselves, too. And who says you have to stop when the semester ends? I hope you all keep editing, especially on Wikipedia. —Grlucas (talk) 16:00, 18 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: Excellent News. Happy to see our work is real world experience. Sherita Sims-Jones (talk) 12:54, 18 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: Cool beans. Congrats, all. --Jules Carry (talk) 18:41, 18 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: That's very exciting. Everyone should be well chuffed. Mango Masala (talk) 13:19, 19 April 2019 (EDT)

Gallery Additions

All, longer gallery additions should probably have their own pages — like the Buckley review; the long ad that lists excerpts from reviews would also be a good candidate for its own page. We could mostly just make them subpages of AAD Expanded. Thanks. —Grlucas (talk) 10:51, 18 April 2019 (EDT)

@Dillbug, Dmcgonagill, JVbird, JenniferMGA, Mango Masala, Namir Riptide, Roger C. Byrd, Sherita Sims-Jones, and Waebo: OK, all these text-heavy additions should have their own pages. Here's an example: Major Reviews. I appreciate Dillbug’s enthusiasm here. —Grlucas (talk) 17:48, 18 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: I have rewritten Book Week article 19650130. It is in my sandbox. Please review to see if ready to repost. Thank you.--Dillbug (talk) 20:38, 18 April 2019 (EDT)

@Dillbug: You probably should just concentrate on the part of the page that has to do with Mailer. It's only a small section. --Jules Carry (talk) 13:26, 20 April 2019 (EDT)

@Jules Carry:Thank you for the feedback. I edited the picture under the gallery to reflect the changes.--Dillbug (talk) 18:02, 20 April 2019 (EDT)

PDFs

All, I have tried to install the PDF handler extension for MediaWiki, but my hosting service is missing a crucial piece of software. I'm going to see if they can help, but I would suggest we continue as if we will not be able to get PDFs to embed. Sorry about that. —Grlucas (talk) 16:23, 19 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas, Waebo, Dmcgonagill, and Mango Masala: I am back online, finally, after the storms, and am able to convert one page PDFs to JPGs. Is there a trick to dealing with a multi-page PDF? Every time I try to convert to a JPG, I get separate files instead of one scrolling picture, like the PDF has. Any ideas, anyone? I'm going to try more tomorrow and work on editing as well-JVbird (talk) 19:16, 20 April 2019 (EDT)

@JVbird: I know little about it - sorry. I'm trying to sort out why the left side of the letter I added is missing. It appears correctly when you click the image, but not when viewing on main page. It appeared correctly in my sandbox. Mango Masala (talk) 19:33, 20 April 2019 (EDT)

@Mango Masala: Isn't that frustrating! I know things like that leave me scratching my head and make me just want to hit some chocolate and do some stress eating! JVbird (talk) 09:56, 21 April 2019 (EDT)

@Mango Masala: You did not follow the formatting for the gallery. I fixed it. 😁 —Grlucas (talk) 10:57, 21 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: I see. Thank you for correcting.Mango Masala (talk) 11:46, 22 April 2019 (EDT)

Gallery Clean-Up

@Dillbug, Dmcgonagill, JVbird, JenniferMGA, Mango Masala, Namir Riptide, Roger C. Byrd, Sherita Sims-Jones, and Waebo: OK, all, the gallery is starting to look a bit crowded. Let's clean it up by:

1. getting rid of multi-page images. Link to another page where you can display all the images and a transcript.
2. transcribing all longer pieces on their own subpages. (For a guide: see how the Buckley review is done.)
3. filing images in their correct sections.

Thanks! —Grlucas (talk) 11:02, 21 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: Will do. Working on editing letters right now and then will move over to the gallery... JVbird (talk) 10:11:14, 21 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: I will begin cleaning my submissions up next week and transcribe the longer pieces on their own subpages. I am unclear on what you mean by "filing images in their correct sections". Which ones are filed in the wrong place? Oh, hope you have a very Happy Easter!--Dillbug (talk) 16:25, 21 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: I noticed that there's already an early mock up of the cover, so is the Mock up that I posted a repeat of that mock up? It was on the to do list, but I'll take it off if it's just a repeat. Going to have to work on the multi-page images. They're giving me trouble, but will figure them out... JVbird (talk) 16:49, 21 April 2019 (EDT)

@JVbird: Yes, that mock up image has been posted already. As for multiple-page images: why not just post the first page in the gallery and others on the subpage? @Dillbug: I have already moved some items into other sections. —Grlucas (talk) 07:31, 22 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: I'll take the mock up image down and then fix the multiple-page images. Will be later today, though. JVbird (talk) 07:57, 22 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: I'm also working on figuring out how to update my multipage images.Sherita Sims-Jones (talk) 16:57, 21 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas and Sherita Sims-Jones: I also posted some JPGs with multipage images, so I'm going to have to get mine corrected as well. That will have to be tomorrow, though, it looks like. = I have class tonight with my online students and it's been a long day. Sherita, if you figure it out, let me know. I thought I had had a breakthrough with the JPG files, but the multipage idea I had just isn't the solution! JVbird (talk) 17:45, 21 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: Dr. Lucas, can you check that what I have done with the Saturday Review and North American Review posts is what you mean? I separated the images and posted both as individual pages. Thanks, Josef JVbird (talk) 13:54, 22 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: Example of your #2 request somewhere? & never heard back about my Didion work...Good? No? Suggestions? Thanks.~~(Dmcgonagill (talk) 09:33, 22 April 2019 (EDT))

