RE: The even less I know...

David Granger (grangdm@mail.auburn.edu)
Fri, 05 Jun 1998 15:03:57 -0500 

Hey, did anyone read that shitty Time magazine article about the Zen poetry
influence in punk rock music?

All kidding aside, as a newcomer to this list, I think it could become
intensely boring if we were to be all Salinger all the time. Just from the
few days I've been here, I have observed that there are some pickable brains
out there in bananafish-land, so why not exchange views on other topics of
artistic and intellectual interest --- heck, even run our poetry out there
to be ridiculed or revered (that's a chance you take!). I enjoy lurking
here, plan to contribute occasionally and love Salinger's works. But I also
love the "pick pock puck of the cricket bats" (Joyce, Portrait of the
Artist), the nasal yearnings of Bobby Zimmerman and the pastoral serenity of
baseball, among other things. I'm sure most of us have varied interests and
discussing them would give us the opportunity to learn more about EACH OTHER
in addition to learning about Salinger, bad magazines and various musical
genres.

That is all ...

David Granger
The Newest Fish in the Big Banana


> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-bananafish@lists.nyu.edu
> [mailto:owner-bananafish@lists.nyu.edu]On Behalf Of Steven Byrd
> Sent: Friday, June 05, 1998 10:44 AM
> To: bananafish@lists.nyu.edu
> Subject: Re: The even less I know...
>
>
> Angie and other Bananafishers,
>
>     Angie, I have to say that I agree with you on this one. Sure,
> this list was
> constructed with the tunnel-vision idea of speaking about
> Salinger, Salinger,
> Salinger (and there is NOTHING wrong with that, I will start out
> by saying), but I
> think that you hit on something really nice in your mail. I mean,
> couldn't we all
> share with each other?
>     Of course I don't mean "Gee, what did you do today?" kind of
> banal, everyday
> sharing, that would just clog the list with crap, but I mean
> sharing about BIGGER
> things, more important. Things like our poetry, and our musical
> opinions, our
> feelings about shitty Time magazine articles, or our viewpoints
> about Zen for that
> matter. I mean, does it really HAVE to be "All Salinger, nothing
> but Salinger, all
> the time!!!" We all share a particular common ground here,
> people. Like Angie
> said, we have all taken away something from Salinger's writing,
> something that
> meant so much to each us that it caused us to flood our e-mail
> accounts with posts
> from random strangers and smile the whole time. We could us that
> ground to build
> something on it, something good, someplace we can share if we
> want to. Right now,
> it's like we are horses running a race, blinders on our faces and all.
>     Don't get me wrong, of course there should still be "all
> Salinger" posts. In
> fact, I believe the majority of the posts should be all Salinger
> related, that's
> what the list is for (aren't you glad I am telling you how to run
> the list? that's
> not what I am doing, I promise), but I think we should take the
> blinders off a
> little, not be so scared of digression. I mean, there is only so
> much you can say
> about Salinger before it just becomes nit-picky. And if you can't
> digress on a
> Salinger mailing list, then where can you digress?
>     Now I will just sit back and wait for my mail telling me to
> join the "typical
> conversation" mailing list, or something. Hope I wasn't too much
> of a bother. Bye
> for now.
>
> Prufrock33@aol.com wrote:
>
> > Salinger was the first writer that made me feel comfortable as
> a reader. When
> > I turned the page it was not to finish a book, but to
> understand a person. I
> > always believed that Salinger's genius (if you want to call it
> that...I do)
> > stems not from who or what he wrote or how he wrote, even. It
> is from all of
> > the above. Even those without the exceptional backgrounds of
> the characters he
> > uses in his stories can appreciate their honesty. I think that
> eastern thought
> > is definitely expressed in his work because of it's raw veracity in the
> > simpliest (but, yet, very complex) terms. AFter I read Franny
> and Zooey I
> > decided to pass out and wake up her. I always felt her ways. I
> always felt
> > Holden's ways. We all have. We all have been wanting/needing to
> get past the
> > bullshit and the "phonies" because God knows Salinger's
> fictional characters
> > hated those "phonies". We never want to wake up one morning in
> some blankets
> > and find that our terrible insecurties are in bed right beside
> of us. We never
> > want to say we are like Them, even if we do not know who They
> may be. Maybe
> > this is just me...I hope not. I would like to think that almost
> everyone (if
> > not everyone) breathes not for the sake of breathing but
> because they feel
> > obscenely beautiful just to be alive.
> >
> > Let's talk about Punk rock, let's talk about poetry, let's talk
> about eastern
> > thought and tattoos, and being born, and smoking cigars. Not to
> sound too
> > absolutely giddy and romantic and silly, but I do not care
> enough to mail
> > unless I want to say something. I think we all do. So let's
> talk and talk and
> > if Salinger comes up then wonderful...if he doesn't for awhile then he
> > doesn't. That is maybe what e-mail subjects were designed for,
> to announce
> > beforehand.
> >
> > I just want to share...don't you?
> >
> > I hope someone out there agrees with me. I know you all got
> something from
> > Salinger...he gives something honest and free out to all his
> readers...but do
> > not be uptight about it. We aren't here for any damn (in my
> opinon) RULES or
> > GUIDELINES but if things flow well then we can do whatever and
> maybe we can
> > enjoy this ride? I don't mean to sound cliched. I appologize to
> all that have
> > had to read my incessant ramblings and poetry. I just do not
> have much of a
> > voice and I cannot imagine that the people on this list do
> not...so I wanted
> > to say something aloud to people I hoped would understand.
> >
> > Maybe I am wrong...maybe it doesn't matter enough.
> >
> > I just want to do something beautiful...like Franny says the
> poets do or are
> > supposed to do. I just want everyone to see something wonderful
> and I want to
> > be as honest as Salinger. Who thinks what and how...and if you do please
> > respond and tell me if I am off on an island all to my self and
> I should come
> > back to earth. (My world seems much prettier I must say...and
> the people here
> > are nicer)
> >
> > ANgie
>
>
>
>