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Originally Posted by Cactus Chef
He was famously dismissive of Tolkien, particularly in his essay likening LOTR to Winnie the Pooh.
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He did indeed, and Tolkien was one of those I was thinking of.
I'm not sure whether Tolkien perhaps criticized him first or maybe other writing in the same genre ... or I should say, similarly perceived genre .... Sword & Fantasy, which Lord Of The Rings usually got lumped with back then.
I love Robert E. Howard's writings and Edgar Rice Burroughs', but unlike some I never felt you could or should compare them, and certainly not compare them to Tolkien. Tolkien of course, was often very dismissive of such comparisons, but alas often displayed a sense of superiority which no doubt rubbed others the wrong way. That was even evident with his good friend C.S. Lewis, another author I love the Sci Fantasy writings of.
Tolkien and Moorcock really come from very different backgrounds, and I always thought it a mistake for one to criticize perceived failures or things lacking in the other. In many ways they are the product of their times and social class and life experience. Moorcock especially was a rising star in a very revolutionary period, and was all about expanding horizons, whereas I feel Tolkien was more about consolidating, even looking backward, and making something amazing from that. In a sense, Moorcock was more about shocking you, whereas Tolkien was more reserved and sticking to the more familiar, and showing the wonder without pushing you out of your comfort zone. I have always thought there was an equal place for both, for those with a progressive take on life.
In some ways it is like comparing a father with a grandfather, in a later age of enlightenment, without realizing that progress is not always completely positive, and that sometimes good is lost with the bad, as in two steps forward and one back. This is especially so, when you look at human skills being lost due to machines.