Subject: (no subject)
From: Kelly, Maura (kellym@washpost.com)
Date: Thu Jun 12 1997 - 21:00:00 GMT
ESQUIRE article: pretty horrendous
(person from sao paulo, what follows is not meant as a tirade against
you, just a response to the esquire article.)
I thought that the ESQUIRE article was absolutely horrendous.
I think the whole Salinger obsession-- the reason that people get
obsessed with him-- has to do with wanting to connect with Salinger, with
wanting to understand what he understands and how he understands; with a
desire to understand one's self through his work, and perhaps even
justify one's existence through his work. i don't think that the most
efficient way to accomplish this goal is through articles like the
esquire one. the MAN does not want to be bothered. he is not waiting for
someone to connect with him, not waiting for someone to write THE article
he's been waiting for so he can say "Yes! I have found my soul-mate!" he
obviously could connect with anyone he wants to.
the way to do it is through his work, the part of him that has remained
public. perhaps the lesson to be learned from "Hapworth..." (the Salinger
novella soon to be released in book form by a small publishing company)
is that Salinger wants us to learn from and connect with his art, not
with him. there is a difference between a speaker and a man.
if we all respect Salinger so much, why can't we respect his wishes for
privacy?
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