top five influences: or, if I could write like anyone....
chelsea corazon
sludl...@aol.com (SLudlow487) wrote:
>Here I am as usual, trying to put off producing anything.... So, I was
>thinking who would I write like if I could choose anyone??
>
>1. Barbara Kingsolver
>2. Armistead Maupin
>3. F. Scott
>4. Carl Hiassen
>6. Alice Hoffman (sometimes....)
>
>Okay, back to work. ($@%$#*&^!!!!!)
>
>Shawn
Ohhhh....this would be a yummy thread for r.a.b. So nice, in fact, I
think I'm going to steal it away. :-)
1. F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. Robert Frost
3. Gustave Flaubert
3. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
and (just so Jaybee doesn't say I'm overly predictable again)
5. (my buddy) David Christopher Swanson
(who will be famous one day)
~Chelsea~
==============================
..so there!
Jerry Kindall
Hmmmmm. This is gonna be an odd list. I wanted to throw more science
fiction writers into the list -- people like Greg Egan, Emma Bull, Bruce
Sterling, Neal Stephenson, Walter Jon Williams, Ian McDonald, Daniel Keys
Moran, Michael P. Kube-McDowell, Vernor Vinge, Joe Haldeman, and a whole
raft of other people, as well as some of the extremely lively writers at
CAR AND DRIVER magazine. (Is there anyone else out there who reads C&D
primarily to enjoy its writing?)
Anyway, here's my short list:
1. Orson Scott Card
2. Isaac Asimov
3. Deke McClelland
4. Douglas Adams
5. Douglas Hofstadter
--
Jerry Kindall <kin...@manual.com>
Manual Labor <http://www.manual.com/>
Technical Writing; Internet & WWW Consulting
Play Java Solitaire at the HouseMaster HOME Page:
http://www.housemaster.com/~hm/
Tawen Chang
: sludl...@aol.com (SLudlow487) wrote:
: >Here I am as usual, trying to put off producing anything.... So, I was
: >thinking who would I write like if I could choose anyone??
: >
: >1. Barbara Kingsolver
: >2. Armistead Maupin
: >3. F. Scott
: >4. Carl Hiassen
: >6. Alice Hoffman (sometimes....)
hmmm... this is not in any particular order:
1. Alan Paton,
2. Willa Cather (most of the time),
3. Harper Lee--even though she wasn't very prolific,
4. Patricia McKillip,
5. Zora Neale Hurston,
tawen
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
tch...@fas.harvard.edu
A mere heartbeat from happiness/ A stone's throw from the soul
Noel Brazil, from Mary Black's album "The Circus"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
James Charles Rau
tch...@fas.harvard.edu (Tawen Chang) wrote:
>hmmm... this is not in any particular order:
>1. Alan Paton,
>2. Willa Cather (most of the time),
>3. Harper Lee--even though she wasn't very prolific,
>4. Patricia McKillip,
>5. Zora Neale Hurston,
No particular order, but:
1. Tim Powers
2. James P. Blaylock
3. Issac Asimov
4. Ray Bradbury
5. Jack Woodford
James Charles Rau
jcr...@primenet.com
paschal
1. Ray Bradbury
2. Willa Cather
3. M.F.K. Fisher
(in that order.)
-Paschal
Richard Harter
1. Michael Chricton
2. John Jakes
3. Isaac Asimov
The way I look at it, if I'm going to sell my writing for money, I'll
go to the people who know how to sell out big time.
Kiss the hand of the whore.
Richard Harter, c...@tiac.net, The Concord Research Institute
URL = http://www.tiac.net/users/cri, phone = 1-508-369-3911
When I do not question that which I know to be true it is
then that I prepare myself to be deceived.
SPBurris
To be precise, the person I would most like to write like is myself when I
imagine myself writing -- effortlessly tap-tap-tapping out those marvelous
ghost stories that now frighten me away from the keyboard...
But no one wants to hear about that, so...
1. Melville (Moby Dick only)
2. Nabokov (as in his novels whose titles begin with the letter P)
3. Carter (my soul for a Chamber as Bloody as yours, darling...r.i.p.)
4. Woolf (Orlando)
5. Machado de Assis (I kneel before you, maestro...)
Or maybe I don't want to write at all. I'd much rather --
-- What's that, Signor Pompone? Si, basta, gia basta...
--
SPBurris at Cornell University
Greek, Latin and bagpipes!
chelsea corazon
couple of years (in the sci fi groups, too) and I feel like I'm
eventually going to have to break down and read something by him
eventually. Any recommendations? Also, other questions; wasn't he a
friend of Philip K. Dick? and does Powers use his works to proseletyze
his religious beliefs?
~Chelsea~
(who's too cranky to be "converted" at this stage of the game)
chelsea corazon
Mmmmm Richard....welcome to MW-Ville. Your soft lips feel good on tha'
back of my hand.
~Chelsea~
(who assumes you know what the "W" in MW-Ville stands for)
Davona Dale
chelsea corazon wrote:
>
> sludl...@aol.com (SLudlow487) wrote:
> >Here I am as usual, trying to put off producing anything.... So, I was
> >thinking who would I write like if I could choose anyone??
> >
> >1. Barbara Kingsolver
> >2. Armistead Maupin
> >3. F. Scott
> >4. Carl Hiassen
> >6. Alice Hoffman (sometimes....)
> >
> >
> >Shawn
>
> Ohhhh....this would be a yummy thread for r.a.b. So nice, in fact, I
> think I'm going to steal it away. :-)
>
> 1. F. Scott Fitzgerald
> 2. Robert Frost
> 3. Gustave Flaubert
> 3. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
> and (just so Jaybee doesn't say I'm overly predictable again)
> 5. (my buddy) David Christopher Swanson
> (who will be famous one day)
> ~Chelsea~
>
> ==============================
> ..so there!
>
Here's my list:
1. F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. Jack Finney
3. Edith Wharton
4. John Steinbeck
5. Suzanne Massie
Davona
Christopher Shea
In article <5aq6d9$q...@sun.sirius.com>, chelsea corazon
<kare...@sirius.com> wrote:
_The Anubis Gates_ or _Last Call_. Don't know his relation to PKD. And
no, I can't recall ever feeling preached at by a Powers book.
Returning to the subject:
1) Michael Moorcock
2) Jack Vance
3) Mark Helprin
4) Robert Anton Wilson
5) John Brunner
--
--
Christopher Shea
cs...@dcdu.com, 74007...@compuserve.com
That's ChrisTOPHER, not Chris, dammit.
Gregg Germain
In no particular order:
1) Patrick O'Brian
2) Winston Churchill
3) William Manchester
--- Gregg
Saville
gr...@hrc2.harvard.edu #29 Genie
Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics #1762 CRIS
Phone: (617) 496-7713 "A Mig at your six is better than
no Mig at all."
Frank Raymond Michaels
Top five influences, in no particular order:
- Harlan Ellison
- Saki (H.H. Munro)
- Tanith Lee
- Algernon Blackwood
- Edgar Allan Poe
------------------------------------------
Frank Raymond Michaels ("I like to call him 'Uncle Ed'....")
E. McDermott
kin...@manual.com (Jerry Kindall) wrote:
Definitely an Odd list.
Mine are:
-Anne Tyler for her way of paiting and overpainting her characters.
-Charles Dickens for his way of hammering us on the head with a
character and we don't even notice it.
-John D. MacDonald for the way he personalize descriptionive asides.
-John MacLean for the consumate structure of his novels. I can even
forgive him for naming all his heroes John and all his heroines Mary.
-Steinbeck - for the Grapes of Wrath. His ability to combine
completely different writing styles within the same novel.
Ron Hogan
mcde...@ica.net (E. McDermott) wrote:
> kin...@manual.com (Jerry Kindall) wrote:
[[Orson Scott Card, Isaac Asimov, Deke McClelland,
Douglas Adams and Douglas Hofstadter]]
[Anne Tyler, Charles Dickens, John D. McDonald, John MacLean, and Steinbeck]
I'm going to go with: Elmore Leonard, Anthony Trollope, James Ellroy,
Richard Powers, and David Mamet, with Dawn Powell thrown in as a pinch
hitter when any of the other five aren't working.
Ron Hogan Freelance Writer and Media Consultant
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Grifter Information Technologies San Francisco, California
*********************************************************************
gri...@primenet.com http://www.primenet.com/~grifter/home.html
James Charles Rau
fra...@i-2000.com (Frank Raymond Michaels) wrote:
>chelsea corazon <kare...@sirius.com> wrote:
>>I've seen Tim Powers' name here and there on the internet in the last
>>couple of years (in the sci fi groups, too) and I feel like I'm
>>eventually going to have to break down and read something by him
>>eventually. Any recommendations? Also, other questions; wasn't he a
>>friend of Philip K. Dick? and does Powers use his works to proseletyze
>>his religious beliefs?
>> ~Chelsea~
>> (who's too cranky to be "converted" at this stage of the game)
>>
>I highly recommend _The Anubis Gates_, probably the best novel about
>time travel I've ever read. I cannot comment on his relationship with
>Philip K. Dick, but I do not find Powers' work proseletyzing, and
>typically don't care for proselytutes.
I too can highly recommend The Anubis Gates and also The Stress of Her
Regard. On Stranger Tides was the best "pirate" novel I have ever
read.
And no, Powers does not expouse his religious beliefs in any of his
novels.
I had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Powers and his lovely wife Serena
for about three years (forgive my bragging, but I was their next door
neighbor). Nicest folks you would ever want to meet.
Powers was a close friend of P.K. Dick until Dick passed away in
1982(?).
James Charles Rau
jcr...@primenet.com
Ted Samsel
chelsea corazon (kare...@sirius.com) wrote:
: >
: I've seen Tim Powers' name here and there on the internet in the last
: couple of years (in the sci fi groups, too) and I feel like I'm
: eventually going to have to break down and read something by him
: eventually. Any recommendations? Also, other questions; wasn't he a
: friend of Philip K. Dick? and does Powers use his works to proseletyze
: his religious beliefs?
