From: dsy@psych.toronto.edu (Desiree Sy)
Subject: Re: Author's traits - was: (Re: No Wise Man here) 
Organization: Department of Psychology, University of Toronto
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 18:08:56 GMT

Joan Shields shares some comfortably wandering thoughts:

>Is it really that important that a reader know the personal history or
>certain characteristics of a writer to read their work?  
>[...] is it necessary for *fiction*?
>[...] I can't answer this question.  At least, I can't answer it 
>absolutely.  

Neither can I, but it's one of a subset of questions I ask myself
every so often about how art affects my life, and vice versa.

>And even if a person 
>knows a lot about a particular subject doesn't always mean that they are going 
>to write about it in an unprejudiced way.  

I don't think anyone is capable of writing (or acting, or
dancing, or singing, or sculpting, or living) anything in an
unprejudiced way.  When a person chooses to try and create a
representation or communicate, that message (including the very
choice of what to say) must be filtered through the author.

>I think it's not a bad idea to
>have a general notion about a writer's character and mindset but it might
>be difficult in detail.  There are things about me that might be helpful
>to know when reading what I've written but how would you know what was
>the most influential when I wrote a piece?  Even I don't always know that.
>Perhaps it was something else, something completely different rather than 
>what seems obvious.

If I'm truthful to myself, I admit that I want to know about a
writer's life out of nosiness.  If a work has affected me --
whether I liked or disliked it -- I want to know more about the
creator.  Is she like me?  Ah -- a friend.  Is she (thank God)
unlike me?

And of course, I want to make those connections, and account for
things in books which I enjoyed or disliked.  There are some
types of biographical detail which don't seem to be relevant for
some authors, yet are extremely relevant to understanding other
authors' works.  I don't think one can say it's always relevant
to know if a writer is an alcoholic or a lesbian, but it would be
disingenuous to think that being alcoholic or a gay woman weren't
very important -- as directly expressed in their writing -- to
certain authors.

And certainly knowing where a writer is coming from can
occasionally be critical -- we need only see what has happened to
Salman Rushdie's life to confirm this.

>[...] It gets even
>more bizzare when you take it a step forward and start talking about
>interpreting the events which led to the particular writing and then you
>add perception and time distance and.... it can get pretty weird, boys and
>girls, pretty weird.

But interesting (to me, anyway).  Ah, that's the nosy part of me
again.  I love finding out about a work in progress.  John
Steinbeck wrote EAST OF EDEN on the right hand pages of a large
notebook.  On the left hand pages, he "warmed up" every day by
writing "letters" to his editor.  These notes are published in a
book called _Journal of a Novel:  The EAST OF EDEN Letters_.  Why 
should I care about Steinbeck's obsession with pencils?  Or that
strong "inventor" streak in him?  Sure, it does give me insight
into parts of EAST OF EDEN to have read the letters.  But I admit
I'm just a random inquiring reader who wants to know.

>What all this leads to or has lead to is beyond me.  A stroll along the
>bank of a river or through a sewer system - who knows (I'm sure someone
>will tell me).  

Oh, I don't know either.  

More meandering words from
-desiree

Newsgroups: rec.arts.books