Kip sed:
> Thompson and Willeford? Except for coming from
neighboring states
> (Oklahoma and Arkansas, respectively), I think their
backgrounds
> don't have
> much in common. Both did the hoboing thing. But
Thompson was very much a
> political man, associated with the American
Communist Party and all of
> that; Willeford thought of politics as being an
arena for small men with
> small minds (I think I paraphrased that pretty
accurately) and
> was a career
> Army guy. Their basic views seem to be quite
different:
I think Kip is right on the money here. Particularly in terms
of politics and craft. Thompson was pro-union and Willeford
anti-union (at least when it came to paying dues). I've
always thought that Thompson, in terms of writing ability,
was much the hack. As Kip notes though, he did great things
notwithstanding his limitations. Willeford, on the other
hand, is one of the better craftsmen in the genre.
They do share a unique dark cynicism, Thompson being the
darker, even cruder, of the two.
Other than his early work (Wild Wives, High Priest, I don't
find Willeford particularly funny. I've found myself laughing
out loud at Thompson's stuff...and not just at his ham handed
writing.
Tribe
> Thompson is dark;
> Willeford, more absurdist. I think Thompson wrote
some classics
> (POP 1280,
> THE KILLER INSIDE ME, THE GRIFTERS, THE GETAWAY)
that succeed in spite of
> rather than because of his prose style. I know I'm
probably being
> sacrilegious here, but I think Willeford was far the
superior writer when
> it comes to prose style, character development,
plotting, inventiveness,
> and so forth. And Willeford is a master of what
everyone used to call
> "black humor," although I don't hear that term much
anymore (black humor
> masters included Terry Southern, Bruce J. Friedman,
and Joseph
> Heller). I
> always laughed when I read Willeford. The collapsing
outhouse
> scene in POP
> 1280 is the only thing in Thompson that ever made me
chuckle.
>
> Later.....Kip (and best for the New Year)
>
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