: ~Chelsea~
: (who's too cranky to be "converted" at this stage of the game)
I've read a good bit of Powers' and detect no religious bent to speak of.
--
Ted Samsel....tejas@infi.net
"do the boogie woogie in the South American way"
Rhumba Boogie- Hank Snow (1955)
Ted Samsel
Richard Harter (c...@tiac.net) wrote:
:
: 1. Michael Chricton
: 2. John Jakes
: 3. Isaac Asimov
:
: The way I look at it, if I'm going to sell my writing for money, I'll
: go to the people who know how to sell out big time.
:
: Kiss the hand of the whore.
That's why I put Phillip Jose Farmer in. But why not Belva Plain?
Humbert Humbert
1. David Carkeet
2. Francine Prose
3. J F Powers
4. Muriel Spark
5. Vladimir Nabokov
These are all pretty disimilar writers I know but I can only dream.
The Chocolate Lady (Davida Chazan)
I say, wasn't that c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) who wrote on Mon, 06
Jan 1997 03:47:40 GMT:
>1. Michael Chricton
>2. John Jakes
>3. Isaac Asimov
>The way I look at it, if I'm going to sell my writing for money, I'll
>go to the people who know how to sell out big time.
>Kiss the hand of the whore.
Well, if you look at it that way... the name Danielle Steele comes to
mind *immediately*!
(Ugh! I'd rather be unpublished than write like that.)
Davida Chazan,
Chocolate Gourmet and Expert Omphalopsychite
(often at the same time)!
~*~*~*~*
Warning: Email address corrupted to avoid spam.
If you know me, you'll know my correct address.
(So the scum can't C! Get it? Got it! GOOD!)
~*~*~*~*
Malcolm McClure
Alexander Pope
Samuel Johnson
Oscar Wilde
WB Yeats
Brendan Behan
Richard Harter
Cdav...@jdc.org.il (The Chocolate Lady (Davida Chazan)) wrote:
>I say, wasn't that c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) who wrote on Mon, 06
>Jan 1997 03:47:40 GMT:
>>1. Michael Chricton
>>2. John Jakes
>>3. Isaac Asimov
>>The way I look at it, if I'm going to sell my writing for money, I'll
>>go to the people who know how to sell out big time.
>>Kiss the hand of the whore.
>Well, if you look at it that way... the name Danielle Steele comes to
>mind *immediately*!
>(Ugh! I'd rather be unpublished than write like that.)
It's a lacunae in my literacy that I've never read anything by Ms.
Steele. I have, however, read Barbara Cartland who indeed cannot
write her way out of a paper bag.
I have always been bemused by the difference between what is taught
about writing in the academy and what appears in writers digest.
Richard Harter, c...@tiac.net, The Concord Research Institute
URL = http://www.tiac.net/users/cri, phone = 1-508-369-3911
I'm a primatologist specializing in homo sapiens.
Their lack of true intelligence simplifies my studies.
Christine Daae
Once upon a time in a far off land, c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) wrote:
>1. Michael Chricton
>2. John Jakes
>3. Isaac Asimov
I've been surprised at how many people mentioned Isaac Asimov. I love
his short stories for his ideas and plots, he was a genius there, but
pure writing? I find his actual writing pretty cardboard-like.
(No flames or criticism of everyone who listed him intended - I love his
fiction, just not for the quality of his writing!)
My choices would be, in no real order:
1) Angela Carter
2) A S Byatt
3) Margaret Atwood
I'd like the genius of Milton and Shakespeare, but their style would
sound rather odd today.
Christine
http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~cdaae/
Christine Daae's web site is a nominee for the
------->Websurfers' Choice HomePage of the Year!<-------
Vote at: http://www.hofstra.edu/~vmaffea1/hoty.html
Vote January 1, 1997 - January 11, 1997, Round 1
Uche Ogbuji
In <5arrt2$k...@news-central.tiac.net>, nan...@tiac.net (Ken MacIver) writes:
>If I could write like anyone, it would be Morrison, Frost, Balzac,
>Rilke, and Michener. Just think, a prolific and best selling black
>woman who is also a poet and writes like a dream in French and German.
Whoa now, Ken, I like Morrison as well as the next FuManchu, but why
did ye hafta go callin' her a poet, eh? Whyyyyyyyyyyyy?
Vale
--Uche
Richard Harter
cd...@phantom.ml.org (Christine Daae) wrote:
>Once upon a time in a far off land, c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) wrote:
>>1. Michael Chricton
>>2. John Jakes
>>3. Isaac Asimov
>I've been surprised at how many people mentioned Isaac Asimov. I love
>his short stories for his ideas and plots, he was a genius there, but
>pure writing? I find his actual writing pretty cardboard-like.
Go back and read my explanation of *why* I picked them.
Heather Henderson
In article <grifter-0601...@ip199.sfo.primenet.com>,
gri...@primenet.com (Ron Hogan) wrote:
> mcde...@ica.net (E. McDermott) wrote:
>
> > kin...@manual.com (Jerry Kindall) wrote:
> [[Orson Scott Card, Isaac Asimov, Deke McClelland,
> Douglas Adams and Douglas Hofstadter]]
>
> [Anne Tyler, Charles Dickens, John D. McDonald, John MacLean, and Steinbeck]
>
> I'm going to go with: Elmore Leonard, Anthony Trollope, James Ellroy,
> Richard Powers, and David Mamet, with Dawn Powell thrown in as a pinch
> hitter when any of the other five aren't working.
My choices would be:
Daphne du Maurier
Jenny Diski
John Buchan
MFK Fisher
Thorne Smith
Dave Barry
(OK, that's six, so sue me.)
--
Heather Henderson - hea...@scc.net
my home page: http://web.scc.net/~heather
my fiction: http://web.scc.net/~heather/fiction.html
my baseball gallery: http://web.scc.net/~heather/baseball.html
Jerry Kindall
In article <5auj80$3...@news-central.tiac.net>, c...@tiac.net (Richard
Harter) wrote:
>cd...@phantom.ml.org (Christine Daae) wrote:
>
>>Once upon a time in a far off land, c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) wrote:
>
>>>1. Michael Chricton
>>>2. John Jakes
>>>3. Isaac Asimov
>
>>I've been surprised at how many people mentioned Isaac Asimov. I love
>>his short stories for his ideas and plots, he was a genius there, but
>>pure writing? I find his actual writing pretty cardboard-like.
>
>Go back and read my explanation of *why* I picked them.
I picked Asimov for my own list for a similar-but-different reason: his
ability to park his butt in front of his typewriter and WORK. Naturally,
this is related to some extent to his prolific output, which is related to
his popularity.
As for his writing -- it's adequate. Not always great literature, but
never dreck either.
Ari Nordstrom
Top five, in no particular order:
Jay McInerney (or was it his wife?)
Orson Scott Card
Anne Rice
Robert Heinlein
Stephen King
/Ari (I'd like to add a few more, but five is five; if you ask tomorrow,
the list will probably change...)
chelsea corazon
c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) wrote:
>Cdav...@jdc.org.il (The Chocolate Lady (Davida Chazan)) wrote:
>
>>I say, wasn't that c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) who wrote on Mon, 06
>>Jan 1997 03:47:40 GMT:
>
>
>>>2. John Jakes
>>>3. Isaac Asimov
>
>>>go to the people who know how to sell out big time.
>
>>>Kiss the hand of the whore.
>
>>Well, if you look at it that way... the name Danielle Steele comes to
>>mind *immediately*!
>
>>(Ugh! I'd rather be unpublished than write like that.)
>
>It's a lacunae in my literacy that I've never read anything by Ms.
>Steele. I have, however, read Barbara Cartland who indeed cannot
>write her way out of a paper bag.
...but she shore looks purty in pink. As for Ms. Steele, her
picaresque, widely-reported true-life romantic escapades dwarf
fictionalized account. A feast for a future "unauthorized" biographer
with a bent for psycho/anthropological analysis.
~Chelsea~
>I have always been bemused by the difference between what is taught
>about writing in the academy and what appears in writers digest.
>
>
Eric Eales
My top five
James Ellroy
Joseph Heller
Kurt Vonnegut
Elmore Leonard (pre the large type beach novellas)
Christy Brown
I include Christy Brown because Down All The Days was a great novel, one to
be relished after skimming My Left Foot - his mawkish adolescent attempt at
autobiography which was predictably the book Hollywood chose to celebrate.
Eric (my right index finger) Eales
--
Richard Harter
chelsea corazon <kare...@sirius.com> wrote:
>c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) wrote:
>>Cdav...@jdc.org.il (The Chocolate Lady (Davida Chazan)) wrote:
>>
>>>I say, wasn't that c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) who wrote on Mon, 06
>>>Jan 1997 03:47:40 GMT:
>>
>>
>>>>1. Michael Chricton
>>>>2. John Jakes
>>>>3. Isaac Asimov
>>
>>>>The way I look at it, if I'm going to sell my writing for money, I'll
>>>>go to the people who know how to sell out big time.
>>
>>>>Kiss the hand of the whore.
>>
>>>Well, if you look at it that way... the name Danielle Steele comes to
>>>mind *immediately*!
>>
>>>(Ugh! I'd rather be unpublished than write like that.)
>>
>>It's a lacunae in my literacy that I've never read anything by Ms.
>>Steele. I have, however, read Barbara Cartland who indeed cannot
>>write her way out of a paper bag.
>...but she shore looks purty in pink. As for Ms. Steele, her
>picaresque, widely-reported true-life romantic escapades dwarf
>fictionalized account. A feast for a future "unauthorized" biographer
>with a bent for psycho/anthropological analysis.
> ~Chelsea~
>
Hain't just the pink, it's all them jewels and brocade and I don't
what all. The woman dresses like she was the spirit of the Prince
Albert Memorial.
I dunno about Ms. Steele. You kinda give me a hankering to be a
footnote in her autobiography but I don't know if I'm up to it.
