My Stephen King Problem

[Matthew Cissell]

I read some King way back when, but then again I read Louis L'amour (painful confession), too. When self-described snobs overlook mass-market lit and its readers, they display their unwillingness to understand the "republic of letters" and the circulation of texts and readings that occur. Understanding the phenomenon of King's success is, for me, more rewarding than sticking to the guns of high-low literary distinction.
But that guy (author of article) is getting paid to write that stuff, so who's the sucker?

mc otis


----- Original Message -----
From: Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com>
To: Dave Monroe <against.the.dave at gmail.com>; pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Cc: 
Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2012 2:23 PM
Subject: Re: My Stephen King Problem

My problem:
I would rather read Stephen King, whom I cannot read, than this guy any day. 

Horror as the subtext of life in these United States is why one might read him. (As well as for his 
presentation of small town, mostly Maine, life.)

In another of those critical compendia that Bloom put his name to--he expresses his massive distaste in his intro---
it is universal fears, myths involving death, that King has tapped into. Pet Semetary. (Doesn't the writer here
wilfully miss King's meaning when King says it won't be published. King knew ANY publisher would publish
anything he wrote; he meant he was too afraid to publish it.)

A better reader than this guy, Michael Wood, devoted a whole book to King. Tapping into US,
with mythic power (at times). Although I think he finds him ultimately not good enough.(just
browsed in the book once)

But, c'mon. "Carrie: is a powerful....story? Myth of adolescence, female and therefore rare? 




----- Original Message -----
From: Dave Monroe <against.the.dave at gmail.com>
To: pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Cc: 
Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2012 10:07 PM
Subject: My Stephen King Problem

http://www.salon.com/2012/07/06/my_stephen_king_problem_salpart/