Sarah Weinman expresses her delight with the Lit-Blog Coop's inaugural Read This! selection of Case Histories by author Kate Atkinson, who despite being interviewed by Publishers Weekly, winning the Whitbread Prize, and being picked as one of Salon.com's best books of the year is evidently still being ignored by a flooded market.
I can't express the same delight. Problem is, I know many amazing, gifted writers who are struggling. None of the above is listed in their bios. I don't know Kate Atkinson, and I apologize in advance to her for having her and her book in the middle of my objection. I'm sure she's a fine writer and deserving of more recognition than she's had. Just not under the banner of struggling.
Someone at the LBC needs to take the word out of the equation, right now.
It has been suggested to me that as a genre writer, Yours Truly has no business criticizing the efforts of the lit elite to promote the struggling, the not struggling, or the doing pretty damn decent by all standards. You Who Shall Remain Nameless, be advised that you're right. I don't read the stuff, I'm not going to, and I'll make this my last post on the Coop. Shame it couldn't be otherwise.
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as a genre writer, Yours Truly has no business criticizing the efforts of the lit elite
ReplyDeleteThe Lit Elite, eh? Self proclaimed? Doesn't that speak volumes.
Only the self proclaimed Lit Elite may criticize themselves? -- my, what an outstanding racket!
ReplyDeletePBW, please reconsider your rejection of this topic!
I'm all for writers working to get books noticed.
I deeply mistrust one whose dislike of criticism leads them to attempt to smother it, (which is what YWSRN sounded like to me, suggesting that PBW shouldn't write on this topic.)
I'd also remind YWSRN of a fact that I'm sure doesn't escape PBW: controversy is good marketing. It gets attention. Remember? So what's your agenda, here, YWSRN?
I was recently driving to the library when I heard a packaged interview by one of the thousand of young rock stars I've never heard of. She gave a brief bio emphasizing "the struggle" she'd had to get a top ten record after graduating Vassar. Later it hit me that when you did the math (given her age and assuming she been at least twenty when she graduated) that "the struggle" couldn't possibly have taken more than a year. Naturally I fell to unmanly weeping for what she'd had to endure.k
ReplyDeleteThis is your blog, Sheila. You write what you like. We love your opinions and share them, otherwise we wouldn't be here.
ReplyDeletePost all you want about whatever you want! To hell with them if it makes them mad!