> Mark asked:
>
> >Could this whole crime fiction that is
literature label really tell us
> >more about the person making the claim than
about the book in question?
>
> Yes.
>
> >Could it be that those making these claims feel
insecure about enjoying
> >genre fiction and feel a need to elevate any
they do enjoy to give it
> >legitimacy?
>
> Yes, and those who in turn automatically sneer at
academics are just
> as full of it. Snobbery cuts both ways.
Hear, hear. On another list I saw the old 'Harold Bloom'
debate revived
(Thanks Bill!), and we went through this all over again.
Snobbery does in fact cut both ways.
As a matter of fact, when I first conceived of writing my own
mystery novel, I was back in school getting my teaching
credential (after having taught as an adjunct instructor of
history for a number of years at the community college
level), and I took my only college-level writing class: a
mystery writing class. The guy who taught it even forewent
salary for it (he was tenured faculty, quite the expert on
English Restoration Literature) because we had less than 20
students in the class.
What a guy. It was pretty neat to be able to discuss by turns
Pope's "The Rape of the Lock," and the latest Parker book
with him. In fact, he's the guy who insisted that I read
Hiassen's "Skin Tight" after taking a look at some of my
work, and determining that we had similar styles.
So yes, the prejudice does cut both ways. I say that anyone
able to get their stuff out there, and even make a bit of
money at it writes "literature." In fact, the people I see
most enamored of the faux characterizations of "literary" vs
"genre" fiction are literary agents, who are simply trying to
break down the market and figure out what they can sell, and
how to sell it.
All the Best,
Brian
P.S. Speaking of good literature, I'm currently reading two
worthwhile books: George P. Pelecanos' "Right As Rain," and
an advance copy of Allan Guthrie's "Hope." I'm enjoying both
of them, if for different reasons. Once I've finished both of
them, I'll lay out for the list why I find Guthrie to be a
better writer than Pelecanos (or at, least, in my own case, a
"more preferable read," if we're being politically
correct).
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