tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703861414547309188.post791994232441976737..comments2024-03-25T20:40:44.806-04:00Comments on Literary Rejections on Display Now Has Long COVID: What I Learned at the #AWPWriter, Rejectedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241982229214057815noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703861414547309188.post-48144262917481516962015-04-26T17:57:17.375-04:002015-04-26T17:57:17.375-04:00I think the discussion went off track somewhere.
...I think the discussion went off track somewhere. <br /><br />I understand Prose's objections based on (what I surmised to be) her impression of the award. I think they are valid for an ambitious artist, and understandable. I certainly don't think she regards herself or her work as "pure," and any good writer regards social class and background as integral to decent work. <br /><br />Best to you with your book.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703861414547309188.post-33949253787325664392015-04-26T17:22:20.104-04:002015-04-26T17:22:20.104-04:00Oh, but Anony, every award that is not otherwise n...Oh, but Anony, every award that is not otherwise named is generally the "Best Anglo White Male Award." That's why there are so many OTHER categorized awards. I am fine with anyone who refuses any award based on the principle that his/her work is pure and above social class and category. More power to you, friend. As for me, I would never refuse any award, nor any reader, for any reason. Maybe it's a more a matter of world view or spiritual philosophy? I say: "Thank you for recognizing my novel in any way shape or form." That's all.Writer, Rejectedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17241982229214057815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703861414547309188.post-43357786407445959762015-04-26T14:57:06.760-04:002015-04-26T14:57:06.760-04:00I think many women probably do resent being reward...I think many women probably do resent being rewarded for being "women writers," in exactly the same way female physicians resent being lauded as "lady doctors." I love Alice Munro and Anne Beattie equally as much as I love Cheever and Nabakov. And my personal love and appreciation for the last two would be neither diminished nor expanded by their having won the "Best Anglo White Male Award" -- but for many other readers, it might. <br /><br />I think decent authors resent the opportunity for such narrowing and misunderstanding of their work being made possible by award committees. Such categories are fundamentally arbitrary.<br /><br />It's a far profounder compliment to praise an average book as good literature, than to award that same book as superb female or gay fiction. And it's easy to see why. The first is based on its merits as art. The second is sanctioned condescension.<br /><br />I think Prose is objecting to the implications of the award given her, and I don't think she has much choice in that. It's the principle at stake--her book and how its understood--not the award itself.<br /><br />If I ever suspected that my only reward as an author would merely be (more) labels and categories, I would join the Navy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703861414547309188.post-2603094075390812862015-04-26T12:05:58.452-04:002015-04-26T12:05:58.452-04:00Of course a book is much more than the award categ...Of course a book is much more than the award category it wins in, but do you think women who win the Bailey's Literary Prize for Women resent being labeled by gender? Do winners of the "Coretta Scott King Book Award" for outstanding African American authors and illustrators not want to win the award because it diminishes the fact that their African American (and white) characters are more than just their race and literature should be read by all people, regardless of race, ethnicity and color? This is how we award our writers: in categories and with labels. Is an LGBT category more label-y and restrictive of an author's fiction? Does it make less of her literature than it is by nomination? Or is the objection simply that Prose is married to a man, and just happens to be writing about a lesbian who is not a very savory chatracter? Not sure. But no need to call out one categorizing award over any of the others, right? Just sayin'. Writer, Rejectedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17241982229214057815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703861414547309188.post-39233583763072704482015-04-26T11:53:05.315-04:002015-04-26T11:53:05.315-04:00One of your first impressions about Prose's re...One of your first impressions about Prose's reaction to Lambda was probably the right one. Namely that she--like most artists--resents being labeled a certain variety of author, or her book being slipped into an ordained category. Award committees and the general public tend to want to categorize--and who wants that? No author does, not when you're attempting to capture life in all its dramatic fullness. <br /><br />"Billy Budd, Foretopman" voted best Homoerotic Historical by Lambda. Oi, Melville would say. But isn't it so much more than that? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703861414547309188.post-67183364394426002542015-04-21T15:56:26.732-04:002015-04-21T15:56:26.732-04:00Thanks, Emily. It seems the more things change, th...Thanks, Emily. It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. Congrats on your novel forthcoming in 2016, BTW. Read it on your website.<br /> <br />Writer, Rejectedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17241982229214057815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703861414547309188.post-54838007382754913922015-04-21T13:36:51.166-04:002015-04-21T13:36:51.166-04:00Love this post. As always, thanks for letting us i...Love this post. As always, thanks for letting us in on all the behind-the-scenes action! That encounter with FP is very odd, and I would have interpreted it all of those ways as well. So disappointing when you meet such a brilliant writer and they are just so... ugh/wtf.Emily Sasohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06230018030198463285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703861414547309188.post-75495331990545442812015-04-21T13:36:50.298-04:002015-04-21T13:36:50.298-04:00Love this post. As always, thanks for letting us i...Love this post. As always, thanks for letting us in on all the behind-the-scenes action! That encounter with FP is very odd, and I would have interpreted it all of those ways as well. So disappointing when you meet such a brilliant writer and they are just so... ugh/wtf.Emily Sasohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06230018030198463285noreply@blogger.com