RE: JCO: RE: Talent vs Experience

Hi Everyone:

 

I notice that because of Mailer's unfortunate phrasing, we haven't addressed the underlying question of how far talent (in any artist at all) can go to make up for lack of experience.

 

JCO of course has managed to write about an enormous variety of people in an enormous variety of situations.  She does her homework (though I noticed, when reading "Blonde", the one book I've read by her where I'm familiar with any of the settings, that she did get occasionally get a few details wrong, but still she did well for someone who's never lived in L.A.), and that's a big help, but I think she also proves that empathy and imagination in general can take you a long way.  On the other hand, she certainly goes back to upstate New York and to the 1950s a lot.

 

Steve