Re: JCO: New story

Hi, Ryan. I would not have called it ridiculous, exactly: each magazine
strictly cultivated its own particular style. In the mid-20th century there was a
defininte "New Yorker" type story. What seemed odd to me in the 1970s was
that some of JCO's stories could pass as a "New Yorker" style story, but were
nevertheless passed over. In the mid-1970s, the story in MARRIAGES &
INFIDELITIES ' "Problems of Adjustment in Survivors of Natural/Unnatural Disasters"
seemed to me a very New Yorker-type story: for one thing, the typical JCO
violence was muted, offstage, instead of in your face as so many of her stories were
at that time. I guess Shawn just put a blanket "do-not-consider" ruling on
some writers. I suspect there were other automatically vetoed writers in
addition to JCO. And, too, more mainstream magazines published short fiction back
then: The Saturday Evening Post, Cosmopolitan (pre-Helen Gurley Brown), McCalls,
Redbook, Esquire, and others often had several short stories in one issue.
So if the New Yorker rejected your story, there were plenty of mainstream mags
that might take it instead. That's all changed now. The market is much
scanter. People watch TV more than they read magazine fiction. Too bad. But
that's how things worked out.
Cyrano

In a message dated 9/13/2004 2:39:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
ryan@go-mdi.com writes:

<<
Yes, I did know that (from reading "Invisible Writer) and I think it's
ridiculous, of course. But, actually, oddly enough, her debut New Yorker
story "Zombie" was the very first thing I ever read of JCO. It blew me away.
She's been my favorite writer ever since.

Ryan.
>>
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