Re: Why Salinger Intrigues Me
Camille Scaysbrook (verona_beach@geocities.com)
Thu, 27 Aug 1998 22:03:40 +1000
Before I start ... what's with the capitals? I know I'm being overly
aesthetic here but they always look kind of angry to me ... (:
> ONE OF MY FAVORITE POETS IS E.E. CUMMINGS. I WOULD MUCH RATHER READ HIS
BOOKS,
> THEN READ ABOUT HIM, BECAUSE I FEEL AS IF I AM NOT READING HIM, BUT I AM
> READING MYSELF. I AM NOT GETTING WHAT THEY ARE PUTTING OUT, BUT WHAT I AM
> EXTRACTING, MYSELF.
I really like this approach - we shouldn't have to kowtow to the author of
a text because in a way, *we* are also the author of that text. By `text' I
mean everything a book is; the *experience* of a book which is disparate
from the two inch stack of bound and printed paper in our hand. If we got
nothing out of books, and if we put nothing in to them to make them the
experiences that they are, there wouldn't be much point in reading them,
would there?
> I JUST HAVE A QUESTION. WHERE DID ALL THE YOUNG ONES GO (YES, THE ONES
> YOUNGER THAN I)? I HAVE NOT HEARD FROM EITHER IN a while
(CGHAYES@AOL.COM
> ETC.). IT MAKES ME WONDER IF SOMEHOW THEY HAVEN'T BEEN SCARED AWAY. I
ALMOST
> WAS.
Why ??? I hope I didn't have a hand in this! I always value your comments
and I was happy to see you posting again after a bit of a hiatus. I don't
think anyone on this list should feel scared or ashamed of expressing their
opinions - nor should you be daunted by us few who post all the time (don't
worry, we none of us have lives outside bananafish (: ), or people who are
older, have a Uni degree, can whistle Dixie backwards ... like I've said
before, some of the best insights come from taxi drivers, and
correspondingly, some of the worst come from University professors. With
literary discussion there is no right or wrong. True, there is valid and
less valid, but the fact that there is no real parameters cogently
acknowledges the fact that a twelve year old from Slamdunk, Texas can make
just as salient an argument as Dr Whosits from Oxford University.
P.S. CG Hayes I think has been away for awhile. Am I correct CG? (well that
was a stupid question, wasn't it. If he's not here, he can't answer me (: )
Camille
verona_beach@geocities.com
@ THE ARTS HOLE
www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Theater/6442
THE INVERTED FOREST
www.angelfire.com/pa/invertedforest