Character (WAS: COL49 - Chap 2: San Narciso as a circuit board)

[Michael Bailey]

 Joseph Tracy wrote:
> Thanks for that. The letter does seem like mostly a put down, in the nature
> of  'you're such a clever fellow, why not write your own books.' and saying
> the interpretation game goes too far, especially in the pursuit of a secret
> code in the historic  and literary research that will unlock the true
> meaning.
>

well, yes but...if it was 1981, that was 1/2 way between
GR and Vineland - how far can you go into a forest..
 perhaps he was really feeling that way.
the stories he was referring to were eventually published as Slow
Learner, right?
In the preface he doesn't seem all that impressed with them himself,
and comes off right sincere, I thought.

so, Mr Hollander caught him at a time when he had had lots of time to
find fault with his last book, and long before he had any excitement
about his next book.
What's more, Mr Hollander's essays, whether or not you agree with
them, are highly erudite and well researched.  Reading them, somebody
with a bent for writing stories would probably wonder why Mr H didn't
haul off and write some...maybe not at that point fully appreciating
what he himself had already achieved, how high he had set the bar,
floccinaucinihilipilificating the difficulty, the worth - "the
achieve, the mastery of the thing"

good thing he apparently listened - eventually - to the various
parties urging him on



-- 
"For the moment not caring who you're supposed to be registered as.
For the moment anyway, no longer who the Caesars say you are." - GR, p
136