American Writers - Short is Often Better

I have often heard folks say that they just do not have time to read. Understandable, since many authors feel compelled to write lengthy tomes. I once was advised that I just had to read Thomas Pynchon's Mason Dixon. It was said to be a work of vast importance. Well, the vast part was correct and it mat have held the secrets of the Universe but, alas, I shall never know. The darn thing was about 1200 pages and weighed so much it hurt my hands to try and hold it and read. I made about 300 pages and decided that whatever its charms and depth, I would have to muddle on throughout my life without Pynchon's artistry.

But, there are many writers of wonderful short fiction. Now, short stories are very hard to write and, while most writers make a stab at them, few are good at it. In short stories you have to keep the plot moving, develop characters and get to the point without seeming to rush through to the finish. Many short stories I have read seem more like  ideas for novels or, simply little vignettes, little snapshots of slivers of lives. In both cases, the writing may be fine and the idea interesting, but something is lacking, kind of like French fries without salt. America is the birthplace of the short story and we do have some masters. Try Poe, Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, Elmore Leonard, Steven King, Sherwood Anderson, Hemmingway (short stories were perfect for his lean prose), Faulkner (writing short fiction kept his wordiness under control; it is a shame he did not write more of them), and, the undisputed champion of the short story, Flannery O'Connor.

There is a middle ground between short stories and lengthy novels, the novella. I love the novella because the writer can stretch out a little but still does not have room to become self-indulgent. One of a writer's worse sins is to become enamored of his own writing and begin rambling on and on with descriptive prose and psychological analyses. Shorter fiction requires the writer to get to the essence of the story and most often, not always but usually, shorter is far better. Think of the wonderful nature paintings of the old Chinese masters.  With a few brush strokes of black ink on white paper, the capture the beauty and power of Nature. It is much the same with writing. Clear and crisp beats long winded almost every time. Almost, not always but it takes a true master of words to write lengthy stories that maintain pace and hold interest. You might enjoy some of the following: Hemmingway's The Old Man and The Sea, any of Phillip K Dick's short science fiction, Louis L'Amour and Elmore Leonard short Western novels, 2 of Cormac McCarthy's early novels Child of God and Outer Dark (both very short and very dark), and any of Henry James' short works (especially The Turn of the Screw). I especially recommend Jack Kerouac's Tristessa, a novella bout a doomed love affair he had with a young, Mexican woman. For once, Kerouac restrained himself and avoided long, rambling passages of nonsense and the book is wonderful. Also, try Poe's wonderfully strange The Fall of the House of Usher.

I have learned 2 lessons about writing. First, always be ready to cut about a third of your original draft and, second, the parts you most hate to cut are usually the ones you most need to cut.

 Think in terms of music. Nothing is more boring than a long drum solo, unless it is done by a true genius like Buddy Rich or Ginger Baker, and there are very few of those around.

American Writers, Another Nominee for Honorary Citizenship

In my last post, I said I would name another of my honorary American citizens. This time it is the novelist Malcolm Lowry. Lowry was English, his one novel was set in Mexico and was written in Canada, so he had the US surrounded. He did spend substantial time in our Nation and should be thought of as one of us for several reasons.

For those not familiar with Lowry, a brief introduction. Lowry completed 1 novel in his lifetime and it , in my not-too-humble opinion, is the best novel ever written in the English language, Under the Volcano. The story is about a British Diplomat in Mexico in the late 1930s. In essence, it is a love story, but, perhaps the strangest one you will ever encounter. It is also a political story, exploring the decline of Western Civilization in the face of the impending Second World War. You get a strong sense of how dangerous Mexico was in that period and how Western culture fared in its encounter with an indigenous people. On a more personal level, it is a story of betrayal and forgiveness. Its main character is an extreme alcoholic and this book deals with alcoholism in a brutally honest fashion. On an even deeper level, it is about a woefully failed spiritual quest and man's obsession with Earth's beauty and his terror at Earth's violence. At its deepest level, it is about the possibility of redemption for 3 very lost souls. The book is a wonder and is full of the most magnificent imagery I have ever read.

Fine, you say, but what does all that have to do with the US? Well, before he started writing fiction, Lowry was a songwriter and, in the spirit of the times, tried copying the American "hot jazz" style that was popular at the time. He later said that when writing he would keep at a phrase until it sang to him. This, I believe, gave his writing a very strong American feel, (Remember, the book was published in the 1940s, so when I say American, I refer to the America of that era) Also, without giving away too much, part of the book deals with Hollywood and celebrity, especially a brutally funny passage written in the style of that era's movie magazines. Somehow, the book just seems more American to me than it does Mexican, Canadian, or British.

I urge you to read this book. It is not easy, but not as hard as its reputed to be. You will not understand every phrase and reference, but try this. Read the book once, skipping what you do not get. Read it for the story, for the amazing writing. Then, go on line and look up the references, if you are interested. If you do that, then re-read it, you will grow even more amazed. If you do not want to bother, fine, just read it for pleasure. It is an incredibly rich, funny, brutal and sadly moving story. I no of nothing like it. Most important to me, Lowry wrote this complex novel while never losing track of the basic story. Like all great writers, he knew that the tale was the most important thing.

It is a shame Lowry did not publish more. Volcano was intended as a trilogy, but he lost the nearly completed manuscripts for the other 2 parts in a fire. He was rewriting them when he died, under circumstances that some found questionable. At least some of the blame for his death must be placed on his drinking. He was a prodigious drinker. That is why his descriptions of the Consul's alcoholism are so perfect. He wrote from experience and it cost him his life, but blessedly, not his talent. We should consider him an honorary American citizen and proudly claim his brilliant work.