Who Said It?

Who said this?

"All great novels are experimental."

Bugging the heck out of me that I'm not finding it via quick google.

John O'Hara on John O'Hara

Writer, alcoholic, driver of a Rolls Royce, described as a "social commentator with a semi-snobbish point of view" avid reader of Who's Who, John O'Hara is presented in "An Artist in His Own Fault: John O'Hara on Writer's and Writing."

Here are words by and interviews with the American writer who believed he could publish anything and who generally considered himself one of America's greatest writers. He may have put Faulkner above of him, calling him America's only literary genius, but it's hard to tell if he really put the man ahead or was locking elbows.

In retrospect O'Hara seemed to believe in writing, not particularly in rewriting (as least as he said in interviews). We know he rewrote Appointment to Samarra. For more of his thoughts, check out this collection. It's not great and it feels outdated. Nonetheless, O'Hara is a man of tidbits and casual conversation. He read only old works like Doyle or Hemingway, he sold RTS having written only 25K words for $500 and a monthly stipend. He never missed a deadline. One gets the feeling he felt a rivalry with Fitzgerand and Ring Lardner. Here is one of his more process based points where he describes three aids in writing From the Terrace.

"I had an overall chart, placing the major characters, and those close to them, in time -- what they were doing when. Then there was a journal I kept called 'So Far,' in which I noted down the events I'd covered, and there was a notebook my wife kept with pages for each character and a record of his appearances where, and in what connection."

Most critics now see RTS and BUtterfield8 [sic] as his great books with all others dim by comparison.

Another interview: answers to questions from the Daily Princetonian, 1959:

Q. "Whom do you think is our greatest living writer?
A. "Mr. O'Hara: That word should be who, not whom. Nominative case."

Sundre is moving forward

Yep, slow but steady, the galleys on their way to me soon, evidently. I am chomping at the bit to to see just what the layout and design will be. I've heard some real attention went into the book to make it something special.

The most I've seen has been the cover. And I was recently directed to an example of the font, but probably that's a secret at this point so I won't link to it now but I can say this, it's something new.

Other books to get me through this waiting period that I'm poking around in and may address sooner or later:
Barry Hannah Geronimo Rex
Anne Carson Decreation
Robert Haas Now & Then
The collected poems of Wallace Stevens

As John Metcalf said, novelists should read poetry. I tend to do that too. Further, when writing long works I tend to read short works, and vice versa.

Appointment in Samarra

John O'Hara's little book, Appointment in Samarra is a wonderful weekend read if you want to get back to what Updike says is the real roaring twenties, beyond what Fitzgerald wrote. We visit the last days of Julian English who parties like it's 1930, which it is for some of the book. The pacing is wonderful, rushing ahead with a spark that even Dorothy Parker approved of. What struck me most was the absolutely brilliant third person voice that allowed the story to remain unencumbered. It's just so lacking today that this was like opening a door to a cold winter's day. Brisk, refreshing, it provided the ability to sit back and breathe.

As a counterpoint I'm reading Red Dog Red Dog -- Patrick Lane -- superlative work -- I'll get to it in a later post.