Re: authors one loves

Mattis Fishman (mattis@argoscomp.com)
Mon, 26 Jul 1999 15:52:14 -0400 (EDT) 

    Hello,

    I have a feeling that we may be having some technical difficulties,
    since I sent this out last Thursday and it seems to have not gone through.
    Coupled with the lack of activity, this looks like some sort of glitch,
    so I hope you don't mind that I resend this.

    -------

    It seems that Bruce has managed to stimulate some interest with
    his question about beloved authors.

    Quite a few lines have been reeled in here with not much more than
    old sneakers dragging along when the topic has had to do with
    anything like Holden's hair, Seymour's goggles, or even chicken
    sandwiches, but a question about our favorite, no, our beloved,
    authors looks like a good bet to catch some nine pound catfish.

    Well, I'll bite. To be honest, though, very few shelves in my home
    contain any works of english literature, and those that once did, are
    now the domain of Car and Driver magazines and overdue Hardy Boys
    and Babysitters Club library books. Still, the night table next to my
    bed has a small drawer containing a few scraggly survivors of the
    seventeen year long onslaught of toddlers, whose title pages might
    provide an answer to your question.

    Still, I have a problem with identifying authors that I *love*.
    I mean, I think I love to read Jerry's books, yet I suspect that
    he would not pick me up hitchhiking up there in New Hampshire, and if he
    did, I am not sure I would enjoy his diet tips, so you can see my problem.
    And I don't think that I would have enjoyed getting drunk with Ernest
    either.
    
    I get a feeling, Bruce, that you develop quite an attachment to
    those artists who seem so real on the page (perhaps actual biographical
    information comes into consideration as well?) which I cannot develop.
    As you have thrown out Pound, much as the soldiers who arrested him
    (in Italy?) would have like to have done - from the window - I maintain
    too firm a resistance to becoming attached personally to anyone whose
    only visible attraction is a sexy paragraph or 100.

    So, while I have undeniable admiration for the writers who have managed
    to entertain, amaze and educate me, I reserve the right to retain my
    deeper affection for people with whom it is possible to develop
    a more immediate relationship, through personal contact, correspondence,
    or even, oddly enough, an electronic mailing list.

    all the best,
    Mattis

    p.s. Welcome back Camille (now how do I get a refund for that Berlitz
    Aboriginal phrase book?)