Spring Break
Abstract:
John Updike, an award-winning American author, faced difficult questions from a crowd of fans at the Crest Theatre in downtown Sacramento on Nov. 11....
Originally posted byJohn Lewis
I don't really think it is fair to say Updike "slammed" modern literature. First, you do mention in your story that he laid part of the blame on readers -- what I got from his comments was that readers were more to blame than writers, and that "readers" included himself. When Updike said that he "rarely read a book that gets [him] excited anymore" and that [he] used to read lots of them that got [him] very excited." He was, in part, theorizing that his age had something to do with it -- that an older man trying to "tidy things up," as he put it, might not be as moved by the literature of younger people.
Frankly, I think all of his years as a critic might have something to do with it, as well. When one reads a book with a critical eye, it is much harder to experience the emotional catharsis that one might experience reading something without so much critical baggage. I say this as someone who received his degree in English Literature over 15 years ago. It was several years before I could read anything for pleasure and almost a decade before I could bring myself to write for pleasure again.
I'm also surprised that Price was surprised that Updike preferred the short story. He's a master at that form, having written some of the tighest, most interesting, short stories in American literature.
Finally, you characterize the questions the audience asked as "difficult." Hardly. These were softball questions Updike has been asked any number of times in any number of venues (although, in one case, perhaps not as creatively).
John Lewis
posted 11/20/08 @ 7:59 AM PST
Frankly, I think all of his years as a critic might have something to do with it, as well. When one reads a book with a critical eye, it is much harder to experience the emotional catharsis that one might experience reading something without so much critical baggage. I say this as someone who received his degree in English Literature over 15 years ago. It was several years before I could read anything for pleasure and almost a decade before I could bring myself to write for pleasure again.
I'm also surprised that Price was surprised that Updike preferred the short story. He's a master at that form, having written some of the tighest, most interesting, short stories in American literature.
Finally, you characterize the questions the audience asked as "difficult." Hardly. These were softball questions Updike has been asked any number of times in any number of venues (although, in one case, perhaps not as creatively).