Re: great minds think alike
J J R (jrovira@juno.com)
Thu, 17 Sep 1998 19:17:28 -0400 (EDT)
<<Are you saying then, that if by some miracle, Mr. Salinger held a press
conference and "explained" some piece of his work, you would dismiss what
he
said? Is this fair to say?
Patrick
Pfkw@msn.com>>
No, lord no, I wouldn't "dismiss" anything any author said about their
own work. But I wouldn't uncritically accept it as the once for all
truth either.
And I also want to reemphasize that there's a difference between what the
author says he had on his mind when he wrote a text (or says that he
didn't) and the text itself. I'd never argue with an author when they
talked about that--we all own our own ideas, motives, and intent. That
doesn't mean authors are perfectly honest there, either, but it's not
worth arguing because you can never know, and I'd just as soon take
someone at their word and assume they're being honest.
But, again, when an author says, "this is what a text means, period," no,
I don't accept that as the last word. If he says, "this is what I
meant," well, I do accept that.
Jim
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