Lila Richards
I think I'd have to include Oscar Wilde and WB Yeats, too, because they
write so exquisitely (Wilde's 'Happy Prince' *still* makes me cry), and,
perhaps a touch more realistically for a would-be thriller and mystery
writer, I'd add Lindsay Davis (creator of the wonderful Marcus Didius
Falco, a sort of Ancient Roman Philip Marlow), Tom Holt (for his whimsical
and ironic machinations in the realms of mythology), Walter Satterthwaite
(who not only spins a good yarn, but writes elegantly), and Andrew Shaw
(for his gloriously over-the-top evocations of backstage bitchiness in the
London theatrical scene, and an anti-hero who not only solves the odd
murder, but is, himself, a successful murderer). OK, that's six, but what the
hell!
Lila.
Ted Samsel
chelsea corazon (kare...@sirius.com) wrote:
:
: Hee.hee, Richard. Well if ya do, you'll have to be an heir to millions
: like her most recent hubby, or a incarcerated rapist and murderer like
: one of her former ones. (She ain't introested in philosophers or poets.
: I believe she regards them as wimps.) Although if you were a cowboy
: poet, or a motorcyclist poet, or someone like Charles Bukowski, but not
: someone who looks like him, rather, tall craggy,aristocratically
: profiled, and handsome, she might take notice. I believe Ms. Steele's at
: liberty at the moment, so please keep me appraised of your progress.
:
Isn't she first in line to have conjugal visits with Teddy Kaczynski?
Heather Henderson
In article <5aun81$4...@sun.sirius.com>, chelsea corazon
<kare...@sirius.com> wrote:
> c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) wrote:
> >Cdav...@jdc.org.il (The Chocolate Lady (Davida Chazan)) wrote:
> >
> >>I say, wasn't that c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) who wrote on Mon, 06
> >>Jan 1997 03:47:40 GMT:
> >
> >
> >>>1. Michael Chricton
> >>>2. John Jakes
> >>>3. Isaac Asimov
> >
> >>>The way I look at it, if I'm going to sell my writing for money, I'll
> >>>go to the people who know how to sell out big time.
> >
> >>>Kiss the hand of the whore.
> >
> >>Well, if you look at it that way... the name Danielle Steele comes to
> >>mind *immediately*!
> >
> >>(Ugh! I'd rather be unpublished than write like that.)
> >
> >It's a lacunae in my literacy that I've never read anything by Ms.
> >Steele. I have, however, read Barbara Cartland who indeed cannot
> >write her way out of a paper bag.
John Jakes is no better.
Richard Harter
chelsea corazon <kare...@sirius.com> wrote:
>c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) wrote:
>>chelsea corazon <kare...@sirius.com> wrote:
>>
>>>c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) wrote:
>>>>Cdav...@jdc.org.il (The Chocolate Lady (Davida Chazan)) wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>I say, wasn't that c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) who wrote on Mon, 06
>>>>>Jan 1997 03:47:40 GMT:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>>1. Michael Chricton
>>>>>>2. John Jakes
>>>>>>3. Isaac Asimov
>>>>
>>>>>>The way I look at it, if I'm going to sell my writing for money, I'll
>>>>>>go to the people who know how to sell out big time.
>>>>
>>>>>>Kiss the hand of the whore.
>>>>
>>>>>Well, if you look at it that way... the name Danielle Steele comes to
>>>>>mind *immediately*!
>>>>
>>>>>(Ugh! I'd rather be unpublished than write like that.)
>>>>
>>>>It's a lacunae in my literacy that I've never read anything by Ms.
>>>>Steele. I have, however, read Barbara Cartland who indeed cannot
>>>>write her way out of a paper bag.
>>
>>>...but she shore looks purty in pink. As for Ms. Steele, her
>>>picaresque, widely-reported true-life romantic escapades dwarf
>>>fictionalized account. A feast for a future "unauthorized" biographer
>>>with a bent for psycho/anthropological analysis.
>>> ~Chelsea~
>>>
>>
>>
>>Hain't just the pink, it's all them jewels and brocade and I don't
>>what all. The woman dresses like she was the spirit of the Prince
>>Albert Memorial.
>>
>>I dunno about Ms. Steele. You kinda give me a hankering to be a
>>footnote in her autobiography but I don't know if I'm up to it.
>Hee.hee, Richard. Well if ya do, you'll have to be an heir to millions
>like her most recent hubby, or a incarcerated rapist and murderer like
>one of her former ones. (She ain't introested in philosophers or poets.
>I believe she regards them as wimps.) Although if you were a cowboy
>poet, or a motorcyclist poet, or someone like Charles Bukowski, but not
>someone who looks like him, rather, tall craggy,aristocratically
>profiled, and handsome, she might take notice. I believe Ms. Steele's at
>liberty at the moment, so please keep me appraised of your progress.
> ~Chelsea~
> (who admits to a hankering for poets with hawklike profiles)
Don't sound like I'm quite up to her speed. Course I didn't have no
marrying bit in mind - allergic to paperwork and churches, I am. The
last time I signed my name to something, I was in the Marine Corps for
three years. Never made that mistake again. When people ask me to
sign something I jest tell them I went to Harvard and can't read or
write. And I definitely don't want to do no jail time. Bad things
happen in them there jails. Why, you might even meet a politician.
I suppose I could do the aristocratic bit. Can't do the hawklike
profile, though. I'm more on the model of the last degenerate
offspring of aristocrats where the whole family went to hell a long
time ago. Think she might like degenerate? That I can do.
Ken MacIver
molinah@ (Uche Ogbuji) wrote:
I fudged by combining all of the cited authors into one fictional
writer. Thus, her *poetic* parts would be Frost & Rilke.
ken
Marcy Thompson
Georgette Heyer
Jo Beverly
Reay Tannehill
George McDonald Fraser
Jane Austen
(or if I just wanted to get rich....)
Stephen King, Stephen King, Stephen King, Stephen King and Stephen King
Marcy
--
Marcy Thompson
home: ma...@squirrel.com (currently unavailable; back on-line soon)
work: m...@criinc.com (new as of 11/11/1996)
Usenet only: ma...@world.std.com (some things never change)
Matt J. Clairday
In <kindall-0701...@192.168.0.2> kin...@manual.com (Jerry
Kindall) writes:
>
>In article <5auj80$3...@news-central.tiac.net>, c...@tiac.net (Richard
>Harter) wrote:
>
>>cd...@phantom.ml.org (Christine Daae) wrote:
>>
>>>Once upon a time in a far off land, c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter)
wrote:
>>
>>>>2. John Jakes
>>>>3. Isaac Asimov
>>
love
>>>his short stories for his ideas and plots, he was a genius there,
but
>>>pure writing? I find his actual writing pretty cardboard-like.
>>
>>Go back and read my explanation of *why* I picked them.
>
>I picked Asimov for my own list for a similar-but-different reason:
his
>ability to park his butt in front of his typewriter and WORK.
Naturally,
>this is related to some extent to his prolific output, which is
related to
>his popularity.
>
>As for his writing -- it's adequate. Not always great literature, but
>never dreck either.
>
>--
>Jerry Kindall <kin...@manual.com>
>Manual Labor <http://www.manual.com/>
>Technical Writing; Internet & WWW Consulting
>
>Play Java Solitaire at the HouseMaster HOME Page:
>http://www.housemaster.com/~hm/
The Brontes (guess they count as two), Ayn Rand, Poe and Hemingway.
I'd have to also include various commercial writers, who are
neither famous nor illustrious. Robynn
Richard Harter
hea...@scc.net (Heather Henderson) wrote:
>In article <5aun81$4...@sun.sirius.com>, chelsea corazon
><kare...@sirius.com> wrote:
>> c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) wrote:
>> >Cdav...@jdc.org.il (The Chocolate Lady (Davida Chazan)) wrote:
>> >
>> >>I say, wasn't that c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) who wrote on Mon, 06
>> >>Jan 1997 03:47:40 GMT:
>> >
>> >
>> >>>1. Michael Chricton
>> >>>2. John Jakes
>> >>>3. Isaac Asimov
>> >
>> >>>The way I look at it, if I'm going to sell my writing for money, I'll
>> >>>go to the people who know how to sell out big time.
>> >
>> >>>Kiss the hand of the whore.
>> >
>> >>Well, if you look at it that way... the name Danielle Steele comes to
>> >>mind *immediately*!
>> >
>> >>(Ugh! I'd rather be unpublished than write like that.)
>> >
>> >It's a lacunae in my literacy that I've never read anything by Ms.
>> >Steele. I have, however, read Barbara Cartland who indeed cannot
>> >write her way out of a paper bag.
>John Jakes is no better.
I'm told that it's a studied effect. Unlike Chrichton, who has a
natural talent for it, Jakes had to learn how to write best sellers;
he traded being a good writer for being a rich writer.
Christine
Poppy Z. Brite
Dean R. Koontz
Robert McCammon
Hmmm...can't think of any others off the top of my head, but there's so
many good writers out there!
--
Christine (formerly known as The Vacuum Lady)
------------------------------------------------
"That man's a few pancakes short of a stack.
Sure, I'm crazy, too, but at least I have maple
syrup and butter on mine."
--?
------------------------------------------------
chelsea corazon
c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) wrote:
>chelsea corazon <kare...@sirius.com> wrote:
>
>>c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) wrote:
>>>Cdav...@jdc.org.il (The Chocolate Lady (Davida Chazan)) wrote:
>>>
>>>>I say, wasn't that c...@tiac.net (Richard Harter) who wrote on Mon, 06
>>>>Jan 1997 03:47:40 GMT:
>>>
>>>
>>>>>1. Michael Chricton
>>>>>2. John Jakes
>>>>>3. Isaac Asimov
>>>
>>>>>The way I look at it, if I'm going to sell my writing for money, I'll
>>>>>go to the people who know how to sell out big time.
>>>
>>>>>Kiss the hand of the whore.
>>>
>>>>Well, if you look at it that way... the name Danielle Steele comes to
>>>>mind *immediately*!
>>>
>>>>(Ugh! I'd rather be unpublished than write like that.)
>>>
>>>It's a lacunae in my literacy that I've never read anything by Ms.
>>>Steele. I have, however, read Barbara Cartland who indeed cannot
>>>write her way out of a paper bag.
