A call for ‘crazy’ writers
By Mike D'Agruma
July 27th, 2009 | Leave a comment
While the book had the power to captivate us, so did the author. Oscar Wilde, Hunter S. Thompson, William S. Burroughs, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway – to name a few – were just as bizarre and compelling of characters as the ones they gave life to in print.
So what happened? Where have our eccentric writers gone?
Eccentric authors didn’t just write books. They sold them. When readers purchased a copy of “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” they were never just buying a book. They were buying Hemingway.
If you ever get a chance, watch the hour-long, BBC 1978 documentary on Thompson that appears on the second disc of the Criterion Collection version of the film, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.” It follows Thompson as he displays his now-famous brand of eccentric and sometimes dangerous behavior patterns. Not behavior to be endorsed by any means, but it shows how Thompson’s personality gave his work an added dimension. That added dimension is what makes many great works timeless.
Now, don’t take this as a call for today’s major authors to start firing handguns off rooftops while stone drunk. It’s more of a musing as to when the publishing industry decided to replace “personality” with “celebrity.”
Go into a Barnes & Noble nowadays, and there’s an entire section devoted to fictional works written by “celebrity authors” such as actors Steve Martin and Ethan Hawke.
But at least these books are original works.
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Terrell Owens (a character in his own right) already has released two autobiographies (“Catch This: Going Deep with the NFL’s Sharpest Weapon” and “T.O.”), a children’s book (“Little T Learns to Share”) and a fitness book (“T.O.’s Finding Fitness: Making the Mind, Body, and Spirit Connection for Total Health”). He is 35 years old. He released his first autobiography in 2004 and his second in 2006.
Former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin called herself a “lame duck” when stepping down from office – in the middle of her first term. Upon her resignation, the 2008 vice presidential candidate signed a book deal with Harper Collins, who will co-release her memoirs with its subsidiary, Christian publishing house Zondervan. Palin’s rumored asking price for a book she will co-pen? $11 million. She may not get that much, but many analysts expect her to get more than former President George W. Bush received for his memoirs.
“Celebrity” over “personality.” “Style” over “substance.” Call me crazy, but I just don’t see these titles stacking up against “The Catcher in the Rye” or “The Great Gatsby” in the long run.
A side note: If you have a Facebook account, try taking the “Which Crazy Writer Are You” quiz. Post your result on your homepage and here on Delmio.
July 27th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
I took the quiz. Excluding the “all-male brothel” part, I think it fits:
Oscar Wilde: You are funny, witty, charming… and have, um, “unique” personal tastes. You like to have fun, you don’t hide who you are, and you don’t particularly give a damn what people think about you; you’re just as likely to be seen in an all-male Amsterdam brothel as a London literary society dinner. You see beauty in life, and humor in tragedy. If it weren’t for the hosts’ fears of you saying or doing something indecent, you might very well be the perfect dinner companion.