Re: JCO: Missing Mom

Eric, thanks so much---I will hit the library tomorrow for Tea and A Seahorse Year!

 

 

Best wishes

Christa

Re: JCO: Reprinted stories . . .

The link to the bibliography failed because of the parentheis at the end of the address; a working link is here:

http://jco.usfca.edu/glassark.html

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JCO: Sound and Vision

I wanted to call attention to a couple of unique JCO-related projects. One is a CD of songs based on JCO works; the CD is called "Haunted." Also, in December, Dark Horse Comics is publishing a book of women cartoonists, and one of the chapters is a JCO story done in graphic novel form. Both items are highligted on Celestial Timepiece right now: http://jco.usfca.edu/

Randy

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JCO: Reprinted stories . . .

I have recently added a new field to the JCO Bibliography on Celestial Timepiece: the number of times a particular work (story, essay, etc.) has been reprinted somewhere (JCO collection, anthology, etc.). For example, the story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" has been reprinted numerous times, and I have 20 instances listed. Of course this story has been reprinted more often than 20 times. I would like to take advantage of your knowledge and book collections to bring this information closer to reality.

For those who are interested and willing to put in the time, and who would like to contribute to the JCO bibliography, I am looking for more instances of JCO writings being reprinted beyond their original publications.

If you find a candidate, please check the bibliography (in the Articles section, http://jco.usfca.edu/glassark.html) to see if it is listed already. If it is not listed, then please send to me (**not to this discussion list**) a complete citation including:

Title of JCO work
Title of Book
Publisher and year of publication
Page numbers of JCO work

Information can be sent to: tinmachine@earthlink.net

Thanks in advance for your help. Collecting this kind of information is almost impossible for one person to do thoroughly.
Randy

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Re: JCO: Guardian review of Mother Missing

It was her most recently published book in the UK however - earlier this year.

 

Gary

----- Original Message -----

From: Chris Emmerson-Pace

To: jco@usfca.edu

Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2005 6:46 PM

Subject: Re: JCO: Guardian review of Mother Missing

I wouldn't hold too much stock in a review that can't get simple facts straight. Rape was not JCO's previous book.

On 10/9/05, NotEnoughKittens@aol.com <NotEnoughKittens@aol.com > wrote:

In a message dated 10/9/2005 6:09:16 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, gjcouzens@btinternet.com writes:

http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/generalfiction/0,,1587303,00.html

Thank you for pointing us toward the Guardian Review of Missing Mom----I'm thinking this particular reviewer was once criticized as "un hip" and has never quite gotten over it.....

 

Best

Christa

Re: JCO: Missing Mom

Thanks for the compliment Christa. Yes, Stacey D�Erasmo wrote a very
interesting and beautiful novel called Tea. She also published a novel last
year called A Seahorse Year which was very well received but unfortunately I
haven�t had the chance to read yet. She�s a very original writer.

To me it felt like she was circling around Missing Mom in favour of talking
about her admiration for Oates� work in general and her overall respect for
what she�s produced. She did make me think about the novel from a different
point of view though, that perhaps Oates was contemplating �the brutality of
never mattering� and class politics instead of just the personal process of
a period of grieving. This is a similar idea to the one expressed in the
excellent film �About Schmidt�. In this movie, a man at retirement age who
has led a very straightforward life begins questioning what the accumulation
of all his little life�s details signifies when contemplating if he really
matters to the world. It�s an unsettling thought and one which Oates
protagonist of Missing Mom is obviously struggling with when examining the
physical things that amount to her parents� life work.

All my best,
Eric

>From: NotEnoughKittens@aol.com
>Reply-To: jco@usfca.edu
>To: jco@usfca.edu
>Subject: Re: JCO: Missing Mom
>Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 13:31:38 EDT
>
>Eric, that was an interesting and thoughtful note---I'm sorry to say that
>I've never heard of the writer who did the review---can you recommend one
>of
>his/her books that you especially liked? I've learned to trust your
>judgment
>on this kind of thing!
>
>Thanks and best wishes
>Christa

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Re: JCO: Guardian review of Mother Missing

I wouldn't hold too much stock in a review that can't get simple facts straight. Rape was not JCO's previous book.