>
>>picaresque, widely-reported true-life romantic escapades dwarf
>>fictionalized account. A feast for a future "unauthorized" biographer
>>with a bent for psycho/anthropological analysis.
>> ~Chelsea~
>>
>
>
>Hain't just the pink, it's all them jewels and brocade and I don't
>what all. The woman dresses like she was the spirit of the Prince
>Albert Memorial.
>
>I dunno about Ms. Steele. You kinda give me a hankering to be a
>footnote in her autobiography but I don't know if I'm up to it.
Hee.hee, Richard. Well if ya do, you'll have to be an heir to millions
like her most recent hubby, or a incarcerated rapist and murderer like
one of her former ones. (She ain't introested in philosophers or poets.
I believe she regards them as wimps.) Although if you were a cowboy
poet, or a motorcyclist poet, or someone like Charles Bukowski, but not
someone who looks like him, rather, tall craggy,aristocratically
profiled, and handsome, she might take notice. I believe Ms. Steele's at
liberty at the moment, so please keep me appraised of your progress.
~Chelsea~
(who admits to a hankering for poets with hawklike profiles)
>
silve...@valis.worldgate.com
ooo even as a newbie i can't resist the topic...
1. orson scott card - for how his characters and plots are so intertwined.
each is vital to the other, never anything generic.
2. tolkien - for setting my imagination on fire when i was young. i've
never quite recovered from that. :)
3. terry pratchett - for his unrelenting silliness
4. robin mckinley - for her strong and full-dimensional female characters
(among other things)
5. charles de lint - for his skill at dragging ordinary people into
extraordinary situations, and still keeping them believable. i like to
write about intrusions of the abnormal into the normal, and i think mr. de
lint does it exceptionally well.
next?
silverleaf
--
--
These here are *my* opinions. If you don't like 'em, go get your own.
silve...@valis.worldgate.com
Uche Ogbuji
>ooo even as a newbie i can't resist the topic...
>1. orson scott card...
>2. tolkien
>3. terry pratchett
>4. robin mckinley
>5. charles de lint
and apparently e.e. cummings.
vale
--uche
*
*
*
Bjorn Pedersen
On Fri, 10 Jan 1997 22:23:09 GMT, fra...@i-2000.com (Frank Raymond
Michaels) wrote:
>This is something like the tenth time I've heard Terry Pratchett's
>name in this NG as a great writer.... Please forgive me, but I am a
>voracious reader and yet have absolutely no clue who this guy is. What
>has he/she written and why do so many people think Pratchett is so
I haven't read Pratchett myself yet, but he's written a hugely
successful book called "Discworld".
I think he's some sort of funny fantasy-writer. People who are more in
the know can surely tell you more about him.
Take care now,
Bjorn Pedersen
bmp1000 (YouKnowWhatSignGoesHere) sn (A Point) no
+---------------------------------------------------+
| Above all else, to thine own self be true |
+---------------------------------------------------+
Frank Raymond Michaels
>ooo even as a newbie i can't resist the topic...
>1. orson scott card...
>2. tolkien
>3. terry pratchett********************
>4. robin mckinley
>5. charles de lint
This is something like the tenth time I've heard Terry Pratchett's
name in this NG as a great writer.... Please forgive me, but I am a
voracious reader and yet have absolutely no clue who this guy is. What
has he/she written and why do so many people think Pratchett is so
great? And how come I've never heard of him/her? I read mostly horror,
thrillers, spy stuff, classics, and historical fiction, so I know
Pratchett hasn't written any of those. I have the idea from some of
the posts he/she's a UK humor writer a la Douglas Adams but evidently
less known (if at all) in the USA. Someone across the Puddle who's in
the know please pity a poor Yank and drop some knowledge on my
ignorant self, and maybe recommend a good starter's book?
----------------------------------------------------
Frank Raymond Michaels ("Remember I'm asking *nicely*....." ;-) )
Sal
Frank Raymond Michaels wrote:
>
> In <5b1798$8...@scanner.worldgate.com>, silve...@valis.worldgate.com
> ( ) writes:
>
> >ooo even as a newbie i can't resist the topic...
>
> >1. orson scott card...
> >2. tolkien
> >3. terry pratchett********************
> >4. robin mckinley
> >5. charles de lint
>
> This is something like the tenth time I've heard Terry Pratchett's
> name in this NG as a great writer.... Please forgive me, but I am a
> voracious reader and yet have absolutely no clue who this guy is. What
> has he/she written and why do so many people think Pratchett is so
> great? And how come I've never heard of him/her?
<snip>
Pratchett is an author of humorous fantasy and sci-fi sendups. Wrote the
Discworld series. Several years wiser than I. What else? He's a guy.
A place to get a bunch of information is the FAQ for alt.fan.pratchett,
available at
ftp://ftp.lspace.org/pub/pratchett/faqs/afp-faq
And. ummmmmm. The folks in afp might take some getting used to.
Swell folks, I'm sure they are.
Sal
[cc:e-mail]
---------------------------------------------
Come to think of it, there already are a million monkeys on a million
typewriters...and Usenet is NOTHING like Shakespeare...
-- Blair Houghton
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
m.w URLs: http://www.geocities.com/Paris/4052/mwurl.html
mirror site: http://www.netcom.com/~sjtowse/mwurl.html
Jeff Kosloski
Bjorn Pedersen wrote:
>On Fri, 10 Jan 1997 22:23:09 GMT, fra...@i-2000.com (Frank Raymond
>Michaels) wrote:
>
>>This is something like the tenth time I've heard Terry Pratchett's
>>name in this NG as a great writer.... Please forgive me, but I am a
>>voracious reader and yet have absolutely no clue who this guy is. What
>>has he/she written and why do so many people think Pratchett is so
>
>I haven't read Pratchett myself yet, but he's written a hugely
>successful book called "Discworld".
>
>I think he's some sort of funny fantasy-writer. People who are more in
>the know can surely tell you more about him.
"Funny fantasy writer" is actually a pretty good description. Pratchett,
much like Douglas Adams, is one of those "love him or hate him" writers. A
lot of silliness and nonsense habitate the Discworld novels (Discworld
isn't actually a book, but a whole series of books that take place on a
fantastical world called Discworld. The first of these books is _The
Colour of Magic_, and he's written some 16 or 17 Discworld novels since).
His stories are delightfully funny. I also recommend _Good Omens_,
co-authored by Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Has to do with armageddon and
whatnot. Very humorous stuff.
Jeff Kos
Steven H Silver
Terry Pratchett is best known for the Discworld series of novels, most
of which have been published in the US as well as in the UK. There are
currently 20 books in the series, beginning with _The Colour of Magic_,
which is actually four or five novellas introducing you to the concept
of the Discworld and is only so-so to _Hogfather_, Pratchett's send up
of Christmas. The series is somewhat uneven, although even the mediocre
books are reasonably funny. You can find reviews of _Feet of Clay_ and
_Hogfather_ at my website:
http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/reviews.html.
The books in the series (in published order) are:
The Colour of Magic
The Light Fantastic
Equal Rites*
Mort
Wyrd Sisters*
Guards! Guards!*
Pyramids
Sourcery*
Moving Pictures
Reaper Man*
Witches Abroad*
Eric
Small Gods*
Lords and Ladies
Men at Arms
Soul Music*
Interesting Times*
Maskerade
Feet of Clay*
Hogfather
The ones with an asterisk are the ones I think are best. In general,
you can read them in any order, although certain books form sub-series:
Colour of Magic, Light Fantastic, Interesting Times
Equal Rites, Wyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, Lords and Ladies
Guards! Guards, Men at Arms, Feet of Clay
His books have been made into successful stage plays, two computer games
from Psygnosis, a line of miniature figures and CDs. There are also a
Discworld Companion, Map of Discworld and Map of Ankh-Morpork (the
Discworld's main city) by Pratchett & Stephen Briggs.
Mort, Reaper Man, Eric, Hogfather
Frank Raymond Michaels wrote:
> This is something like the tenth time I've heard Terry Pratchett's
> name in this NG as a great writer.... Please forgive me, but I am a
> voracious reader and yet have absolutely no clue who this guy is. What
> has he/she written and why do so many people think Pratchett is so
> great? And how come I've never heard of him/her? I read mostly horror,
> thrillers, spy stuff, classics, and historical fiction, so I know
> Pratchett hasn't written any of those. I have the idea from some of
> the posts he/she's a UK humor writer a la Douglas Adams but evidently
> less known (if at all) in the USA. Someone across the Puddle who's in
> the know please pity a poor Yank and drop some knowledge on my
> ignorant self, and maybe recommend a good starter's book?
--
Steven H
Silver
silv...@earthlink.net
http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/index.html
Harry Turtledove Bibliography, Jewish SF, Chicago SF, Debut SF, Book
Reviews
-----------------
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4208/index.html
Medieval History Bibliographies, Chicago, Random Links
Kendall Clark
Just to move this discussion away from fictional influences for a moment, I
would list the following 5 influences in no particular order:
1. Stanley Cavell
2. Friedrich Nietzsche
3. Ralph Waldo Emerson
4. Soren Kierkegaard
5. Karl Barth
and if I could break the rules, I'd add a sixth:
6. Abraham Lincoln
If you want to be a philosopher, and not a novelist, you could do much worse
than emulating any on this list.
Best,
Kendall G. Clark
Southern Methodist University
Deranger
Isaac Asimov
Ray Bradbury
Edgar Rice Burroughs
George Orwell
Bram Stoker
Bjorn Pedersen
On Fri, 10 Jan 1997 20:26:04 -0500, k...@mindspring.com (Jeff Kosloski)
wrote:
>"Funny fantasy writer" is actually a pretty good description. Pratchett,
>much like Douglas Adams, is one of those "love him or hate him" writers. A
>lot of silliness and nonsense habitate the Discworld novels (Discworld
>isn't actually a book, but a whole series of books that take place on a
>fantastical world called Discworld. The first of these books is _The
>Colour of Magic_, and he's written some 16 or 17 Discworld novels since).
