Re: great american writers!

blah b b blah (jrovira@juno.com)
Mon, 29 Mar 1999 08:28:54 -0500 (EST) 

Yeah, what exactly is an American is a bit of an issue, but it still all
boils down to "Were you born and raised here?" or "are you a citizen."? 
In other words, "Do you want to be?"  Salinger is undoubtedly on the
first count, was Nabokov on the second? And if so, he's not an American
writer in the same sense Salinger was.  He's an expatriate Russian
commenting on America while living in it.  Still maybe an American
writer, but we have different expectations of him and what to get out of
his writing.

Jim

"The written word is a power of such magnitude that only pedants would
try to reduce it to rules.  Or the French."

--F.K.

On Mon, 29 Mar 1999 01:44:51 -0800 (PST) Thor Cameron
<my_colours@hotmail.com> writes:
>In an Orson Scott Card novel, he invents (as far as I know) a quote 
>from 
>Ben Franklin: (paraphrasing here) "the greatest thing I ever invented 
>was 'Americans'.  Before I started using that word, people were 
>'Virginians' or 'Bostonians'"... 
>The way he put it was really quite profound.  One way to look at it is 
>
>through Vonnegut's new words: Wampeters, Ganfalloons, and Foma.  I, 
>however, take pride in the fact that I am a native of a country that I 
>
>love and loathe.  But we are bound not by culture, race or religion, 
>but, for the first time in human history, there is a country that 
>binds 
>its people through government alone.  We are, for the first time ever, 
>
>able to gather people together under the banner that people have a 
>constitutional right to be happy.  Say what you want about this 
>country, 
>and God Bless Abbie Hoffman, but I love being an American, Elvis 
>impersonators and all.  
>-- Thor
>
>>Scottie--
>>
>>You  pose such difficult questions--and to be honest I'm not  sure 
>quite
>>how to take them.  But who, in the end, can really claim to be an
>>"American"--asides from certain characters in certain novels?  Or
>>rather, at what point in some mythical process, does one become this
>>mythical sort of beast?  I sometimes see Salinger referred to as an
>>Irish writer. 
>>
>>Have to catch my bus!
>>
>>Love and peace,
>>
>>Denis
>
>Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
>

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