Gaddis

[Richard Romeo]

mr porter sed:
>As for The Recognitions, it wasn't until after it's dismal failure with 
> >public and critics alike, that Gaddis realized he wasn't going to win 
>every >literary prize offered that year, not to mention an invitation to 
>Stockholm.
------------
Not sure I follow, jody--I'd put more of the blame on the critics--the book 
was too prescient for them.  forget about the reading public.  Fire the 
Bastards puts the record straight. I'm sure any creative person would be 
peeved if they poured their sweat into a work, only to have cranks and 
nitwits disparage it in public--TR seems the ultimate in literary crit at 
its lowest. Unfortunately, we still have the Walter Kirns with us, who hate 
books they haven't read. I can relate to views that disagree with mine, they 
occasionally teach me about my own prejudices.  But it angers me when 
someone is unwilling or is not aware that they are not attempting to educate 
or put across constructive views on a work.  TR is such a case study.  Note: 
Same goes for folks like J Knipfel who praised M&D to high heaven without 
reading the whole thing.

Rich


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