Re: RARA-AVIS: Re: RARA-AVIS Digest V2 #267
Anthony Smith (ansmith@netdoor.com)
Sun, 26 Apr 1998 18:02:12 -0500
> Evidently my silly pun (G. M. Ford = Glenn Maddox Ford)
failed
> miserably. I have no idea what G. M. stands for in this
author's name. I
> thought a pun on Glenn Ford and Ford Madox Ford might
appeal to the
> hardboileds...but would people today recognize either
of those names?
Luckily, one of my Lit professors tells us his favorite novel
of all-time
is The Good Soldier by FMF, which we duly read and discussed.
Not bad, but
still...
> What does this short
> memory span and burying of the past say about this
country and its
> people? I have noticed the same phenomenon in the
mystery field, where
> many great writers of the past (sometimes, the recent
past) lie
> forgotten while mediocrities without skill or
originality gain instant
> spots on the best-seller lists. Something's wrong
here.
Absolutely right, I agree. Then again, twenty years after the
fact,
readers catch up to the greats and THEN get it (like Jim
Thompson's
resurrection from obscurity to obsession, it seems.) Ahead of
their time.
But I hope to catch the good ones as soon as they come on the
scene, not
miss them in these short print run days.
A. Smith
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