Re: Number 64

J J R (jrovira@juno.com)
Sun, 26 Jul 1998 07:37:58 -0400 (EDT)

<<It doesn't
necessarily mean one's interpretation is more valid than the others' >>

Well,  that's where we disagree, Camille :)  I'm not going to dismiss a
novice reader's opinions out of hand, and I'm not going to accept a
literary critic's opinion as Absolute Truth, but education makes a
difference.  

It's like the difference between a chef and the rest of us when it comes
to food.  I spent some time with a guy who went to a highly rated cooking
school and he talked to me about some of his experiences.  You WOULD NOT
BELIEVE the stuff they had to eat :)  But it was all part of their
education--the education of their taste buds.  

Now, I eat things, I like them, I say, "That's good food."  I eat other
things, I don't like them, I say, "that sucks."  A chef doesn't approach
the matter that way.  He knows what certain foods are supposed to taste
like.  He can eat a spinach casserole, say, thinking that Spinach is
revolting, yet still tell me it was a good casserole.  He can eat a
different disk that he enjoys much more, but tell me it wasn't done well.
 

That's the difference between an amateur and a professional reader. 
Professional readers are also more self aware of the premises with which
they interpret a work.  
 
<<> Otherwise, the Grishams or Steels of the world would be lauded as the
next
> Shakespeare and send the masses to the bookstores with cash or credit
cards
> eagerly to be handed over

Now, that's reducing the argument to a pretty facile level. Like I said
earlier, when we talk about our Grishams and our Wilbur Smiths and, in
Australia, our Bryce Courtenays, we're talking not about authors but
corporations set up to produce novels simply figureheaded by the
author.>>

Camille, this reasoning is a bit skewed.  Did you know that Grisham had
to sell his first book out of the trunk of his car?  Is it substantially
different from his later works because, presumably, it was written From
the Heart at that point, while his later novels were money motivated?

Did you know Michelangelo resented the hell out of having to paint the
ceiling of the Sistine chapel?  Do you know how many famous paintings
from that period were comissioned and painted Just for the Money, or for
the Egos of those supporting artists financially?

You can't read a work and know the motives behind it.  Much less value it
as art based on that judgment.

Jim 

_____________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]