>His stories are delightfully funny. I also recommend _Good Omens_,
>co-authored by Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Has to do with armageddon and
>whatnot. Very humorous stuff.
I've been meaning to pick him up every time I go to the bookstore.
It's been on my wanted-list for months. But there's always something
else that side-tracks me. I find another book that I've just got to
have, and I sign Pratchett off for the next shopping spree.
Last time I bought a whole trilogy of Kim Stanley Robinsons "Red Green
& Blue Mars". The time before that I found I just had to have "Red
Dragon" by Thomas Harris, which I haven't known existed before, and
the time before that there was this really good book on the first
world war.... and so it goes on.
brian r. mcdonald
chelsea corazon (kare...@sirius.com) wrote:
: sludl...@aol.com (SLudlow487) wrote:
: >Here I am as usual, trying to put off producing anything.... So, I was
: >thinking who would I write like if I could choose anyone??
: >
: Ohhhh....this would be a yummy thread for r.a.b. So nice, in fact, I
: think I'm going to steal it away. :-)
:
my list:
georges perec
admiral daniel gallery
howard chaykin
italo calvino
fido
chiwito
--
part-time longshoreman and full-time dilettente at the game of go
bibliophile, skeptic, oulipian, liberal, romantic
"if you've got 'em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow"
Jacqui
Jeff Kosloski wrote:
> Bjorn Pedersen wrote:
> >Frank Raymond Michaels wrote:
> >>This is something like the tenth time I've heard Terry Pratchett's
> >>name in this NG as a great writer.... Please forgive me, but I am a
> >>voracious reader and yet have absolutely no clue who this guy is.
> >I haven't read Pratchett myself yet, but he's written a hugely
> >successful book called "Discworld".
> "Funny fantasy writer" is actually a pretty good description. Pratchett,
> much like Douglas Adams, is one of those "love him or hate him" writers. A
> lot of silliness and nonsense habitate the Discworld novels (Discworld
> isn't actually a book, but a whole series of books that take place on a
> fantastical world called Discworld. The first of these books is _The
> Colour of Magic_, and he's written some 16 or 17 Discworld novels since).
> His stories are delightfully funny. I also recommend _Good Omens_,
> co-authored by Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Has to do with armageddon and
> whatnot. Very humorous stuff.
Try 21 Discworld novels (in the UK at least). Pterry is a lovely chap, very wry
sense of humour, well-educated (his "fantasy/SciFi" novels include references to
Xeno of Elias, They Might Be Giants, pyramid-building, and Fatwahs, to name but 4).
He is HUGELY successful (worth £28m or so) and a very nice man, although he sends me
sarcastic e-mail. The Discworld Convention (Manchester, Uk, June 1996) has its own
web-pages, where you can find a pic of me and my friend Jenny (The Daily Ankh, issue
4, "Witches with attitude") I can't remember the URL but try Infoseek. "Happy
Hogswatch" in my .sig comes from the Discworld... yes, I am that sad.
BTW, any interested DWfans, "Jingo" (next novel after "Hogfather") is in completed
draft form, and is being proof-read by my friend Steve as we speak.
Yours, Amanita DeVice (aka Jac)
--
"Those men over there talking about me think I'm paranoid"
Robert Rankin "A Dog Called Demolition"
Happy Hogswatch!
Jacqui
Marcy Thompson wrote:
>
> Georgette Heyer
> Jo Beverly
> Reay Tannehill
> George McDonald Fraser
> Jane Austen
>
> (or if I just wanted to get rich....)
>
> Stephen King, Stephen King, Stephen King, Stephen King and Stephen King
Cool, Georgette Heyer was the first adult novelist I ever read (my mother
had the complete set...) unless you count Watership Down as an adult
novel (I'm never sure. They sure sold it to us 6 year olds though...)
My list:
Roddy Doyle
Fish (Marillion)
Kathy Lette
Diana Wynne Jones
Terry Pratchett/Tom Holt (amalgamated for style reasons)
These people have actually influenced the way I write. If I could write
like anybody else, I'd like to write like Yeats, Stephen King (yes, I
could do with the money), Kenneth Williams, John Donne, Bill Bryson,
Margaret Atwood, Dorothy Parker, Jim Morrison.
Anna Halbert
On Fri, 10 Jan 1997 22:02:22 -0600, Steven H Silver
<silv...@earthlink.net> wrote:
(generalized snipment)
>Small Gods*
>The ones with an asterisk are the ones I think are best. In general,
>you can read them in any order, although certain books form sub-series:
i agree small gods is one of the best. i'd say it's one of the best
books i've EVER read. there's more to it than just the story, or even
just the humor.
-a
********************************************************************************
This writing business, pencils and whatnot. Over-rated if you ask me.
--Eeyore
********************************************************************************
wenchpoet
ray bradbury
rachel ingalls
james joyce
isadora duncan
kafka
Frank Raymond Michaels
Thanx for this info and the prompt response, all, esp. my e-mail
buddies who gave me detailed bibliographies of Mr. Pratchett's work.
The next thing for me to do is find a copy of _The Colour of Magic_
and see for me-self.
Grazie,
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank Raymond Michaels ("Wearing copper armor and screaming 'all gods
are bastards' during a thunderstorm...")
Lila Richards
In article <187cd$171135.274@MARLI>, li...@lynx.co.nz (Lila Richards) says:
>I think I'd have to include Oscar Wilde and WB Yeats, too, because they
>write so exquisitely (Wilde's 'Happy Prince' *still* makes me cry), and,
>perhaps a touch more realistically for a would-be thriller and mystery
>writer, I'd add Lindsay Davis (creator of the wonderful Marcus Didius
>Falco, a sort of Ancient Roman Philip Marlow), Tom Holt (for his whimsical
>and ironic machinations in the realms of mythology), Walter Satterthwaite
>(who not only spins a good yarn, but writes elegantly), and Andrew Shaw
>(for his gloriously over-the-top evocations of backstage bitchiness in the
>London theatrical scene, and an anti-hero who not only solves the odd
>murder, but is, himself, a successful murderer). OK, that's six, but what the
>hell!
Oops! Not Andrew Shaw (he's a former children's TV presenter who is
currently in charge of TVNZ programming here in New Zealand. Can't
*imagine* why I came upw with his name - unless it's the awful TV
programmes we're subjected to these days). The name I meant was *Simon*
Shaw. Oh, and while I'm here, I'd like to add Tony Hillerman to my list.
I love his books, though I doubt my ability to emulate his sparse style.
Lila.
Lila Richards
>I haven't read Pratchett myself yet, but he's written a hugely
>successful book called "Discworld".
>
>I think he's some sort of funny fantasy-writer. People who are more in
>the know can surely tell you more about him.
He's an English fantasy writer, who wrote the Discworld series, and some
others as well, at least one ('Omens'? 'Bad Omens'? 'Good Omens'?) with
another writer whose name I can't recall. Personally, I'm decidedly not a
fan of his Discworld writing (haven't read any others), though I went to
hear him at a book signing, and he was a very funny, charmingly eccentric
man (I'm all for eccentricity - makes me feel more at home in the world).
Lila.
Lila Richards
In article <kos-100197...@ip65.grand-rapids.mi.pub-ip.psi.net>, k...@mindspring.com (Jeff Kosloski) says:
>"Funny fantasy writer" is actually a pretty good description. Pratchett,
>much like Douglas Adams, is one of those "love him or hate him" writers.
Funny you should mention Douglas Adams. I loved 'The Hitchhiker's Guide'
on both radio and TV. I haven't read the books, but I tried reading 'The
Long Dark Teatime of the Soul' (one of his books about Dirk Gently's
Holistic Detective Agency), and I literally couldn't read it. I found it
intensely boring.
I much prefer Tom Holt, who writes very clever stories based on aspects of
various mythologies, and how they would fare in the modern world (well,
specifally, modern Britain, with occasional references to Australia.)
Lila.
Jeff Kosloski
Lila said:
>Funny you should mention Douglas Adams. I loved 'The Hitchhiker's Guide'
>on both radio and TV. I haven't read the books, but I tried reading 'The
>Long Dark Teatime of the Soul' (one of his books about Dirk Gently's
>Holistic Detective Agency), and I literally couldn't read it. I found it
>intensely boring.
>I much prefer Tom Holt, who writes very clever stories based on aspects of
>various mythologies, and how they would fare in the modern world (well,
>specifally, modern Britain, with occasional references to Australia.)
I have the original Hitchhiker's Guide radio series on 6 CDs. I still
crack up every time I hear them.
I agree Long Dark Teatime wasn't anything special. The first Dirk Gently
book was better, but still no comparison to the five-book trilogy of
Hitchhiker's Guide.
Jeff Kos
Steven H Silver
Lila Richards wrote:
> Funny you should mention Douglas Adams. I loved 'The Hitchhiker's Guide'
> on both radio and TV. I haven't read the books, but I tried reading 'The
> Long Dark Teatime of the Soul' (one of his books about Dirk Gently's
> Holistic Detective Agency), and I literally couldn't read it. I found it
> intensely boring.
Beginning the the excellent radio series, Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy went downhill with each iteration. The first book is almost as
good (although redundant), as is the second book. The tv series is
okay, third and fourth book not anything special, I actually liked the
fifth book, although I seem to be in a minority. My favorite Adams book
is _Last Chance to See_ which is a non-fiction work on Endangered
Species.
> I much prefer Tom Holt, who writes very clever stories based on aspects of
> various mythologies, and how they would fare in the modern world (well,
> specifally, modern Britain, with occasional references to Australia.)
Although I like Holt, I think he is somewhat erratic. One book will be
fantastic and then he'll write something reasonably unreadable.
Pratchett, I think, is more consistent. Holt also tends to repeat
themes and ideas in his novels. I almost wish he would step away from
mythology. Love Osiris's Old Gods' Home.
Laura
On 8 Jan 1997, Ted Samsel wrote:
> chelsea corazon (kare...@sirius.com) wrote:
> :
> : Hee.hee, Richard. Well if ya do, you'll have to be an heir to millions
> : like her most recent hubby, or a incarcerated rapist and murderer like
> : one of her former ones. (She ain't introested in philosophers or poets.
