Slog - Comments on Top and Bottom http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom What is Harold Bloom's problem? ...American literary critic Harold Bloom called the academy's decision [to award Doris Lessing the literature prize] "pure political correctness." "Although Ms. Lessing at the beginning of her writing career had a few admirable qualities, I find her work for the past 15 years quite unreadable ... fourth-rate science fiction," Bloom told the AP. To begin with, Lessing, a Rhodesian-born author, has never been a good writer. All of her books/short stories/essays are not above the level of fourth-rate. So the prize has nothing to do with her writing. Nor has it anything to do with... Copyright 2008 Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:11:14 -0800 Mon, 15 Oct 2007 23:05:04 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Greg Oh noes! The awards are political? Thank God we've still got the Oscars, which are just as pristine, merit-based, and unbiased as ever.

]]> Greg http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825509 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825509 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:22:57 -0800 Comment by Carollani "Bloom is like the man who runs into a market and tells everyone that God is dead, as if this is still big news."

I love that, so much that I may plagiarize it in the near future.

]]> Carollani http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825516 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825516 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:26:18 -0800 Comment by kid icarus Nice post, Charles. I dig the image.

]]> kid icarus http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825519 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825519 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:27:41 -0800 Comment by arduous I'm no fan of Harold Bloom but ... shouldn't the Nobel prize for literature be about literature? I understand that often these prizes are *not* about literature, but shouldn't we aspire for them to be?

]]> arduous http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825522 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825522 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:29:35 -0800 Comment by Jeremy That's a very good point, Charles--it's interesting, normally it's very easy for critics to write off the Nobel in Literature as politically motivated, yet you've been the first to point out a rather clear connection. Perhaps the fact that Lessing is white, and her subject tends to have focused on white women, has contributed to the fact that precious few saw her as connected to Zimbabwe at all. In fact, the continued use of the old colonial name of the state serves to reinforce that the impression that she was just a transient white colonial.

]]> Jeremy http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825547 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825547 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:43:24 -0800 Comment by keshmeshi I've read several Nobel laureates and I agree. It's not just about literature.

]]> keshmeshi http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825549 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825549 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:43:56 -0800 Comment by Mr. Poe I'm still laughing at #1. Well said.

]]> Mr. Poe http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825550 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825550 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:45:54 -0800 Comment by elenchos That makes perfect sense. The visual of the two evil leaders is classic.

It's sad though: once people realize, they will stop writing. I mean, the reason you want to be in the lit game is for the fab prizes, right? If the prizes are going to be political, might as well go work for Hartford insurance or something.

]]> elenchos http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825569 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825569 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:56:12 -0800 Comment by cressona If Charles Mudede wants to denigrate and diminish Al Gore and Al Gore's Nobel Peace Prize, he's got a lot of catching up to do:
On the day after Al Gore shared the Nobel Peace Prize, The Wall Street Journal’s editors couldn’t even bring themselves to mention Mr. Gore’s name. Instead, they devoted their editorial to a long list of people they thought deserved the prize more.

]]> cressona http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825585 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825585 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 13:04:47 -0800 Comment by AtlSea Hey Dan - are you still in transit avoiding nasty restrooms at O'Hare?

I'm of the 3:44 Alaska flight back to Seattle and you're more than welcome to join me in the Delta's O'Hare Crown Room.

You might consider getting a membership to at least one airline lounge: wine & beer are typical free and the restrooms are at least better than those in the terminal. There's a higher quality of eye-candy too. What's not to like?

]]> AtlSea http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825586 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825586 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 13:04:55 -0800 Comment by Gurldoggie Going all the way back to a Slog post of October 4: "If Bloom came off any more ex cathedra in his judgments, he’d be pope."

]]> Gurldoggie http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825594 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825594 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 13:07:23 -0800 Comment by dr. thompkins Puleeze. There is no way I am going to take seriously anything Charles Mudede has to say about quality in writing. The Nobels political? Sure. Doris Lessing a fourth rate writer? Come on, Charles...

]]> dr. thompkins http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825595 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825595 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 13:07:24 -0800 Comment by Me @9: I don't think he was trying to bring Al Gore down so much as he was simply pointing out what was wrong with the comment.

]]> Me http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825608 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825608 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 13:17:15 -0800 Comment by The Baron All of her books/short stories/essays are not above the level of fourth-rate.

So that would make Charles... what? Fifth rate? Sixth rate?

]]> The Baron http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825661 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825661 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 13:56:34 -0800 Comment by tsm Well, yeah. Bloom's only reason for still breathing at this point is to serve as a museum piece that everyone gawks at. Perhaps he sees himself as Queen Margaret, prophesying doom upon us all.

]]> tsm http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825673 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825673 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 14:08:35 -0800 Comment by Will in 98103 The Golden Notebook is not fourth-rate fiction. Neither is The Grass Is Singing. These are fine works.

]]> Will in 98103 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825741 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825741 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 15:19:10 -0800 Comment by Issur Delightful post Charles. Erudite, brilliant discussion of the phony Nobel Prizes. You are four times the critic Harold Bloom will ever be Charles, you should be teaching at Yale, not Harold Bloom.

]]> Issur http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825781 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825781 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 16:00:15 -0800 Comment by sheila You are a 4th rate columnist so I guess you can ID who else is in your league, right? You probably belong to the Heart of Darkness book club, zzzz.

Also, get your facts straight man. Lessing was born in Persia, but went on to grow up in Rhodesia.

]]> sheila http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825825 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825825 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 16:48:47 -0800 Comment by You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me If that is their intention (and I agree that it must be) then instead of degrading these awards by awarding them to such obviously undeserving persons as a form of criticism of their perceived foils, they need to create the equivalent of a Nobel “Raspberry” and use it to target those they want to criticize and own up to that criticism instead of going about it in such a cowardly backhanded way.

]]> You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825845 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825845 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 17:05:03 -0800 Comment by Jude Fawley If you ever run into Harold Bloom at a cocktail party and you want to piss him off, ask about his book the "Flight of Lucifer," Bloom's sequel to David Lindsay's great "Voyage to Arcturus". Apparently he hates it so much he disowned it.

Charles, Re: Lessing, are you sure you are an unbiased reader? You might have a chip on your shoulder... Just a thought...

]]> Jude Fawley http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825964 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c825964 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 20:28:50 -0800 Comment by BillyBob He doesn't have a chip on his shoulder. He has a hard-on for... CHOKLATE

]]> BillyBob http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c826021 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/10/top_and_bottom#c826021 Books Mon, 15 Oct 2007 23:05:04 -0800