Subject: Re: Reclusion?
From: denis jonnes (djengltl@mbox.nc.kyushu-u.ac.jp)
Date: Thu Mar 23 2000 - 22:26:29 EST
To Benjamin, and all--
You're raising what for me remains the most interesting question about
Salinger, something which neither of the biographies really tries to
answer. It is, I feel, key not only to the life, but also to the
"work"--and obviously this incredible reticence (is that the right
word?) is one of the things that attracts us, i.e. readers. My own
still vague feeling about this is that it goes back to the war--pre-war
Salinger was, according to the biographies, a conventionally "sociable"
adolescent--he dated, hung out, travelled with friends, tried various
jobs--fairly routine and to-be-expected. The war changed all that. As
*Seymour: an Intro." suggests (i.e., the Seymour as Salinger alter
ego)--something in Salinger died. He lived on, but was never quite the
same--or, rather, became the Salinger we now know. Salinger was trauma
survivor, or non-survivor, depending on your point of view.
Denis Jonnes
Benjamin Samuels wrote:
>
> Thanks for yout responses Tim. The Japanese issue seems only to be related
> to some small part contained in a message, then reprinted in repsonses, so I
> think it is safely in the past.
>
> One hand clapping is more of a non-answer in my book. I'm not asking about
> enlightenment. I'm curious to know the series of events that led to
> Salingers state of isolation. It seems that many practicing artists will
> need some space to work in- it is often in those adventures into uncharted
> and uninhabited waters that one can find the most interesting material to
> work with, but Salinger also, presumably, isn't sharing his work. That
> sharing seems like it might be an essential part of the artistic process.
> Is it? Are there other examples of artists, writers and musicians who
> turned to create work only for themselves- not to be shared?) Of course
> there's some possibility of a plan for sharing work yet to be revealed, but
> this is beyond our knowledge. Having never read the biographies I'm
> interested to hear even those details that are common knowledge as well as
> speculative thoughts.
>
> By the way Tim, I get the impression that you're involved with quite a bit
> of research on Salinger, is this just personal interest or something more
> deliberate? Would you mind a quick introduction to your work and maybe your
> relationship with the list? On or off list as you please.
> Thanks,
>
> Love,
> Madhava
>
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