> : I believe she regards them as wimps.) Although if you were a cowboy
> : poet, or a motorcyclist poet, or someone like Charles Bukowski, but not
> : someone who looks like him, rather, tall craggy,aristocratically
> : profiled, and handsome, she might take notice. I believe Ms. Steele's at
> : liberty at the moment, so please keep me appraised of your progress.
> Isn't she first in line to have conjugal visits with Teddy Kaczynski?
>
My two favorite writers? Ooooh, I HOPE they breed!!!
-Laura (but rats! I think she's post-menopausal...)
Alma
OK, then, here's my list:
1) louis de bernieres
2) judith tarr
3) roger zelazny
4) howard spring
5) guy gavriel kay
louis for sensitivity for what makes people change, judith for her
sense of dialogue and uncanny understanding of human politics,roger
for his intelligence and unfailing brilliant sense of humour, howard
for his scene-setting abilities, and guy for sheer entertainment value
and, again, excellent characterisation.
i like to think i manage bits of all those sterling qualities in my
own work - but then i never have been able to write like anyone other
than myself, for better or for worse....
Gwen A Orel
silve...@valis.worldgate.com wrote:
: ooo even as a newbie i can't resist the topic...
: 1. orson scott card - for how his characters and plots are so intertwined.
: each is vital to the other, never anything generic.
He is one of the few writers who I can't put down. Sometimes I think
he could be more polished, or somehow deeper, but he certainly keeps me
engrossed!
Gwen
--
"Live as one already dead." --Japanese saying
I live in fear of not being misunderstood.-- Oscar wilde
Gwen A Orel
Tom Stoppard
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Allison Baker
Martin Amis
Mary Gaitskill
Douglas Sutherland-Bruce
> tch...@fas.harvard.edu (Tawen Chang) wrote:
>
> >hmmm... this is not in any particular order:
> >1. Alan Paton,
> >2. Willa Cather (most of the time),
> >3. Harper Lee--even though she wasn't very prolific,
> >4. Patricia McKillip,
> >5. Zora Neale Hurston,
What a great thread and one that made me really think
1. Winston Churchill
2. Nevil Shute
3. John Steinbeck
4. Josephine Tey
5 Barbara Tuchman
But I wish I could TALK like Dr Johnson
Douglas
--
"He played the king all night as if momentarily expecting someone to play
the ace" - Dorothy Parker on some poor sod's King Lear
Doug Turnbull
In article <guvnor-ya0234800...@cactus.highway1.com.au>,
guv...@highway1.com.au (Douglas Sutherland-Bruce) wrote:
> > tch...@fas.harvard.edu (Tawen Chang) wrote:
> >
> > >hmmm... this is not in any particular order:
> > >1. Alan Paton,
> > >2. Willa Cather (most of the time),
> > >3. Harper Lee--even though she wasn't very prolific,
> > >4. Patricia McKillip,
> > >5. Zora Neale Hurston,
>
> What a great thread and one that made me really think
>
> 1. Winston Churchill
> 2. Nevil Shute
> 3. John Steinbeck
> 4. Josephine Tey
> 5 Barbara Tuchman
>
> But I wish I could TALK like Dr Johnson
>
I'd go for Wilde's conversation, although I haven't read Boswell yet so I
might change my mind. As far as writing goes, I tend to prefer a simple,
unadorned style, although that's not a hard and fast rule.
1. Andre Gide, for his deceptively simple style and ability to represent
his ideas in dramatic form.
2. Heinrich Boll, for his characters and his understated sense of humor.
3. Elias Canetti, for his clarity and combination of poetic and analytic
thinking.
4. Nietzsche, for the power and forcefulness of his writing.
5. Proust, for his insight and beautiful sentences, as well as his humor.
I'm in the middle of _The Magic Mountain_ right now, and Mann is making a
bid to join my pantheon. What an incredible book!
Doug Turnbull
J. Waldrop
I wanna play! I wanna play!
(Sorry I'm geting in on it so late -- work can really mess with a person's
life!)
1. Russell Baker
2. John McPhee
3. Robert Frost
4. Robert Crais
5. E. B. White
--
Janis Waldrop
Waldrop's Manuscript Service
http://www.opportunity1.com/writers
Creating Craftsmen
Rod Williams
> J. Waldrop wrote:
>
> I wanna play! I wanna play!
>
> 2. John McPhee
> 3. Robert Frost
> 4. Robert Crais
> 5. E. B. White
OK... <aol> me too! </aol>. In no particular order:
1. Jane Austen
2. Gore Vidal
3. Jan Morris
4. Christopher Isherwood
5. John Irving
Rod
--
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Rod Williams >< Pacific * Bell >< San Francisco >< rjw...@pacbell.com
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
FIDO
Gwen A Orel writes:
Tom Stoppard
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Allison Baker
Martin Amis
Mary Gaitskill
You mean you've dumped Samuel Beckett? And Dear Oscar?
FIDO
Jim Etchison
John Irving
Kurt Vonnegut
Mark Twain
Wallace Stevens
Ethan Canin
Robert J. Rafferty Jr.
In article <eae-ya023680000...@news.bctel.ca>, e...@bigfoot.com
(Eric Eales) wrote:
> My top five
>
> James Ellroy
> Joseph Heller
> Kurt Vonnegut
> Elmore Leonard (pre the large type beach novellas)
> Christy Brown
>
> I include Christy Brown because Down All The Days was a great novel, one to
> be relished after skimming My Left Foot - his mawkish adolescent attempt at
> autobiography which was predictably the book Hollywood chose to celebrate.
>
>
> Eric (my right index finger) Eales
>
So who wouldn't want to write like:
James Joyce
Mark Twain
Jane Austen
Ernest Hemingway (well, maybe some)
Italo Calvino
> --
>
Andy Katz
1) Dave Barry
Oh, hell, now you're all smirking at me, aren't you? Just because Dave
Barry isn't some Russian novelist with one ear who writes prose like
lead potatoes!
Okay add:
2) Joyce (Boliphant, that is, not the mick)
3) Arthur Craven
4) The French guy who wrote Torture Garden. But should that count,
seeing as he wrote it in French and I read it in English? I'm really
reading the translater's work, no?
5) Singer - at least he did many of his own translations (though if I
could write Yiddish like him, I'd be happy, maybe go to work for the
Vorvertz).
6) Gabriel Garcia Marquez collaborating with James Ellroy on a work
entitled One Hundred Years Of American Tabloid ... bitchin!
Andy 'Don't cry for me because I'm an idiot, MW!' Katz
__________________________________________
So sophisticated is my Net presence that I
now disdain sigs, ascii and even URLs....
a...@interport.net
a...@texas.net
andre...@aol.com
Lorrill Buyens
k...@mindspring.com (Jeff Kosloski), while summoning a demon, chanted:
>Lila said:
>>Funny you should mention Douglas Adams. I loved 'The Hitchhiker's Guide'
>>on both radio and TV. I haven't read the books, but I tried reading 'The
>>Long Dark Teatime of the Soul' (one of his books about Dirk Gently's
>>Holistic Detective Agency), and I literally couldn't read it. I found it
>>intensely boring.
>I have the original Hitchhiker's Guide radio series on 6 CDs. I still
>crack up every time I hear them.
>I agree Long Dark Teatime wasn't anything special. The first Dirk Gently
>book was better, but still no comparison to the five-book trilogy of
>Hitchhiker's Guide.
I'd rate the Adams books I've read in roughly this order, IMHO:
1. HHGTTG; The Restaurant at the End of the Universe; & Life, the
Universe, and Everything
2. DGHDA
3. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
4. TLDTOTS
Lorrill (I've been looking for _Mostly Harmless_, with little success) Buyens
--
----------------------------------------------------------------
| Doctor Fraud |Always believe six|
|Mad Inventor & Purveyor of Pseudopsychology |impossible things |
| Weird Science at Bargain Rates |before breakfast. |
|----------------------------------------------------------------|
|"Where did Robinson Crusoe go | "On a double |
| with Friday on Saturday night?" - Al Jolson | date?" - Me |
----------------------------------------------------------------
Lorrill Buyens
Steven H Silver <silv...@earthlink.net>, while summoning a demon, chanted:
>Lila Richards wrote:
>> I much prefer Tom Holt, who writes very clever stories based on aspects of
>> various mythologies, and how they would fare in the modern world (well,
>> specifally, modern Britain, with occasional references to Australia.)
>Although I like Holt, I think he is somewhat erratic. One book will be
>fantastic and then he'll write something reasonably unreadable.
>Pratchett, I think, is more consistent. Holt also tends to repeat
>themes and ideas in his novels. I almost wish he would step away from
>mythology. Love Osiris's Old Gods' Home.
Esther Friesner did some hilarious things with mythology & folklore in _Gnome
Man's Land_ and _Harpy High_. (I've been searching for the third book in the
series, _Unicorn U_, with no success.) Another good book of hers is _Druid's
Blood_, which paints an entertaining - and frightening - picture of an alternate
world in which Druidism is alive & well in Victorian England...
Lorrill
Gwen A Orel
Not as influences. But as people I'd enjoy writing like? Itwould
be a bit like wishing to be tall, blonde and athletic-- like wishing
to be ann entirely different person. I admire Beckett and love Oscar
dearly without wishing to emulate them.
Gwen
FIDO (fra...@stanford.edu) wrote:
: Gwen A Orel writes:
: FIDO
--
Gwen A Orel
Arthur Cravan! Really? He's one of my favorite Dadaists
and characters, but his writings are a funny blend of self-advertisement
and extravagant lies! What about his writings would you imitate?
His poems?
Gwen
Andy Katz (a...@interport.net) wrote:
: 1) Dave Barry
: Okay add:
: 3) Arthur Craven
: a...@interport.net
: a...@texas.net
: andre...@aol.com
Jerry Kindall
In article <5bq6ai$d...@nnrp1.news.primenet.com>, buy...@primenet.com
(Lorrill Buyens) wrote:
>k...@mindspring.com (Jeff Kosloski), while summoning a demon, chanted:
>
>>Lila said:
>
>>>Funny you should mention Douglas Adams. I loved 'The Hitchhiker's Guide'
>>>on both radio and TV. I haven't read the books, but I tried reading 'The
>>>Long Dark Teatime of the Soul' (one of his books about Dirk Gently's
>>>Holistic Detective Agency), and I literally couldn't read it. I found it
>>>intensely boring.
