Authors Hating Authors

[tubemonkey]

Spotted this over at The Digital Reader:

Classic Authors Who Suck, According To Other Classic Authors

Famous Authors Who Hated Each Other’s Writing

For every great author, there’s another great author eager to knock him or her down a few pegs. Although the writers on this map are typically deemed canonical by literary tastemakers, there wasn’t much mutual admiration amongst them.

We’ve mapped out the rivalries and one-sided vendettas of many celebrated writers; just hover over an arrow between two authors to see a cutting insult directed by one to the other.

Some examples

Mark Twain on Jane Austen

“I often want to criticise Jane Austen, but her books madden me so that I can't conceal my frenzy from the reader; and therefore I have to stop every time I begin. Everytime I read 'Pride and Prejudice'; I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone.” -- Letter to Joseph Twitchell (Sept. 13, 1898)

William Faulkner on Mark Twain

“A hack writer who would not have been considered fourth rate in Europe, who tricked out a few of the old proven 'sure fire'; literary skeletons with sufficient local color to intrigue the superficial and the lazy.” -- From "American Drama: Inhibitions"

Ernest Hemingway on William Faulkner

“Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?” -- Quoted in A. E. Hotchner, Papa Hemingway

William Faulkner on Ernest Hemingway

“He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.” -- Quoted in The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Literature, edited by Richard Thomas Eldridge

[HarryT]

Criticism isn't the same thing as "hatred". I can criticise someone's writing, without any feeling of hatred towards the writer. Why should personal animosity enter into it at all?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Criticism isn't the same thing as "hatred". I can criticise someone's writing, without any feeling of hatred towards the writer. Why should personal animosity enter into it at all?

Don't know why either; but it does happen.

[Kumabjorn]

Quote:
William Faulkner on Ernest Hemingway

“He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.” -- Quoted in The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Literature, edited by Richard Thomas Eldridge

I don't understand what the criticism is in the above statement. Why would an author consciously make a reader look up words in a dictionary?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

Quote:
William Faulkner on Ernest Hemingway

“He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.” -- Quoted in The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Literature, edited by Richard Thomas Eldridge

I don't understand what the criticism is in the above statement. Why would an author consciously make a reader look up words in a dictionary?

It's a slam. Faulkner is accusing Hemingway of having a poor vocabulary. I think it's pretty funny.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

Quote:
William Faulkner on Ernest Hemingway

“He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.” -- Quoted in The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Literature, edited by Richard Thomas Eldridge

I don't understand what the criticism is in the above statement. Why would an author consciously make a reader look up words in a dictionary?

I think he meant that Mr. Hemingway didn't use words in a way that would stretch the readers vocabulary by virtue of them having to look up the meaning of a word they hadn't seen before. Instead he stuck to well known words that everyone knows.

[tubemonkey]

I don't see these quotes as objective critiques. For the most part, they're vicious, cheap shots; especially those from Twain and Vidal.

[DrNefario]

Originally Posted by crich70

I think he meant that Mr. Hemingway didn't use words in a way that would stretch the readers vocabulary by virtue of them having to look up the meaning of a word they hadn't seen before. Instead he stuck to well known words that everyone knows.

It's basically the other side of Hemingway's quote, above, and I have to say I think I'm on Hemingway's side in that one.

[Rizla]

Tolstoy wrote an essay trying to prove Shakespeare was bad. Orwell wrote an essay in response, saying history had proved Tolstoy wrong.

And let's not forget "The Lem Incident" where Stanislaw Lem said all Western Sci-Fi authors were crap, apart from Philip K. Dick. Philip Jose Farmer was outraged!

And then there is Christopher Preist's expose "The Book on the Edge of Forever" all about Harlan Ellison sitting on the third of the Forbidden Tales trilogy. Not really a criticism of Ellison's writing, but more the fact he had refused to release the book and all the good stories he had locked down under contract. Ellison was outraged!

[wawasteele]

Mark Twain on Jane Austen

“I often want to criticise Jane Austen, but her books madden me so that I can't conceal my frenzy from the reader; and therefore I have to stop every time I begin. Everytime I read 'Pride and Prejudice'; I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone.” -- Letter to Joseph Twitchell (Sept. 13, 1898)

"Everytime" he reads 'Pride and Predjuice'? Why would he keep reading that book if he really hated it? Is it possible that this specific quote was taken out of context somehow and meant to be humorous?

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by wawasteele

"Everytime" he reads 'Pride and Predjuice'? Why would he keep reading that book if he really hated it? Is it possible that this specific quote was taken out of context somehow and meant to be humorous?

I don't think so. If you have read something about Jane Austen, Twain's distaste about her appears soon.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by wawasteele

"Everytime" he reads 'Pride and Predjuice'? Why would he keep reading that book if he really hated it? Is it possible that this specific quote was taken out of context somehow and meant to be humorous?

Maybe he couldn't finish it. Lol. I thought Twain's comment was the funniest. It's funny because it's mean.

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by wawasteele

"Everytime" he reads 'Pride and Predjuice'? Why would he keep reading that book if he really hated it? Is it possible that this specific quote was taken out of context somehow and meant to be humorous?

Sounds that way, I found another quote, emphasis added:

She makes me detest all her people, without reserve. Is that her intention? It is not believable. Then is it her purpose to make the reader detest her people up to the middle of the book and like them in the rest of the chapters? That could be. That would be high art. It would be worth while, too. Some day I will examine the other end of her books and see.
- "Jane Austen," published in 2009 in Who Is Mark Twain?

Seems like he's saying he never got past the halfway point in any of her books. There's also this one, emphasis added:

To me his prose is unreadable -- like Jane Austin's [sic]. No there is a difference. I could read his prose on salary, but not Jane's. Jane is entirely impossible. It seems a great pity that they allowed her to die a natural death.
- Letter to W. D. Howells, 18 January 1909

I know he was a journalist for a while, so it's possible he had to read her books to review them.

[OtterBooks]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

Quote:
William Faulkner on Ernest Hemingway

“He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.” -- Quoted in The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Literature, edited by Richard Thomas Eldridge

I don't understand what the criticism is in the above statement. Why would an author consciously make a reader look up words in a dictionary?

I can understand the idea that writing can expose the reader to new appreciation of language, but I don't think it's a necessary characteristic of great literature. It's good to that we have both Faulker and Twain, and their respective kin.

[wawasteele]

All of you convinced me I was probably wrong about Twain. I hadn't thought of him starting to read the same book over and over again and never finishing it! LOL