On 10/9/05, NotEnoughKittens@aol.com <NotEnoughKittens@aol.com > wrote:

In a message dated 10/9/2005 6:09:16 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, gjcouzens@btinternet.com writes:

http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/generalfiction/0,,1587303,00.html

Thank you for pointing us toward the Guardian Review of Missing Mom----I'm thinking this particular reviewer was once criticized as "un hip" and has never quite gotten over it.....

 

Best

Christa

Re: JCO: Missing Mom

Eric, that was an interesting and thoughtful note---I'm sorry to say that I've never heard of the writer who did the review---can you recommend one of his/her books that you especially liked?  I've learned to trust your judgment on this kind of thing!

 

Thanks and best wishes

Christa

Re: JCO: Missing Mom

Hi Christa

To be fair, the reviewer, who is a very fine writer herself, was referring
to a point JCO was making in an article that was published in a poetry
journal and reprinted in her collection Faith of the Writer. JCO made the
connection herself that writing provides a kind of psychological solace
because when we feel pain it�s a comfort to retreat into the imagination (or
something approximately like that). Equally, one could ask of readers, �Why
do you read so much?� No answer is necessary, but it�s interesting to
contemplate.

However, I share your justified sentiments about the annoying (and probably
envy-driven) statement made in many reviews that JCO produces too much too
quickly.

Eric

>From: NotEnoughKittens@aol.com
>Reply-To: jco@usfca.edu
>To: jco@usfca.edu
>Subject: Re: JCO: Missing Mom
>Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 23:17:39 EDT
>
>Steve, that is so true about the cliche comment, "Gosh, JCO has written a
>lot of books." I also found irritating that the reviewer pointed out, "No
>one
>has ever asked WHY JCO writes so much" (I'm paraphrasing a little here).
>She
>left me with the impression that the reason behind the high production
>MUST
>be something negative.
>
>Imagine asking a writer "Why do you write a lot of books instead of just
>one
>or two?" How dumb a question is that?
>
>Also, not ALL of JCO's books run with blood......but presumably it's more
>fun in a review to imply they do, rather than trying to discuss the subtle
>nuances that are present in even JCO's most "violent" works.....
>
>Best
>Christa

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Re: JCO: Prolific

Hi, Steve.
To some extent, it's a red-herring issue. Dedicated athletes run, swim, lift
weights, etc. on a daily basis. Mystics pray day & night. Tycoons study the
market every day. In order to stay at a high level of performance, a daily
application is needed. And, of course, the more one does one's art, the more
accomplished one becomes.
For those of us who would like to discuss (or read about) JCO's art on a
deeper level, book reviews are really not the venue. Scholarly journals,
literary magazines and right here on this site are the best places to get into
deep analysis. Book reviews are as much about marketing as anything else:
that's why publishers send so many free books out to newspapers and individual
reviewers. Many of those books wind up languishing in "slush piles" until the
magazine or newspaper gives a load of them to local libraries or hospitals. When
I write a standard 500-word book review: I'm directing it mainly to
prospective readers -- to people who ordinarily don't think to pick up a book for their
edification or amusement. On occasions when I've interviewed JCO, I've
attempted to take the discussion beyond the "how do you do it?" level by noting
that JCO answered that question several decades ago in Writer Magazine with the
simple advice: "A writer writes." It is fascinating how much she has
accomplished and the general public is right to admire it. No, rate of output
shouldn't be treated as the explanation for why some of her works are more affecting
than others. That does seem to be a cop-out that some reviewers resort to.
Cyrano

In a message dated 10/10/2005 5:39:10 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
jandsmerritt@earthlink.net writes:

<< Hi Cyrano:

Ah, but your point about the various genres she's worked in is a valid,
constructive observation, and worth, as you say, repeating for the benefit
of readers new to JCO. It's different when someone starts out a review with
the moral equivalent of "Ooh wow, man, look at this writing machine!
Gross!" or even the more benign "I don't know how she does it, but she
does!", which still implies someone abnormal, or even a sort of esthetic
cheater, because she "shouldn't" be able to maintain a high level of
achievment while writing a lot. After all, why shouldn't someone with a lot
of talent, who loves to write and who has a somewhat driven personality,
produce a lot of good writing?

Steve >>
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