tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post2905270603782664285..comments2024-03-14T18:09:09.667-05:00Comments on Do Some Damage: Love the writing, hate the writerUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-55130333057728397462013-03-21T07:11:11.442-05:002013-03-21T07:11:11.442-05:00My favorite example: Louis Ferdinand Celine. He sp...My favorite example: Louis Ferdinand Celine. He spent the rest of his life weighted down with the hate the writer syndrome. Exiled, even jailed. You can argue either side of the fence on whether he was a Nazi sympathizer or not, he definitely penned some pamphlets for sure. tom pittshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02446531154429089533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-50820872288711997412013-03-21T07:04:49.789-05:002013-03-21T07:04:49.789-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.tom pittshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02446531154429089533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-61448074136320528942013-03-21T04:09:17.856-05:002013-03-21T04:09:17.856-05:00I tend to dislike it when writers let too much of ...I tend to dislike it when writers let too much of their own worldview or personal life bleed into their fiction. I want to see writers and characters as disparate entities each capable of making different choices, setting up different outcomes. Yet, on one level, they can't be separated.<br /><br />Robert B. Parker for years denied that Susan Silverman was mostly a copy of his wife, Joan, saying, "Joan is not Jewish." But Spenser appears to love Susan the way Bob loved Joan. Bob and Joan separated for two years but eventually reconciled. Spenser and Susan broke up for three books, but eventually reconciled. Spenser's perception of Susan was bound to Bob's perception of Joan until Ace Atkins took over Spenser.<br /><br />To the extent that many characters are their creators' "best selves", the extent that an artist's work exemplifies her at her best, creations <i>should</i> be treated better than their creators. If Orson Scott Card puts his best self on the page, at least that's something.Gerald Sohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03571407711439433431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-49306516491142497842013-03-20T21:14:01.715-05:002013-03-20T21:14:01.715-05:00True, many artists can overshadow their own work. ...True, many artists can overshadow their own work. Card is a kinder, gentler version of Mel Gibson. All the prejudice without the alcohol-fueled fits of rage.<br /><br />But if I read someone's work and can only think "This asshole wrote this?" I have to pass. See Richards, Michael; Rose, Axl; Pound, Ezra.<br /><br />And Lovecraft was a racist bastard by the standards of his day, so the excuse that it was the times doesn't watch. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-30838474030255324882013-03-20T09:20:20.550-05:002013-03-20T09:20:20.550-05:00Everyone is entitled to their opinions. If an arti...Everyone is entitled to their opinions. If an artist actively takes positions or actions I find personally offensive, I vote with my wallet. They can't have any more of my money. <br /><br />There has likely never been a more detestable human being than Richard Wagner. I love his music and listen to orchestral works written by him regularly. He's also been dead over 100 years, so he profits not a cent. <br /><br />It's not much, but it's what I can do.Dana Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350344882342624735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-9253283211281788162013-03-20T08:48:45.347-05:002013-03-20T08:48:45.347-05:00Sadly, I think I would dislike most of my favorite...Sadly, I think I would dislike most of my favorite artists from what I know. I grew up listening to Pink Floyd and, in high school, I watched them go from four rather private individuals to at least two annoying people. Roger Waters acting very weird and controlling and David Gilmour hiring a fleet of co-composers (I can get ten guys to give me that Barton Fink feel).<br /><br />In my 20s I read all of Richard Brautigan and fell in love with his gentle voice. He apparently used that gentle voice to score chicks for years. When he killed himself no one even went looking for him for about a month.<br /><br />I have an amazing Ike Turner solo album from the early 70s. Brilliant stuff. I already knew what he did before I bought it.<br /><br />I'd love to go drinking with Hemingway and Mailer. But I don't think I'd stick around to hear their thoughts on marriage.<br /><br />I'm never going to find an artist who agrees with all my thoguhts. I can't even find a family member who does.Dan_Lufthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05096055160420981482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-30041866117657194302013-03-20T08:41:18.552-05:002013-03-20T08:41:18.552-05:00Yes. The old pulps.
Lovecraft wrote some CRAZY RA...Yes. The old pulps.<br /><br />Lovecraft wrote some CRAZY RACIST stuff. The apologia on that one by fans is usually something like this:<br />"It was a long time ago. Everyone was racist then."Steve Weddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03876211586767139613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-52326563422168583002013-03-20T08:37:16.194-05:002013-03-20T08:37:16.194-05:00Sometimes these things can get us to look a little...Sometimes these things can get us to look a little closer at the works of these artists (and at ourselves, as the cliche goes).<br /><br />Sean Penn read the lines someone else wrote for Jeff Spicoli. Sometimes Sean Penn is a director and has more say in what ends up in the final product. But, I guess, yeah, it's a collaborative art.<br /><br />But I think I was just too old for Ender's Game. I tried to read it and felt it was just another book about how special you are, yeah you, if only the idiots around you were smart enough to see your specialness. I think you have to be a teenager to really appreciate that kind of thing.<br /><br />In some cases these actions seem out of character and other times they may show us what's been there all along.<br /><br />John McFetridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442198820998606682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-13251956277768710952013-03-20T08:25:54.395-05:002013-03-20T08:25:54.395-05:00I'm a big fan of the classic pulp authors from...I'm a big fan of the classic pulp authors from the 20's and 30's, but when they - and their works - are viewed through the lens of later generations, we see a lot of cringe-worthy stuff. Was Lovecraft a racist? Was Robert E. Howard a racist? They probably were, but then again, so were a lot of people at the time. They just happen to draw fire because they're people who still exist in the public eye almost a hundred years later for their artistic works. <br /><br />But on the other hand, Bob Howard wasn't out there lynching people or beating up Mexicans, joining the KKK or doing anything else to really spotlight him as a "hater". <br /><br />So I think it is possible to <i>disagree</i> with someone's beliefs and still enjoy their creative works, but if disagreement with beliefs turns to outright anger, resentment, or hatred of someone, that becomes a lot more difficult. I certainly wouldn't chide someone for not reading an author because they don't like the author as a person.Jack Badelairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10932441028544500024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-61907761714332001872013-03-20T07:41:34.460-05:002013-03-20T07:41:34.460-05:00I try and avoid Ad Hominem as much as I can. I wan...I try and avoid Ad Hominem as much as I can. I want to engage with an artists in their work; on the page, on screen, in the music. <br /><br />However, sometimes the artists doesn't allow me to do that. <br /><br />OSC doesn't allow me to do that. He actively campaigns against the basic rights of people I care about. Frank Miller doesn't allow me to do that, because he keeps going on angry ultra-conservative rants. Michelle Shocked wouldn't allow me to do that, because she had a platform to move and entertain but used it to spread hate.<br /><br />So that's basically where I sit. I will do my best to engage with the artist through their work, as long as they let me do that. Jay Stringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08764183157841848163noreply@blogger.com