>
>>I have the original Hitchhiker's Guide radio series on 6 CDs. I still
>>crack up every time I hear them.
>
>>I agree Long Dark Teatime wasn't anything special. The first Dirk Gently
>>book was better, but still no comparison to the five-book trilogy of
>>Hitchhiker's Guide.
>
>I'd rate the Adams books I've read in roughly this order, IMHO:
>
>1. HHGTTG; The Restaurant at the End of the Universe; & Life, the
>Universe, and Everything
>2. DGHDA
>3. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
>4. TLDTOTS
Frankly, I like everything Adams has written. Admittedly, books like "The
Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" (quick, where did that title come from?)
and "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" have a very different FEEL than
the original Hitchhiker's trilogy. In the first three books you get the
distinct impression that anything could happen, whereas in the latter
works there's a sense of a whole bunch of disconnected threads which
finally come together in the end.
"The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" is particularly like this -- it's
like reading a puzzle. It took me several readings to get the bit about
the concentric circles on the eagle's wings, for example. I think this is
actually my favorite of his books. I can (and have) read it again and
again.
>Lorrill (I've been looking for _Mostly Harmless_, with little success) Buyens
Really. It was pretty easy to find when I wanted it. If I had to choose,
it'd be my least favorite Adams book, though.
--
Jerry Kindall <kin...@manual.com>
Manual Labor <http://www.manual.com/>
Technical Writing; Internet & WWW Consulting
Play Java Solitaire at the HouseMaster HOME Page:
http://www.housemaster.com/~hm/
Lane Browning
Gwen A Orel wrote:
>
> Not as influences. But as people I'd enjoy writing like? Itwould
> be a bit like wishing to be tall, blonde and athletic-- like wishing
> to be ann entirely different person. I admire Beckett and love Oscar
> dearly without wishing to emulate them.
>
> Gwen
>
> FIDO (fra...@stanford.edu) wrote:
> : Gwen A Orel writes:
>
> : Tom Stoppard
> : F. Scott Fitzgerald
> : Allison Baker
> : Martin Amis
> : Mary Gaitskill
>
> : You mean you've dumped Samuel Beckett? And Dear Oscar?
>
> : FIDO
>
> "Live as one already dead." --Japanese saying
>
> I live in fear of not being misunderstood.-- Oscar wilde
I'm glad you said this, because there is, for me, a big difference
between whom I like to READ and whom I'd like to emulate. I'd give
anything to be able to produce Updike-like sentences, but the guy is a
tough read! On the other hand, I really love reading Joanne Greenberg,
Bruce Jay Friedman, Baxter and Bausch and Boswell and Lorrie Moore and
even Dave Barry; but I can't say I'd give a digit to be able to write
the way they do.
I think we need two lists.
--
Today is the day. Now is the time.
John Reinhagen
Heather Henderson wrote:
>
> My choices would be:
>
> Daphne du Maurier
> Jenny Diski
> John Buchan
> MFK Fisher
> Thorne Smith
> Dave Barry
I like those, but my list differs:
Jack Vance
Steven Brust
Walten Jon Williams
James Blish
P.G. Wodehouse
My science fiction bias is evident, but I can't help that. I plead in
extenuation that I try to read good science fiction, which is about as
rare as good literature of any kind...
JCR
Fri...@drag.net
What's with all the old, dead guys? I'd choose some more contemporary
influences:
Graham Watkins
Michael Crichton (later works)
Robert McCammon
Eric Harry
David Morrell
Not in any particular order.
Till Noever
1. Jack Vance
BIG gap... (too big, actually, to fit onto the page)
2. Terry Goodkind
3. Charles DeLint
4. Roger Zelazny
5. JRR Tolkien
;)
Till
--
"How do you know the chosen ones?
No greater love hath a man than he lay down his life for his brother.
Not for millions - not for glory - not for fame -- for one person...
In the dark, where no one will ever know or see."
'Jack', Babylon 5 (_Comes the Inquisitor_)
tamu.edu
Oft times it can be trouble enough just to write like oneself,
concerns of emulating or imitating others aside.
Yours etc.,
SubGenius
Brian Pickrell
John Reinhagen (wr...@fc.net) wrote:
: I like those, but my list differs:
: Jack Vance
: Steven Brust
: Walten Jon Williams
: James Blish
: P.G. Wodehouse
: My science fiction bias is evident, but I can't help that. I plead in
: extenuation that I try to read good science fiction, which is about as
: rare as good literature of any kind...
I should know better than to get involved in "best of" lists on the
Usenet, but here I go anyway...
Jack Vance Science fiction/fantasy writer notable for his archaic
atmosphere, elliptical dialogue and genuinely novel, foreign cultures (as
opposed to the transparent copies of real-life foreign cultures that are
more common in sci-fi).
Len Deighton I like him for his way of presenting the bad in his war
stories without sugar-coating it; look for example at the dirty treatment
the hero of _Bomber_ gets from his commander; and for the ingenuity of the
premises of his thrillers, neither too commonplace to be interesting nor
too grandiose to be believable. Not many other thriller writers can
construct a plot you'd want to take time to explain to a friend.
Max Hastings Historian. Besides an engaging, fascinating style, I
admire him for his willingness to criticize subjects who are normally
untouchable. For example, in _Overlord_, he blames the Allies' failure to
advance faster in Normandy on the private soldiers. When was the last
time somebody dared criticise them?
James F. Dunnigan A civilian analyst of military matters who sometimes
writes books. What I like about him is his briefing-bullet style. He has
a way of making points that are unfamiliar to the average reader in the
most direct, bluntest way possible. His discussion of African colonial
history, for example, took up three sentences of a four-sentence paragraph
and gave a pretty good summary.
Well, in my first four choices I've displayed an incorrigible low-brow
bias toward sci-fi and shoot-em-ups. Can I redeem my credentials as a
literary connoisseur with my last selection?
Nope.
P. J. O'Rourke is hilariously funny, and has a way with allusions that
lets us all laugh at Shakespeare and Nietzche and Joe Hill and all those
historical guys. Plus, he has a way of seeing things in universal
terms--if a third-world native says something stupid, he doesn't get any
slack just because he comes from an exotic culture.
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Brian Pickrell | "...strange, quaint face and head, covered with its
| thatch of wild republican hair"
| - William Howard Russell on Abraham Lincoln
Andy Katz
gao...@pitt.edu (Gwen A Orel) wrote:
>Arthur Cravan! Really? He's one of my favorite Dadaists
>and characters, but his writings are a funny blend of self-advertisement
>and extravagant lies! What about his writings would you imitate?
His addiction to the semi-colon....
Seriously though, Gwen, I didn't realize that much of his writings had
survived (and hence I thought of Craven as a 'true' Dadist ... maybe
it was actually that other guy, the Englishmen, war vet, who wrote
about Lindberg's arrival in Paris, then shot himself and his paramour,
Harry ... something?)
Craven intrigues me because of the way he lived--what writer, for
example, can fail to be impressed by his willingness to dump Mantenant
into a wheelbarrow and hock issues throughout Paris? (Might come to
that for all of us...;).
Although I don't consider him as having been a celebrity during his
lifetime, he does appear to have become one posthumously. Craven's
fame may be what Warhol was responding to in his own ideas of
celebrityhood: become as well known as possible for the least amount
of output by associating with the right people.
I guess what I meant by including Craven is that *all* writers should
have a little Arthur Craven inside. That way we can be sure our
Prousts/Marquezes/Dostoyesvkys are actually heard.
Andy Katz
Ps: Say, what's a good source for his work? Now my curiosity's piqued,
(though I still maintain that any Dadist who leaves work behind isn't
a true Dadist)
Doug Turnbull
> 1) Dave Barry
>
> Oh, hell, now you're all smirking at me, aren't you? Just because Dave
> Barry isn't some Russian novelist with one ear who writes prose like
> lead potatoes!
If you like Barry, I'd recommend a book called _The Decline and Fall
of Practically Everybody_ by Will Cuppy, which I ran across in the library
a few weeks ago. It is organized as a series of biographical sketches,
debunking grand historical figures. It's very funny and the writing
reminded me of Barry's. (What makes the book more amusing is that it's all
true.)
Doug Turnbull
Ron Hardin
Doug Turnbull wrote:
> If you like Barry, I'd recommend a book called _The Decline and Fall
> of Practically Everybody_ by Will Cuppy, which I ran across in the library
> a few weeks ago. It is organized as a series of biographical sketches,
> debunking grand historical figures. It's very funny and the writing
> reminded me of Barry's. (What makes the book more amusing is that it's all
> true.)
My copy was lent to and not returned by a history teacher.
See also The Great Bustard, with its drawing of the dark
cage, with two eyes inside, and the sign Wombat.
--
Ron Hardin
r...@research.att.com
On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.
FIDO
SubGenius writes:
Yours etc.,
I have often wondered how much anguish went into the choice
of length of white space between the text and "Yours etc.,".
I know it is not ever, or hardly ever, the same from post to
post.
FIDO
Gwen A Orel
Andy Katz (a...@interport.net) wrote:
: gao...@pitt.edu (Gwen A Orel) wrote:
: >Arthur Cravan! Really? He's one of my favorite Dadaists
: >and characters, but his writings are a funny blend of self-advertisement
: >and extravagant lies! What about his writings would you imitate?
: His addiction to the semi-colon....
: Seriously though, Gwen, I didn't realize that much of his writings had
: survived (and hence I thought of Craven as a 'true' Dadist ... maybe
: it was actually that other guy, the Englishmen, war vet, who wrote
: about Lindberg's arrival in Paris, then shot himself and his paramour,
: Harry ... something?)
Actually, it's "Cravan" with two a's. If he's going to be one of your
top five, you might as well spell his pseudonym right! (real
name: Fabian Lloyd).
