let's be hearing from you
Scottie Bowman (rbowman@indigo.ie)
Wed, 03 Feb 1999 08:55:11 +0000
Erin & Jeremy complain that the list is being trivialised.
It's a complaint that seems to recur on most lists devoted
to a particular writer: how strictly should posts be tied
to the works & how far should we to be allowed to gossip
& grind personal axes.
It could be that the relatively small body of published stuff
makes it more tempting for us to wander off - though I'm
pretty sure any newcomer who goes to the bother of finding
& joining us will have something worth adding to the heap.
But even on something like the Trollope list where the books
are almost uncountable, there are just as many diversions &
chit-chats & rows as we enjoy here.
Having no critical background myself & being rather anti-
literary minded, I secretly prefer some of the off-topics to
the more formal discussions. Best of all, of course, is a
heart-thumping, mouth-drying, broken bottle, Glasgow
night out down Sauchiehall Street fight. But that may
well be a personal - or even racial - neurosis.
I'm afraid, E. & J., you're going to be confronted with
the old challange. If you find all this frivolous stuff
irritating, why not let us have a few suggestions from
yourselves ?
Scottie B.