tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post539126703687053680..comments2024-03-20T19:40:58.078-05:00Comments on The OF Blog: Perceived fallaciesLarry Nolenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001420558511460998noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-46853034181547574822011-02-06T16:51:17.983-06:002011-02-06T16:51:17.983-06:00I also feel there's a diffuse belief that the ...I also feel there's a diffuse belief that the literary writer is capable of writing in genre, but when he does, he uses the genre toolkit to further different ends, while the genre writer merely wants to follow and satisfy conventional expectations. <br />The exceptions are those writers who "trascend" the genre (Lem, Ballard, Vonnegut) but sooner or later they will make it into the canon, so we don't need to soil ourselves looking for the rare diamonds in the dirt.<br />Variations of these assumptions come up fairly frequently in literary discussions, look for example at the Edward Docx piece in the Guardian which caused quite a stir a couple of months ago. Or, in short, Genre is entertainment, Literature goes to the heart of the human experience.<br />Of course I don't (want to) believe in artificial separations - genre is an indication, a framing device, but every text should be judged on its own, examining whether what it's trying to achieve is interesting or meaningful, and how effective it is. <br />But I still feel that the genre tag often carries a stigma, or perhaps more exactly some kind of invisibility cloak.<br />You could say it works in both directions, but those who know and read John Crowley or M John Harrison certainly also know, say, Angela Carter or Calvino, and probably enjoy many different literary/mainstream authors, while the reader with no a priori interest in a genre will rarely be put in the position to encounter authors he may appreciate.marconoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-29189038909416943162011-02-06T16:50:53.538-06:002011-02-06T16:50:53.538-06:00I know Bloom holds Crowley in high regard, wrote t...I know Bloom holds Crowley in high regard, wrote the introduction for the reissue of Little, Big, and included works by him (along a couple of works by Thomas Disch and Ursula Le Guin, as well some others that could be considered "genre" writers) in his canon. Bloom is a special case however, both for his ongoing interest in the fantastic (Alice in Wonderland, A Voyage to Arcturus, etc.) and for the incredible range of his reading. Bloom's regard (and random appreciative pieces from time to time in magazines) did not translate into a real presence on the literary map outside the "ghetto" of the fantastic - or even widespread knowledge of Crowley's name.<br />In itself this wouldn't be particularly significant - fluctuations in literary fortunes are part of the game, in and out of genre.<br />My larger point, however, is that the kind and degree of critical attention and discussion your work will receive is very much a function of where it is shelved (or the magazines it is published in).<br />That was especially the case in my country (where Calvino was gently rebuked because he did not write "serious" novels, critics engaged in verbal acrobatics in order to avoid the descriptor "crime novel" for works by Gadda or Sciascia, and even in the Eighties a comprehensive tome on French Literature of the Twentieth Century didn't see fit to include an entry about Georges Simenon) - but from my stay in Germany and the English papers/magazines/blogs I read, I'd say it's more or less the same everywhere.marconoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-71797549553391759842011-02-06T13:09:37.762-06:002011-02-06T13:09:37.762-06:00Marco, I'm a bit confused by the Crowley situa...Marco, I'm a bit confused by the Crowley situation, since he has received some coverage from those circles, especially from Harold Bloom, who has included Crowley's earlier works in his "canon."<br /><br />As for the Brockmeier et al., I've seen some mention here and there over the years in certain circles. Could it be simply a case of not just seeing it often enough and conflating it with not appearing at all? I'm uncertain myself what to think on that, to be honest.<br /><br />As for the other names, it might just be due to some sort of Zeitgeist, I suppose.<br /><br />As for the "straw man," not really buying it, in that I am not making truly definitive comments (thus my #7), as I am well aware that I can and often am not covering everything due to limitations in my awareness. However, I also see those putting forth anything resembling a definitive split into two or more writing camps as a fallacy that's emerged over the past century or two from artificial divisions brought about by the demands associated with the Industrial Revolution. Might elaborate on this point in a future post.Larry Nolenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16001420558511460998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-68666637077964205122011-02-06T11:14:33.791-06:002011-02-06T11:14:33.791-06:00I think in choosing to analyze and dismiss these n...I think in choosing to analyze and dismiss these naive positions you're making a straw man of the broader issues from which they spring.<br /> <br />Can you can tell me why a host of literary bloggers sang the praises of Chris Adrian, yet none of them knows the works of John Crowley?<br /><br />Why the work of, say, authors like Brockmeier, Millhauser, even Danielewski is forgotten by the broader literary conversation when it is translated into genre imprints?<br /><br />Conversely, why works of "genre" authors like Chandler, Simenon, McCain, Sturgeon gain serious attention for the first time when they're published, along names like Bolano, Sebald, Bernhard, Canetti or Borges by Adelphi, a highly respected literary imprint run by multiple Nobel candidate Roberto Calasso?marconoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-10479919945046298152011-02-04T14:32:40.178-06:002011-02-04T14:32:40.178-06:00I don't know, that Number 7 seems right on the...I don't know, that Number 7 seems right on the money to me!Bookerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15889198370808653959noreply@blogger.com