: Craven intrigues me because of the way he lived--what writer, for
: example, can fail to be impressed by his willingness to dump Mantenant
: into a wheelbarrow and hock issues throughout Paris? (Might come to
: that for all of us...;).
Sure, he had a colorful life, but we're talking about writing, I thought?
Anyway, who'd want to disappear in a boat off the coast of Mexico in
the prime of life?
Mina Loy was a much better writer (his wife), though now still
sadly underrated.
: Although I don't consider him as having been a celebrity during his
: lifetime, he does appear to have become one posthumously. Craven's
No, he was actually very celebrated-- well, notorious in his own
time. He remained a footnote in most Dada memoirs for a long time,
getting I think a whole pagge In Motherwell's painters and poets.
But he didn't actually produce much, either in writing or
performance.
: fame may be what Warhol was responding to in his own ideas of
: celebrityhood: become as well known as possible for the least amount
: of output by associating with the right people.
Warhol actually did produce a lot, and began with a genuine, easily
discernible talent. See the Warhol museum here in the 'Burgh for
evidence. Whether or not you *like* his out put is another question.
I do, but you needn't.
: I guess what I meant by including Craven is that *all* writers should
: have a little Arthur Craven inside. That way we can be sure our
: Prousts/Marquezes/Dostoyesvkys are actually heard.
: Andy Katz
: Ps: Say, what's a good source for his work? Now my curiosity's piqued,
: (though I still maintain that any Dadist who leaves work behind isn't
: a true Dadist)
Actually, there's a whole exhibit of the New York Dadaists at
the Whitney right now (through February). It's excellent. I think
you may be confusing Dada with anarchy. The exhibit surprised me too,
in how much sheer creativity and even form really did inhibit the
movement-- and I mean Duchamp, who was a Dadaist if anyone was.
His Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors is whimsical, but
not merely random.
Roger L. Conover has been working on a biography of Cravan for a long
time. Basically, there are no good sources of his work in print.
I would advise you to look for books on Mina Loy (for biographical
info), and a few Dadaist books for texts.
Bonne chance,
Gwen
Andy Katz
gao...@pitt.edu (Gwen A Orel) wrote:
>Andy Katz (a...@interport.net) wrote:
>Actually, it's "Cravan" with two a's. If he's going to be one of your
>top five, you might as well spell his pseudonym right! (real
>name: Fabian Lloyd).
If I'm wrong about the spelling--and I probably am--my mistake appears
to be a common one, at least in English language text. I have none of
my reference material here in New York, but an Alta Vista search of
'Arthur Craven' reveals 22 hits, half of which deal with *our* AC,
while a similar search of 'Arthur Cravan' reveals 40 hits (I didn't
look at each one to see whether it dealt with *the* Arthur Cravan),
most in French or German.
>
>Sure, he had a colorful life, but we're talking about writing, I thought?
>Anyway, who'd want to disappear in a boat off the coast of Mexico in
>the prime of life?
I can leave out the disappearing part, myself. But Cravan was a superb
self-promoter, and that is important in writing. I have no wish to
labor in obscurity and poverty, only to be discovered after my death
(neither do I desire to obtain success and renown, only to disappear
in some stupid accident or frolic ... so the idea is to be influenced
by Cravan but not to imitate him. You may also l notice I *did*
include Singer, outstanding career, long, apparently stable life--it
would work for me!).
>
>: Although I don't consider him as having been a celebrity during his
>: lifetime, he does appear to have become one posthumously. Craven's
>
>No, he was actually very celebrated-- well, notorious in his own
>time.
I mean a 'celebrity' in the modern sense of the word, famous for being
famous. He is more that today, I suspect, than during his lifetime.
>He remained a footnote in most Dada memoirs for a long time,
>getting I think a whole pagge In Motherwell's painters and poets.
>But he didn't actually produce much, either in writing or
>performance.
Right. He made fairly substantial splash for one who ... was perhaps
unfocused in terms of his output.
>
>Warhol actually did produce a lot, and began with a genuine, easily
>discernible talent. See the Warhol museum here in the 'Burgh for
I agree, and am not referring to Warhol's art so much as his theories,
or exploitation of the the phenomenon of celebrity (eg, Warhol's
famous ad nauseaum of 5 or 15 minutes of fame). One might also argue
that many of those associated with Warhol, while often brilliant and
original, were, for other reasons, unsuccessful and would not be
remembered today save for their associations with Warhol and the
Factory. I've heard, for example, that Valerie Solanis was brilliant
(actually I can't figure out if she's alive or dead at present), but I
have a hard time believing I would know her name if she hadn't plugged
Andy five times. That she did so was, of course, noted in the title of
a recent film. But her act also seems to have gained immortality for
the SCUM Manifesto. Similarly, Cravan's outrageous behavior provided
his work (or at least his name) with greater longevity than it might
otherwise have enjoyed.
>
>Roger L. Conover has been working on a biography of Cravan for a long
>time. Basically, there are no good sources of his work in print.
That must be like writing about smoke. I'll keep my eyes open, thanks.
Andy Katz
Austin Taylor
While I don't really want to write like any of these people, I'd say they
are the works that influence me the most. That is, these are the authors,
and in some cases books, that I find myself returning to again and again.
Robert Heinlein--virtually anything he wrote, but mostly his novels.
"Stranger in a Strange Land", "Number of the Beast" etc.
Edgar Allen Poe--got into his poetry as a young lad, then got into his
books. "The Black Cat", "Murders in the Rue Morgue" etc.
Edgar Rice Burroughs--true he's pulp, but he's so much fun, and he does
create great worlds, even if all his characters are
one-dimensional. "John Carter of Mars...."
Shakespeare--'nuff said.
Philip Dick--best as a short story writer. If you want to know how to
write shorts, read either his stuff or some O'Henry. Dick is
witty, has a sense of humor, and is generally a fantastic read.
--
Why do things half-assed...when you can do them ass-whole?
I.M.C.
Ted Samsel
FIDO (fra...@stanford.edu) wrote:
ObOldSong: I WISH I COULD SHIMMY LIKE MY SISTER KATE.
--
Ted Samsel....tejas@infi.net
"do the boogie woogie in the South American way"
Rhumba Boogie- Hank Snow (1955)
Ken MacIver
gao...@pitt.edu (Gwen A Orel) wrote:
>Actually, there's a whole exhibit of the New York Dadaists at
>the Whitney right now (through February). It's excellent. I think
>you may be confusing Dada with anarchy. The exhibit surprised me too,
>in how much sheer creativity and even form really did inhibit the
>movement-- and I mean Duchamp, who was a Dadaist if anyone was.
>His Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors is whimsical, but
>not merely random.
The Whitney show was an eye opener for me. I hadn't a clue about the
breadth of media and talent that formed Dada. The compact show is
displayed well and holds delightful surprises around every corner,
worth going to even if you have only an hour to spend.
ken
Jim Hartley
> I have often wondered how much anguish went into the choice
> of length of white space between the text and "Yours etc.,".
> I know it is not ever, or hardly ever, the same from post to
> post.
Speaking of white space, has there ever been a book akin to the Beatles
*White Album* in the sense of having no identifying markers on the cover?
---
Jim Hartley
jhar...@mtholyoke.edu
Andy Katz
nan...@tiac.net (Ken MacIver) wrote:
>The Whitney show was an eye opener for me. I hadn't a clue about the
>breadth of media and talent that formed Dada. The compact show is
>displayed well and holds delightful surprises around every corner,
>worth going to even if you have only an hour to spend.
>
I forgot to ask, which Whitney?
Andy 'if it's Whitney Houston, I don't want to go' Katz
Uche Ogbuji
In <5c5b1j$b...@news-central.tiac.net>, nan...@tiac.net (Ken MacIver) writes:
>The Whitney show was an eye opener for me. I hadn't a clue about the
>breadth of media and talent that formed Dada. The compact show is
>displayed well and holds delightful surprises around every corner,
>worth going to even if you have only an hour to spend.
Let me guess that you were fortunate enough not
to have to go to the bathroom during the show,
or I might imagine some minor annoyance at
tyring to figure out what was in fact a public latrine,
and what was one of the exhibits.
Vale
Uche, ducking
(hey, leaf me lone. I like a spot of DuChamp every now and then)
Ken MacIver
molinah@ (Uche Ogbuji) wrote:
>In <5c5b1j$b...@news-central.tiac.net>, nan...@tiac.net (Ken MacIver) writes:
>>The Whitney show was an eye opener for me. I hadn't a clue about the
>>breadth of media and talent that formed Dada. The compact show is
>>displayed well and holds delightful surprises around every corner,
>>worth going to even if you have only an hour to spend.
>Let me guess that you were fortunate enough not
>to have to go to the bathroom during the show,
>or I might imagine some minor annoyance at
>tyring to figure out what was in fact a public latrine,
>and what was one of the exhibits.
Public latrine? We're talking NYC here; ain't no such thing. My
favorites were the Man Ray pieces constructed from various artifacts
and, most of all, Manhatta, the terrific silent film made circa 1920.
ken
chelsea corazon
The so-called White Album (vinyl version) did have the words The Beatles
in raised, "puffy" textured lettering, (but not in a contrasting shade,
hue or color.) However, if you looked closely (or could read with your
fingertips) you could identify the words as a marker....but to answer
your question, I believe TAFKAP (Prince's) so-called Black Album
(released 1992 or so) actually |did not| have any identifying markers,
being pure black, no writing, nothing raised, or countertextured. (I'm
sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.)
~Chelsea~
(realizing it's a bit off topic, hoping for forgiveness)
Brian Pickrell
: : like oneself, concerns of emulating or imitating
: : others aside.
: :
: :
: : I have often wondered how much anguish went into the choice
: : of length of white space between the text and "Yours etc.,".
: : I know it is not ever, or hardly ever, the same from post to
: : post.
: ObOldSong: I WISH I COULD SHIMMY LIKE MY SISTER KATE.
YOUR SISTER CAN'T TWIST (BUT SHE CAN ROCK 'N ROLL)