And that's the Art of the Dress.

[shamanicshaymin]

Fallen Idols: Disappointing Truths About Five Famous Authors

I clicked the link expecting James Joyce's love letters and Orson Scott Card being a homophobic douchebag, but the poster is clearly immature and has no idea what he's talking about. "WAAAAAAAH JANE AUSTEN WASN'T FAMOUS DURING HER LIFETIME, MY VISION OF HER IS RUIIIIIIINED!!11!1" "PHILIP K. DICK WROTE FOR THE MONEY, HOW DARE HE TRY TO MAKE A LIVING!!11!11!" Also, classifying Austen's works as "tarted up bodice ripper material"? Wow. Way to Not Do The Research.

The comments are definitely more enlightening. :P Though my childhood is taking terrible blows that Rule 34 would never compare with. :(

Like this thread with L. Frank Baum. WHY BAUM WHY. While this quote by Roald Dahl makes me sad as everloving fuck, I'm very skeptical about an article someone else linked and think it should be taken with a grain of salt. Not 'cause I'm being a Dahl apologist and going "WAAAAAH NOOOOO DAHL IS A PERFECT SNOWFLAKE!!1!11" 'cause he's obviously not. While some of the things mentioned are true (Ex. the original Oompa-Loompas, the aforementioned quote) the fact that the article never listed its resources (except for a couple Wikipedia links to famous names and a link to a biography on Amazon) makes me question its validity. Especially when the author makes vitriolic spats about Dahl's children's books as anti-Semetic and misogynist, wtf. Yeah, Dahl totally didn't give a fuck when his daughter died of measles, let alone dedicate "The BFG" to her memory. /sarcasm

Dahl may have been anti-Semetic, but I never got that impression when I read his children's books. (I'm not as familiar with his adult work, so I can't offer reliable insight on that) Even today before I've heard about the unpleasant details of his life and personality, his books didn't make me squirm and feel uncomfortable like when I read H.P. Lovecraft and I have to pause once in a while to cringe at his blatant racism. (Seriously. The protagonist's cat in "Rats in the Walls" could be named "Fluffy" and it would be less jarring than his original name. Which is also the IRL name of Lovecraft's own cat. *facepalm*) Some authors are better at hiding their agendas, I guess. Or have sane editors. Either way.

Since we're discussing the jerkass nature of authors, how do you feel about some of your favorites as people? Does it affect your view on their writing? Do you know authors who you don't care about the works for at all, but think are awesome human beings IRL?

Back to H.P. Lovecraft. There's no denying the racism and anti-Semetism in his writing, yet I still enjoy reading about his eldritch abominations and cosmic horrors. His dialogue is godawful, but I love the way he sets up atmosphere. Likewise with Baum, I've had NO idea about his two editorials, which had nothing to do with The Wizard of Oz itself. All I knew was that Oz was an awesome book that got made into a classic movie. Are we supposed to dismiss them 'cause Baum had offensive views about Native Americans? I've never read Gone With the Wind, though I've heard how infamously racist it was even back in its day. Certainly didn't stop people from saying it deserved to be a classic in spite of these issues.

As much as I ideally want the authors to be as awesome as their writing, I'm going have to accept the fact that some of them are real assholes. :/ At the same time, it does make me sad. Is it possible to truly separate an author from their work or will their assholiness overshadow it? It does make me feel like a jerkass myself, though that's more like my self-esteem talking. I'd say it depends on context and how much their agenda shows up in writing, but it feels weird to say that I'd read Lovecraft but I wouldn't touch Piers Anthony with a ten-foot-pole. Lovecraft's racism makes me facepalm, but why don't I boycott him like I do with Piers? (Though I really question anyone who reads the pedophiliac scene in Firefly and doesn't reject the book for its sheer... hdjsghdjskghkjsg)

On a lighter note, the two Oscar Wilde threads make me smile. ("There is absolutely nothing disappointing about Oscar, he just had the bad luck to live in a society that wasn't deserving of him.") ;D

Comments

[sarajayechan]

I actually find it sort of cute that Ann M. Martin based a good portion of the BSC on her life. :3 And Nancy Garden, author of Annie on my Mind seems like a really sweet person to me.

[shamanicshaymin]

I'm not that familiar with Neil Gaiman's work (except Coraline and a couple short stories. I still have to finish Good Omens), but Gaiman himself seems like a nice person. He showed up on "The Simpsons" and even an episode of "Arthur" where he encouraged Sue-Ellen to write. Laurie Halse Anderson and Sherman Alexie also seem like incredible people. ;;

And I love that George Orwell loves animals and wrote an essay that basically said, "Look, Jews are people too, okay?"

[itsamellama]

I dunno, there are some artists whom I love the work of, but when I found out they're assholes, it kinda ruins it for me? I try to enjoy it separate from the author, but it's hard :( haha (i know we're talking about fiction, but it's kinda the same thing?)

there's this one atheist channel i found on Youtube that I rather liked even if I didn't agree with everything she said, but then I did some digging and found out she did a webcomic and... didn't receive critique very graciously. that kind of ruined her for me :( because... man... if she can't receive critique for her own work? how much more of her own opinions? idk am i weird?

[shamanicshaymin]

I guess it really does depend for me. Does their agenda affect their writing so much that it makes it hard for me to enjoy their work, even if you separate it from the person? Recovering from my shock on Dahl, I won't deny I still adore his work to hell and back. Even if I didn't know what a creeper Piers Anthony was, the Unfortunate Implications in his books would've turned me off right away.

I suppose dead people are easier to forgive than live ones, if that makes sense?

I'm hoping this chick matures someday. :(

[jack_of_none]

Well, honestly, I feel like if the writer is dead there's really no point in worrying about whether or not you agree with his real-life views. You're not putting money in Lovecraft's pocket when you buy a nice hardcover Arkham House anthology.

[shamanicshaymin]

I got that impression with Lovecraft as well. "Eh, he's dead and harmless." And he's barely the only one to have racist implications in his writing. :P