Which Dead Writer Would You Most Like To Meet?

Typical, I'd say. It's best to ignore effete and pompous posters who think they know everything you don't.

Without naming names and with apologies to Blanche DuBois, one of these posters is in immediate need of a frontal lobotomy.

Genuinely intellectual, well-read people aren't dismissive of others' tastes and predilections. They are hungry for others' views and ideas. Those who dabble in intellectuality or use "a little knowledge" as a social tool are bound to be defensive, self-conscious. If you know any writers, you'll know that these are the people they dread getting stuck with, the one who stands next to the poor writer doing his visit to a local bookstore, signing and gladhanding. This is the guy who tries to impress the writer not with his admiration but with his own opinions and snobberies.

Speaking of bookstores, I bet most of us here have experienced the old fashioned small bookstore (I'm thinking of my favorite, now gone I think, on Madison Ave just down from the Whitney) where only the most interesting lit and art books were crammed into a small space, eclectic, dusty, crowded. The person who chose what books to stock is right there and the last thing he does is examine his clientele to see who "belongs" there and who doesn't. He loves books. He wants everyone to have the joy of discovery he has had. You could ask him "Who is Neruda?" without having him dismiss your ignorance. If you mentioned that you read French, he would lead you by the hand to the most delicious one-hundred-fifty-dollar book of church architecture and point to a comfortable chair. Even though you'd come in looking for an under-twenty-dollar book of poetry, a birthday gift. You are in the world of books. All books. All discoveries. All meaningful at one time or another in your life. Most of them written by people who would far rather meet you than someone who's going to try to lay a self-serving little trip on them.

For a really fun afternoon of escaping back to a gentler time.....how about Dr. Seuss?

Too funny, I was eating at a fast food joint last night when a group of black kids walked by dressed in their best gangsta' baggies and goofy hats, and I said to my daughter that they looked like they just walked off the pages of a Dr. Seuss book.

One man's style is another's...?

came in late here , but I felt drawn by the love and deep respect that many of you hold for each other. Im reminded of a Twain short story called "Journalism in Tennessee" in which "fine writing" critiques were always followed by .45 calibre punctuation.

did anybody mention John steinbeck and Doc Ricketts? (must be together) . I think jumping in a boat with them and sailing around with lots of tangy alcoholic drinks like strait Cuervo and Lime would have been a hoot.

That's great, Farmerman!

Tartarin<

Thanks for mentioning the old-fashioned bookstore. I remember customers sometimes sitting on the floor to peruse a book or a periodical.
There was no place else for them to sit. The other customers did not disturb them with a "you are blocking the aisle" warning.

Rather, the customer reading on the floor was stepped over by other customers. Usually, no words passed; you knew the person on the floor might one day want to step over you.

Has anyone mention James Baldwin yet? Oh, that man could talk the talk with a flair and some snap. I have a friend who took a class of his in NYC some years ago. She said that he was quite a mesmerizer.

Kroch's & Brentano's in Chicago. Not exactly a small old-fashioned bookstore like you described williamhenry but I do remember the same thing, casually stepping over people crouched and sitting in the aisles reading.

There was a wonderful one in Cambridge, Mass., just the other side of Mass Ave from the yard, maybe two streets up from the Crimson. Can't for the life of me remember its name. It had a big, spongy sofa smelling of dust of the centuries and books to die for. Help. Fading mem-o-rees.

Many years I found a store like that in Santa Cruz, Calif. Had the old sofas for hanging out, sleeping, whatever. I'd never seen anything like it! Now the big stores (take Barnes & Noble, please) have sort of simulated the idea of creating a comfy space for readers and browsers, but somehow it's not the same.

Seattle has a great independent store, Elliott Bay Books, and it has many virtues, including a wonderful calendar of readings. But nowhere to sit down. There's a nice cafe in the basement, but you can't bring books down there that you haven't bought...

I think the originator of the giant bookstore with the comfy corners was the Tattered Cover , in Denver.

D'art -- I'm remembering Powell's in Portland. Used to be pretty decent, welcoming, comfy.

Right you are, Tartarin, Powell's is a gem. Large, but comfy. Not really a place to lounge with a book you haven't bought, but they have thousands of titles, mostly new but also used, and a nice cafe, too. I sometimes think of pulling up stakes in Seattle and moving to Portland. A more livable city (i.e., more brew pubs) and I could work at Powell's!

farmerman re the Tattered Cover they made headlines here last year by refusing to turn over book sales receipts to a govt agent, citing violaton of privacy.

D'art -- I was in Oregon only once. For some reason I was drawn to the place, took two weeks, flew to Portland, rented a car, and explored. Was (am) crazy about the place. Highly civilized, fun, pretty everywhere and gut-suckin' beautiful in spots, terrific home-grown writers, fantastic local beer, the same gentle, ironic sense of humor I find in Texas, and books everywhere along with people who read!

Tartarin--I've been hovering around Portland for nearly 30 years. I've lived in Eugene and Seattle during that period, so Portland has been a place I go several times a year. I now have a rich array of family and friends there, and I know the town well enough to get around on my own. They figured things out in that town better than their big neighbors to the north ever did...

D'art -- About ten years ago my sister gave me for my birthday an "Astrograph" out of Petaluma (where else!). From your birth hour and place, their computer determines where in the world you will make money, find love, happiness, etc. Of course I focused on those places which I should never set foot in (danger, fatal diseases, bankruptcy, disharmony) and they were places I've never been drawn to, like Honolulu and Akron and the Ruhr valley. Great! Where I was living was on the "good" map. Whew! A couple of months later came a letter from Petaluma with an apology ("We can't figure out what our computers were doing for that entire month!") and a new **FREE** Astrograph which told me firmly NEVER SET FOOT IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON. Fortunately, Oregon was in at least neutral territory.

Wow. I wonder what mistakes I've made by not consulting that info! Though given my track record in some places, I have a feeling I've been to a few no-go areas...

(I promise I'll get back on topic after this post!)

Went looking for you, D'art, and see they now offer the service on line: http://www.astrograph.com/

Thanks, Tartarin! And now, back to topic...

Gerard Manley Hopkins (a dead writer I'd like to meet). Was researching him for another thread and remembered how much I love his poetry. Such rhythm!