--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "Brian Thornton"
<bthorntonwriter@...> wrote:
>
> I happen to agree with you about Faulkner. I think like Hemingway, when
> he's on (AS I LAY DYING, THE SOUND AND THE FURY, "Barn Burning"), he's
> really on. My father introduced me to him (he's from Arkansas
originally,
> and we've joked back and forth about the pronunciation of
"Yoknapatawpha"
> for years).
>
> Have you ever read the "crime fiction" shorts Faulkner wrote such as
> "Knight's Gambit" and "Smoke"? REALLY good stuff. They were
collected in
> paperback a few years back.
Yes, I've read all of Faulkner and I reread him a lot. The problem
with reading Faulkner is that when you try to write, you realize you
have caught a virus. His style is contagious. There's a great story in
Knight's Gambit having to do with wire and throttling. Very hardboiled.
> And like I said, the reference to Baker's work was intended as a
joke. I
> looked up "derivative" in the dictionary, and saw his picture next
to it.
>
Baker is OK in small doses. His articles are droll.
Best,
mrt
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