Wolfe on Steinbeck

When Tom Wolfe spoke about the state of the American Novel at the National Book Festival years ago, he was adamant that the state of the novel was not good.

Wolfe believed that modern American novelists — especially the young — have nothing to say. He also described what he considers the Europeanization of the American novel.

"America has been Europeanized. America believes that the novel should be psychological instead of being about something. But this is an astonishing, unexplored country — go to it!"

He explained that many great American novelists were actually reporters. "Take John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. He worked as a reporter to get his material. He needed to be a reporter for the material and exposure to the types of characters and situations he was writing about."

Tom Wolfe encourages today's novelists to get the scoop before attempting to master the craft.

Visit Tom's bookshelf at the link.
http://www.tomwolfe.com/bookshelf.html

Shakespeare's Bad Side

 

Think form rejection letters are bad? Just be glad you don't have Shakespeare as a critic!

"Thou crusty botch of nature," he said. "(Thou hast) not so much brain as ear wax." He could be rather harsh. "(Thou) hath more hair than wit, and more faults than hairs, and more wealth than faults."

Check the link below, where Shakespeare will be happy to taunt you with lines like "There's no more faith in thee than in a stewed prune," "(Thou art) a wretch whose natural gifts were poor," and "(Your) brain is as dry as a remainder biscuit after a voyage."

"Methink'st thou art a general offence and every man should beat thee." More literary insults await!

http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/Shaker/index.html

The Story Chooses the Writer

According to novelist John Irving, a writer does not have the luxury of deciding on a story; the story chooses the writer. "I've always felt my subject chooses me. Even if I don't like the subject, don't like what I'm writing about. The subject chooses you."

Irving admits that the writer is not off the hook. Novels don't write themselves. "I choose the tone, the names, the language, the structure—but not the subject or the story. The story chooses the writer; the writer chooses the structure."

But Wikipedia chooses Irving’s story on their site.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Irving

E.L. Doctorow: Historical Novel? No Such Thing

 

E.L. Doctorow is another novelist I had the pleasure of meeting at a book festival.

Doctorow is often pegged a historical novelist. His Ragtime visits the intertwining lives of immigrants in the early twentieth century. The Waterworks is set in the dark corners of 1871 New York City. Billy Bathgate takes place in the New York of the 1930s. And The March, follows General Sherman and his army of 60,000 troops as they march through Georgia, destroying homes, demolishing entire towns and displacing former slaves and slave owners alike who attach themselves to the serpentine march of 1864.

But, according to Doctorow, there's no such thing as a historical novel. There are just novels set in history. "I don't consider myself a historical novelist. I write novels that are sometimes set in other times."

Doctorow uses Nathaniel Hawthorne as an example. "His novels were set in times 50 years before he lived, but they are not remembered as historical novels. Just novels."

Doctorow holds his copy of The March in hand. "When the book is written, the history falls away and there's really only the book."

E.L. Doctorow (Author of Ragtime) (goodreads.com)

John Irving & Me

 

John Irving rarely does book signings, or so I'm told. Early in my writing career, I hauled a couple of his hardcovers to the National Book Festival only to find out that he was exclusively signing his newest book. So I went to the Book Fest tent to buy it, then got in line.

Irving says his writing is often painful. "But you don't not write something because it makes you feel uncomfortable. As a writer, you don't get to choose your obsessions."

"I use details from my own life," Irving said at the book fest. "It, like anything of mine, will have more imagination than autobiography to it. But there are always elements from my own life. Childhood is the basis of a character."

In person, Irving did not appear to be in the pain his books suggest. He came across calm, cool, comfortable, in his casual shirt and jeans, with his gum-chewing smile, basking in a long line of dedicated readers. He greeted me with a smile and signed my book.

Having met Wolfe and Irving in the same day, I can see why their books naturally gravitated to opposite ends on my bookshelf. Still, I wish I'd convinced Irving and Wolfe to join me for a drink after the festival.

As a reader, you don't always get to choose your obsessions either.

John Irving – Official Author Website (john-irving.com)

Who is this Writeful Good Man?

 

One of the first things I did here fifteen years ago was to introduce myself. Back then, I was an aspiring writer hoping to become an established novelist. My bio is a little different now, having had five books published by small and university presses with a sixth one on the way, and with more than a hundred published short stories, articles, and travel stories published in various journals, magazines, and blogs.

Here is my short bio, found in my most recent novel:

Eric D. Goodman lives and writes in Maryland. He is author of The Color of Jadeite (Loyola University’s Apprentice House Press, 2020), Setting the Family Free (Apprentice House, 2019), Womb: a novel in utero, (Merge Publishing, 2017) Tracks: A Novel in Stories, (Atticus Books, 2011), and Flightless Goose. (Writer’s Lair Books, 2008). More than a hundred of his short stories, travel stories, and articles about writing have been published in literary journals and periodicals. Eric is co-founder and curator of Baltimore’s popular Lit & Art Reading Series. When he’s not writing, Eric loves traveling. 

Learn more about Eric and his writing at www.EricDGoodman.com.