i'm not sure how caught up you are with recent literary news, but in case you didnt know, the author jd salinger recently died at the age of 91. (he wrote the catcher in the rye for those of you who dont know.) the catcher in the rye was one of the few things that he ever published, but after his death they found a safe in his house that contained fifteen unpublished novels.
now they're not sure whether to publish these or destroy them. read the article here. i would totally buy all of them if they they were published.
salinger was awesome. he was a complete social hermit (he supposedly walked away when people approached him in the streets and ate in the kitchen if he went to a restaurant). his last interview was in 1980 and was given to a high school newspaper. he wrote one of the most famous pieces of literature, and instead of basking in the fame this entails, he turned instead to his private life and pretty much ignored everyone else.
in his last interview he said, "I love to write and I assure you I write regularly. But I write for myself, for my own pleasure. And I want to be left alone to do it." i love the quote.
according to my sister, she could "totally see [me] turning into salinger. he's so [me]!... if i was a ninety year old man."
*I Want to Be Alone - Green Day
it would be a shame if the destroyed those manuscripts.. they really should publish them.
ReplyDeleteyeah but at the same time if he didnt want them to be published then it's an invasion of his privacy. i mean, it's his choice.
ReplyDeletebut he never sed that... i read the article.. he just said he didnt know if they'd ever be published. theres a difference.
ReplyDeletethats what the neighbor said he said. i'm sure when they go through his will and stuff it'll say.
ReplyDeleteI completely relate to that quote of his. And the thought of those words being destroyed having never seen daylight breaks my heart.
ReplyDeleteHis awkward social habits just intensify him. I find him more interesting that way.
ReplyDeleteAnd since he was so closed up, for the lucky few that knew him well enough (if there were a lucky few), they will know how he felt about those manuscripts. Be respectful to him and don't masssacre his intentions.
tooly... part of me agrees and really wants to read the books.
ReplyDeletethe other part agrees with Mahoney and thinks we should respect what he wanted. even though he's dead.
No one respected Edgar Allan Poe, Vincent Van Gogh, or Leonardo Da Vinci;s hidden work, but look at them now, sure they are dead, but not a speck in the world doesn't appreciate their work.
ReplyDelete