eminem & Pynchon
jbor
jbor at bigpond.com
Tue Jul 3 17:30:41 CDT 2001
I guess there are points of comparison, for example in the way the Pulitzer
judges vetoed the 1974 Prize award to _GR_ on the grounds that it was
offensive ("unreadable", "turgid", "overwritten" and "obscene" were their
adjectives), but there are certainly points of contrast too. Sending
"Professor" Irwin Corey along to receive the National Book Award was perhaps
a greater shock to the American literary Establishment than any eminem
lyric: and, despite the personas he adopts in his musical creations, eminem
accepts the awards as himself and seems to crave publicity. But I guess the
biggest test will be if 20 years or so down the track They start labelling
eminem a "religious writer".
The other thing which worries me slightly about rap artists and groups in
general is that part of what many of them are celebrating is their own fame
-- how many albums they've sold and awards they've won -- and their wealth.
This is both in the lyrics and in the ostentation of their dress and
lifestyle and videos, all of which seems to contradict the "proletarian
heroes" generalisation.
best
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