You walk into a book shop,
a charity shop even, and pick up a book. For me, it’s not the author you take
note of first, but the title of the story and the cover design. The author has
a snippet either at the back or front of the book, outlining their prior achievements.
On the first page of my copy of Cheever’s stories, his alcoholism and struggles
with sexuality are not mentioned and they don’t need to be.
We are “students of the pen” as my friend, Miss Hobbs, so
elegantly puts it, and we have a habit of seeking out authorial information. We
turn our Sherlock-esque magnifying glass onto a chosen text and sniff out
contexts like bloodhounds. But we are in the minority for doing so. Reading for
enjoyment means reading the story as it is in front of you, not reading because
an interest in the author drives you to. That may come later with a quick
Google search, like you do when you watch a movie and you want to know what
else the main character has been in, or how old they are.
An author’s flaw might be echoed in one of their
characters, but this isn’t detracting. It’s purely using personal experience in
an imaginative sense to create a well-rounded and believable character. I don’t
think of the man Cheever as I read his stories. I’m too enraptured by his
wonderful wording and encapsulating symbolism. I have no care for the author,
purely a selfish interest in their work.
I do love that term "students of the pen". Makes us sound like an elite brotherhood of warrior-writers.
ReplyDeleteGood post, I agree that the author isn't crucial or necessary to enjoying the story. Roland Barthes wrote about the same thing with "Death of the Author"; once the writer publishes their work, they have on further influence over it. It's also why people can enjoy music by The Beatles even though John Lennon was really quite a nasty man - the separation of art and artist.
Great post, Barthes came to mind when I read this, too. But as well as the seperation of art and artist I understand what you mean about not necessarily wanting to know anything about an author unless you "have a habit of seeking out authorial information."
ReplyDeleteThe lives of many writers whose books I've read do not interest me at all, even if their books are great. Sometimes I'll seek out more works by them, but you don't have to know anything about them - as you say, things don't have to be mentioned about an author because what you take from them is what they have written!
I really like this post, it's well written and I can really relate. I completely agree with what you're saying. The author's flaws/weaknesses shouldn't matter when it comes to the writing - we only know about it because we've been told so and therefore have a preconception to his work, when really we should just enjoy it for what it is.
ReplyDeletethis is a really fascinating post and brutally honest! And in my opinion that always makes for the best sort of writing, so I thoroughly approve.
ReplyDeleteI like that I'm quoted :). I also completely agree, our education and degree forces us to look beyond the words on the page and often miss the story if we focus on the author biography. I miss when we could read a book without caring about the author. Very well written and engaging.
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