tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7983462.post6589984404586346115..comments2024-02-12T03:04:46.091-08:00Comments on AttackingtheDemi-Puppets: The Writer StereotypeKing Wenclashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13709139159194279478noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7983462.post-2126842094274262232014-02-03T15:15:37.854-08:002014-02-03T15:15:37.854-08:00No one alive today can fully understand the impact...No one alive today can fully understand the impact of Hemingway's prose when it came out. But we have to try to if we're to understand his importance. His writing, esp his stories looked and sounded unlike anything else.<br />The short story needs a similar change now-- that kind of upheaval. (Not the same style-- though it was recycled 30 years ago via Raymond Carver.) The idea that an art can never stand still. Yet our literature has been standing still-- witness the celebration of Alice Munro, who offers nothing new.<br />Hemingway was important for a second reason-- like him or not, or how he did it, but he kept the idea of "writer" before the public. Part of the greater culture. He understood instinctively the importance of promotion & publicity, though to a large extent it was self-promotion & self-publicity. He created his own myth about himself; something uniquely American, a la Buffalo Bill and Davy Crockett. Hemingway was part of Americana.<br />Yes, grittier and/or more authentic and intelligent writers were/are needed. Good luck finding them. When I tried to promote same ten years ago, my planned "stars" ran in the other direction!<br />The questions remain:<br />-Is literature marginalized in American culture?<br />-WHY is it marginalized? You touch on a couple possible reasons. The problem is broader, or at least deeper, than that.<br />-HOW do we turn the situation around? (Is it worth the bother?)King Wenclashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13709139159194279478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7983462.post-21492169084929433602014-02-02T08:24:11.917-08:002014-02-02T08:24:11.917-08:00Maybe this is just a generational thing, but I str...Maybe this is just a generational thing, but I struggle to finish Hemingway's books. They were probably edgy and fast for their time, but none of them have really grabbed me. I tried reading The Sun Also Rises again last year and I couldn't make it. I cared nothing for the spoiled characters... crass privilege on display, self-absorbed everything!!<br /><br />Personally, I believe Hemingway was part of the problem. He was PAINFULLY C.I.A., and the stagnation problems in US Lit have a lot to do with the incestuous relationship between that organization and publishing. Keep publishing writers who push 'right-think', as well as a smattering of friends, lovers, kids... and you end up with 'boring'. Hemingway was the beginning of a flood of boring.<br /><br />And now we watch football.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com