Subject: Re: second opinion
From: Will Hochman (Hochman@scsu.ctstateu.edu)
Date: Thu Sep 07 2000 - 08:06:59 GMT
I listened to an interview on National Public Radio with Ms. Salinger
and she echoed Scottie's point--by narrowing the spectrum of human
interaction, she wondered how much he had shut out things worth
writing about...and in a print interview I read it was insinuated by
Ms. Salinger that she wasn't sure he was still writing...though in
the late 1980s he did reveal a coding system to her about what to do
with work after he dies...she hasn't spoken to her father in 2 years
though and I doubt he will reverse course, accept her criticism, and
ask for help with his existing work...too bad...if Dream Catcher
proves anything to J.D. Salinger, it should show that his daughter
can write well and has a solid grasp of his fiction.
However, that said, I haven't grown tired of rereading existing
Salinger fiction and recently (and foolishly) argued with a senior
member in my dept that Salinger was a better writer than James Joyce.
No tenure for this section man, eh? Anyway, I don't take "my author
is better than yours" arguments too seriously and just wanted to say
that Ms. Salinger's insights made me want to clear time to reread SAI
&H16,1924 again...will
will
-- Will Hochman Assistant Professor of English Southern Connecticut State University 501 Crescent St, New Haven, CT 06515
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