Subject: Fwd: A One-Sided Conversation With J.D. Salinger
From: Will Hochman (hochman@southernct.edu)
Date: Sat Apr 20 2002 - 09:24:33 EDT
Although Chris Kubica is all about publicity for Letters to JD, the
reporter for the Chronicle of Higher Education insisted on
interviewing me so here is the one contribution I'll make to the
book's hype. Thanks for the Salon link Midge, will
>Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 08:00:31 -0400 (EDT)
>From: scott.mclemee@chronicle.com
>To: hochman@southernct.edu
>Subject: A One-Sided Conversation With J.D. Salinger
>
>
>This article from The Chronicle of Higher Education
>(http://chronicle.com) was forwarded to you from: scott.mclemee@chronicle.com
>
>
>
> From the issue dated April 19, 2002
>
>
>
> A One-Sided Conversation With J.D. Salinger
>
> By SCOTT McLEMEE
>
> "What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all
> done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a
> terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the
> phone whenever you felt like it." So says Holden Caulfield in
> The Catcher in the Rye. Generations of readers have
> experienced just that feeling of immediacy in their encounter
> with J.D. Salinger -- who does not, however, answer many
> calls. Letters to J.D. Salinger (University of Wisconsin
> Press), edited by Chris Kubica and Will Hochman, collects
> dozens of open letters to the reclusive author, submitted by
> scholars, fiction writers, and students. Mr. Hochman, who
> wrote his dissertation on critical responses to Mr. Salinger,
> is an assistant professor of English at Southern Connecticut
> State University. He participates in Bananafish, a discussion
> list about the author found on a Web site devoted to the book
> (http://www.jdsalinger.com).
>
> Q. Do you think Mr. Salinger ever regrets that Holden
> Caulfield made that statement about calling the author up
> whenever you feel like it? He's been in seclusion for more
> than three decades now.
>
> A. You can almost see him pulling his hair out. But it's part
> of a very intimate tone in his narration. Breaking though what
> Salinger calls "the membrane" is a rhetorical strategy that he
> uses throughout his work. It could be the best marketing ploy
> of all times: Tell people that cozying up to the author is
> cool, then withdraw and leave them wanting more. I don't think
> that was his idea, really, but it worked out that way.
>
> Q. The '50s, when Mr. Salinger published "The Catcher in the
> Rye," was also the era of the New Criticism. Students were
> taught to appreciate literary works for their language and
> structure -- not for the author's intent or the reader's
> response.
>
> A. Salinger's fiction is very affective -- that's "affective"
> with an "a." Readers typically respond to it emotionally, and
> to my mind that's a great improvement on the New Criticism. In
> his letter in the book, Frederick Busch [a novelist] says,
> "You, sir, taught us to risk emotion; to permit its very
> telling to be part of the story's action; to dare to love our
> characters out loud upon our pages; and to strive for clarity
> while respecting the mystery at the core of our characters,
> our readers, and our selves." That's at the heart of the whole
> collection.
>
> Q. Are plans under way to make sure the author sees this book?
>
> A. I have no interest in breaking through to the
> flesh-and-blood Salinger. Based on the response we got to the
> call for submissions, I know that this is a guy who's had
> readers tugging on his soul for a lifetime. It's hard to
> imagine him picking up this book with any gusto. I'd like to
> think he might look at it with amusement, though. In a way,
> the book isn't really meant for him. We're helping his readers
> communicate with each other.
>
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>
>This article from The Chronicle is available online at this address:
>
>http://chronicle.com/weekly/v48/i32/32a01802.htm
>
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>
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>
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>_________________________________________________________________
> Copyright 2002 by The Chronicle of Higher Education
-- Will HochmanAssociate Professor of English Southern Connecticut State University 501 Crescent St, New Haven, CT 06515 203 392 5024
http://www.southernct.edu/~hochman/willz.html
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