Re: RARA-AVIS:the author or the work?

From: Keith Alan Deutsch ( keithdeutsch@earthlink.net)
Date: 27 Apr 2000


Dear Bill,

I agree with you. As a genre fan, I'm interested in finding an author who delivers a reading experience that satisfies or entrances me for whatever reasons. As a fan, I'm not interested in a great work of art so much as in "a good read." And I value writers who consistently deliver a good read--however flawed their work. WARNING: I've learned from my short time on RARA-AVIS that someone will raise the question of what a "good read" is in a hard boiled genre. I'm not interested in promoting more conversation about categories and definitions.

And by the way Bill Denton, I think you are a master moderator---but I don't think you can simply say "hey guys stick to "hard boiled" as the topic of conversation. I do think that discussions about the tools of analysis we share to evaluate our responses to "hard boiled" works (or any work of creation) are critical to insuring the quality of our discussions.

Keith

billha@ionet.net wrote:

>
> I'm really less interested in rating particular authors than the somewhat anti-
> academic proposition that FOR GENRE FANS (which we are), a career of many not-
> quite-masterpieces may elevate an author as high (or higher) as a career of 2-3
> masterpieces. Less interested in our standards for masterpieces and choices,
> than how we apply them in choosing the authors we like. What about it?
>
> Be interested in responses if I haven't fogged the question too much.
>

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