![]() ![]() ![]() “Writer’s writer” tops off an amorphous category known as “literary fiction.” The phrase “a writer’s writer” suggests a level of craftsmanship – “the art of the sentence” – not generally associated with popular fiction, much less genre fiction. Putting the wrong person on the list (try naming anyone who writes science fiction) generates guffaws among the cognoscenti. But the list settles down to those whose names get repeated often. The list goes on, of course, and is not always short people argue for the inclusion of a baker’s dozen more, or argue their exclusion. Sebald, Mavis Gallant – these writers often have the phrase “a writer’s writer” attached to descriptions of their work. Try searching the Web for the phrase “writer’s writers” and up the names will come, the generally-agreed-upon writers’ writers (wiggle-room acknowledged), mostly contemporary: Joseph Brodsky, Henry Green, Julian Barnes, Lydia Davis, James Salter, Colm Toibin, William Maxwell, Elias Canetti, Richard Yates, W.G. Upon hearing that designation assigned to them, ambitious writers – those who hope to win over a wider range of countrymen and readers, and/or those who hope to make more money – might feel as Marc Antony did, as if their hearts are “in the coffin there with Caesar.” Deborah Treisman, the fiction editor for The New Yorker, quoting a review in the New York Times, said that the phrase “a writer’s writer” is “the definition of obscurity.” “A writer’s writer” implies that the readers who most appreciate your work will be other writers – high praise to some, low praise to many, almost certain poverty will ensue, and yes, it’s the kind of praise that can bury Caesar. Had the Bard been issuing a warning to his own colleagues, he might have said, “Beware the phrase ‘a writer’s writer,’ ” because those words are like a knife between the ribs, metaphorically speaking. Writers: Odds are you’re not in control of any Capitol (nor any capital) so forget the soothsayer’s voice rising above the crowd in Julius Caesar. Sic semper tyrannis, as John Wilkes Booth reminded another crowd of theater-goers in 1865. Four-hundred years after Shakespeare offered up that phrase to theater-goers, it’s still best to avoid friendly types who gather round waiting to stab a despot to death outside whatever Capitol he controls. 10 in.Friends, Romans, Countrymen: a word of warning- If you’re a tyrant, you’d do well to beware the Ides of March. 77 min.) : analog, 7 1/2 ips, 2 track, mono. Recorded for the Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature. ![]() Sponsored by the Gertrude Clarke Whittall Poetry and Literature Fund, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. William Jay Smith introduces the poets and moderates the discussion. Anderson reads: From Nags Head and other poems: Ski tow - Ms. Jacobsen reads: From The Animal inside: The murmurers Reindeer and engine - The shade seller - The lovers - From The animal inside: Painters in Xyochtl - Arrival - From The animal inside: Variations on a theme - Mr. Anderson reads: From The bearstone: Part I. Gertrude Clarke Whittall Poetry and Literature FundĪrchive of Recorded Poetry and Literature (Library of Congress) ![]()
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