tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post3491344510254349721..comments2023-12-18T07:59:16.525-05:00Comments on Hats and Rabbits: Chairs for EveryoneChris Matarazzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17885109959459471509noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post-70380165375713660552014-08-21T19:00:44.699-04:002014-08-21T19:00:44.699-04:00Ah! Thanks for the correction, George. I knew it w...Ah! Thanks for the correction, George. I knew it was one of those cool dead guys. "The question, I think, is whether the reader comes to the book to engage with it, or to use it as springboard for fantasies." A profound statement, George. So well said. Chris Matarazzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17885109959459471509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post-56459597653516883862014-08-21T18:59:07.165-04:002014-08-21T18:59:07.165-04:00If they are saying that, Nick, I am in agreement,...If they are saying that, Nick, I am in agreement, too! I loves me some bad movies. Thanks for the well wishes! hope everything is going well with you. Chris Matarazzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17885109959459471509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post-25758728539498167732014-08-21T18:57:28.947-04:002014-08-21T18:57:28.947-04:00Hi, Jeff -- all perfect points. At the risk of sou...Hi, Jeff -- all perfect points. At the risk of sounding like a name dropper, Peter S. Beagle himself once wrote, in a letter in response to me, that he thinks writers "should stay as far away from English dept's as possible." There's a guy whose wisdom I value and he said it in response to my own complaint, to him, that my writing mentor thought fantasy was a waste of time. But, the best fantasy writers are the ones who know Shakespeare, BEOWULF, Proust, Pynchon and Milton -- as Beagle surely does. In fact, Beagle pointed out that Shakespeare, himself, wasn't above writing fantasy or murder revenge or whatever was popular. One writes what one writes; talent and insight can't be hidden. It's there or it is not, regardless or genre, I think. Chris Matarazzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17885109959459471509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post-81634911350454213992014-08-21T18:51:38.290-04:002014-08-21T18:51:38.290-04:00To me, Alexis, good great writing shows us either ...To me, Alexis, good great writing shows us either truth or possible truth... That's not so say it has to be message over story; the truth can be wrapped up in the presentation of the story. It should shine a light on reality. That can happen with fun reads, too. For an example, check out Atwood's Oryx and Crake: a great read by a student of the human heart. Chris Matarazzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17885109959459471509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post-2177200606922841872014-08-21T18:47:46.756-04:002014-08-21T18:47:46.756-04:00It was Samuel Johnson who said "none ever wis...It was Samuel Johnson who said "none ever wished it longer."<br /><br />Genre fiction may paint itself into its own corner. There is plenty of stuff in the stores one might call "military fiction", for example, but then there is <i>War and Peace<</i>. There are western novels, but who confuses Louis L'Amour with John Williams or Wallace Stegner. The question, I think, is whether the reader comes to the book to engage with it, or to use it as springboard for fantasies.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14819154529261482038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post-62113039946159660952014-08-21T18:11:01.326-04:002014-08-21T18:11:01.326-04:00I think what people are trying to say is that we c...I think what people are trying to say is that we can think something is "good" even when it's "bad." I love B movies, but I also think they're terrible. But I like that they're terrible. Maybe I'm being too generous, but if that's what they mean then I can see where they're coming from. Still, of course some writing is better than others. To suggest otherwise is insulting to the people who have studied literature for years and invested countless weeks of their lives into their writing. <br /><br />I hope the new school year goes well for you Mr. Mat. Best of wishes!Gastonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02604409381534111646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post-80540921753536835312014-08-20T23:56:13.909-04:002014-08-20T23:56:13.909-04:00This is a complex subject; I hope it's okay if...This is a complex subject; I hope it's okay if I respond with a few (possibly disconnected and aimless) points.<br /><br />We're roughly the same age, so I know what you mean when you say you're nostalgic for the days when fantasy was fringey. I'm not sure where the generational cutoff for this is, but people younger than we are probably don't realize and can't imagine that not long ago, you were lucky if you found three or four kids in your high school who read fantasy or science fiction, and that that subculture was a vital refuge for shy kids, autodidacts, or others who were awkward and weird—nearly all of whom were boys. (Due to their extreme rarity, girl geeks had it even rougher.) Where do the weird kids go now, other than the school psychologist's office?<br /><br />I also don't know where people get their perceptions of English professors: The 1980s? In many 21st-century college English departments, you're at least as likely to find a course on fantasy fiction, graphic novels, or SF movies as you are to encounter, say, Shakespeare or James Joyce. English profs these days, particularly the ones under 45, grew up with the mainstreaming of fantasy and science fiction. They're rarely snobs; they're far more likely to alienate undergraduates with esoteric literary theory instead. Can we update our stereotypes, please?<br /><br />I also don't see why English professors need to endorse, say, "The Hunger Games," or, rather, why readers of fantasy or science fiction want that endorsement. And why would students pay thousands of dollars to read mainstream popular fiction? That's like taking out loans to major in music and then being assigned nothing but the best rap albums of 2013. Reading difficult and even "boring" works expands the mind, a desire for which is currently in short supply...<br /><br />(That said: all the best to you during this back-to-school season!)Jeffhttp://www.quidplura.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post-29657248885541595152014-08-20T11:58:12.410-04:002014-08-20T11:58:12.410-04:00I don't disagree with the commenters, but I do...I don't disagree with the commenters, but I do think that there is a standard of quality that writers and artists of all kinds adhere to. I put a lot of effort into my writing, and it often causes me nights where I have dreams/nightmares aplenty about what I'm writing. I invest a lot in it. Not everybody likes my writing, though, and that's fine.<br /><br />But at the risk of sounding full of myself, I hardly expect that someone who just throws a few plot devices into an otherwise "dead horse" novel should be treated as though they have superior or equal literary abilities to someone like myself, regardless of how many people like my story versus theirs, just because "good writing" retains some subjectivity. Again, even as I'm writing this it sounds narcissistic, but I think I have a point? I don't know, you let me know.<br /><br />Why I don't disagree with them is because I think that we can like things that aren't necessarily expertly crafted. Hunger Games wasn't a literary masterpiece, but it gained a lot of attention. The Masque of the Red Death was gold (at least from what I could tell -- hey look, subjectivity still), but not nearly as many people have read it.<br /><br />Otherwise, I completely agree with you.Alexis Delanoirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09507261330011665079noreply@blogger.com