@Dillbug, JVbird, JenniferMGA, Mango Masala, Namir Riptide, Roger C. Byrd, Sherita Sims-Jones, and Waebo: Friends, Part 1 of directive 1 above complete (Think I did it right!). Please check me. And, need help on adding corresponding transcripts. See links below for claiming & easy access if you are on board with what I started. (I used "Major Reviews for a Major Novel") as a model: (Dmcgonagill (talk) 14:42, 22 April 2019 (EDT))

1. Advertising Copy Dillbug will try to do
2. Press Conference Publishers Weekly March 23, 1965 JVbird will do
3. Publishers Weekly March 22, 1965 I will do--Dillbug (talk) 13:28, 23 April 2019 (EDT)
4. Mailer hosts party for Jose Torres, Herald Tribune April 1, 1965 - (Dmcgonagill (talk) 15:33, 22 April 2019 (EDT))
5. Scene: Inside an Army Tent in Vietnam March 22, 1965 ssimsjones will doSherita Sims-Jones (talk) 18:55, 22 April 2019 (EDT)

@Dmcgonagill: Hey, Dana. I'll take the Publishers Weekly Press Conference and will be glad to do anything else as well. Just let me know. I'll go in and check what you did, but that won't happen until tonight. If you get a chance, can you check me on the way I've done the multi-page reviews? I'm still not sure I'm doing it right (North American Review, for example). JVbird (talk) 14:51, 22 April 2019 (EDT)

@Dmcgonagill: Dana, the transcipt for the Publishers Weekly Press Conference is up but I'm not sure about the format, since the original has columns. Are the columns necessary in the transcription? See what you think, please. --JVbird (talk) 12:51, 23 April 2019 (EDT)

@JVbird: Where is your work at? Send me link and I'll definitely check it out! Thanks!(Dmcgonagill (talk) 15:29, 22 April 2019 (EDT))

@Dmcgonagill: Dana, the multi-pages look great. Thank You very much. Sherita Sims-Jones (talk) 18:57, 22 April 2019 (EDT)

Gallery Clean-up 2

@Dillbug, Dmcgonagill, JVbird, JenniferMGA, Mango Masala, Namir Riptide, Roger C. Byrd, Sherita Sims-Jones, and Waebo: All, thanks for all the work. Please use Major Reviews for a Major Novel as a guide to posting your gallery stuff. Just posting images will not suffice; there should be a transcript on a separate subpage. They should be subpages, as I mentioned, of AAD Expanded, too: just look at the model above. Thanks. —Grlucas (talk) 18:05, 22 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas, Dillbug, Dmcgonagill, JenniferMGA, Mango Masala, Namir Riptide, Roger C. Byrd, Sherita Sims-Jones, and Waebo: This is where I am stumped. I've gone to the Wiki page for creating a subpage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:User_pages#User_pages_and_user_space but I am just not getting how to create the subpage. I went to the Major Reviews for a Major Novel and I see what it is doing, that the image has a link to a separate page with the image and the transcript, and I want to be able to do that. I'm missing the steps for doing it, though. Does that make sense? Josef --JVbird (talk) 08:27, 23 April 2019 (EDT)

@JVbird: I sent you an email that should help you create it. Sherita Sims-Jones (talk) 09:07, 23 April 2019 (EDT)

@JVbird: Here's how I created the example above: [[An American Dream Expanded/Major Reviews for a Major Novel|Major Reviews for a Major Novel]] off the AAD Expanded page. —Grlucas (talk) 09:10, 23 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas and Sherita Sims-Jones: Thanks, Dr. Lucas and Sherita, for the help. Working on these posts now and getting them set up correctly. --JVbird (talk) 12:53, 23 April 2019 (EDT)

@Grlucas: Dr. Lucas, one more question so I make sure I am doing this correctly. I transcribed the North American (Robert Dana) Review and created a sub page TheNorthAmericanReview/RobertDana My question is this. Should it stay as a subpage for now while I'm cleaning it up before I link it to the PM page itself and can you look at it quickly to make sure it's actually what the subpage should look like? Thanks! --JVbird (talk) 13:27, 23 April 2019 (EDT)

@JVbird: No, it should be a subpage of AAD Expanded, like my example above. I think this was fixed, and since it's a review, was moved to the bib — it's fun being a team, huh? 👍🏼 —Grlucas (talk) 07:42, 24 April 2019 (EDT)

@JVbird: I hope you don't mind, I added links and italics where needed to your article.--Dillbug (talk) 17:43, 23 April 2019 (EDT)