Monday, November 24, 2008

The Root of the Word

Here's an interesting money quote about Stephen King's latest collection:
The literary critic Leslie Fiedler, in an interview given a few weeks before he died, recalled telling a group of postmodern fiction writers, “Look, let’s be frank with each other: When all of us are forgotten, people will still be remembering Stephen King.” Anyone who claims to be interested in contemporary American literature needs to understand what he’ll be remembered for.
A timely reminder when we think of the word, 'criticism.'

4 comments:

JP said...

Of course, one can't be completely certain of it - take a look at bestseller lists from the early 20the century. Few if any of those books are still being read. Neither merit nor popularity is a guarantee of immortality. But I think horror writers who tap into something primal about the human psyche probably have a better chance than abstruse experimenters. Best formula: do both? That would of course make you M John Harrison. :)

banzai cat said...

Hah but that's my point exactly. It sometimes feel most criticism is really nothing more than biases given cloth by academic virtues than well-thought pieces and position. Of course we can't escape biases but at least opinions shouldn't be knee-jerk. :-)

Ryan said...

how come you get responses and i don't?

banzai cat said...

What responses?