Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Writing for writing's sake

I find it really interesting the response to the importance of narrative structure in the books we are reading.
I've also recently read The razor's edge, by Somerset Maugham and Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut, who, in telling other people's stories, have written themselves into that story as well, making the books a 'semi autobiographical fiction.'
There is evident structure in these books, even if time is played with in Slaughterhouse 5, but they are easy to follow and the purpose of the books is easily identified.
So, what I am getting at I suppose, is:
Henry Miller and Jack Kerouac- writing for writing's sake?

5 comments:

bookworm said...

In a novel like 'On the road' structure is almost unimportant. The sense of travel (or trip - excuse the pun) is conveyed by Kerouac's use of continous rhythm. William Burroughs and his infamous use of 'cut up' technique is an example of this in the true element...a sense of streaming consciousness is thus provided.

For example: "...all bespangled and bedecked with glittering buttons, visor, slick black jacket, a Texas poet of the night..."

'On the road' is great for another reason - and that is that it rebelled against the America of the fifties that was solidly conventional.

Adam

Hettie Betty said...

Woohoo! Thanks Adam.
I have been trying to express that these books are experiments with form and art and (dare I mention it) poetry. But I couldn't find a way to say it without sounding like a wanker.

Remember the stereotypical beatnik in beret and goatee reading poetry (or imagine Mike Meyers in So I married an axe murderer) It is all about rhythm daddy o.

bookworm said...

...and that's where i'm at my best my dear Hettie - sounding like a wanker (just one of my many strengths)

May i ask what is your fav of Burroughs? 'Cities of the Red night' would have to be my fav.
Some wicked characters in that one.

Adam

Hettie Betty said...

I spent a few hours on Sunday with Burroughs reading Junky. It was short and sweet and I quite enjoyed it. I am now informed about the life of junkies beyond my Trainspotting education (and this girl I used to know, but that's a different story). I tried Naked Lunch a few years ago, but found I wasn't really in the mood at the time. I also tried the Electric Kool Aid Acid Test by Wolfe around the same time. Perhaps I should give them both another try since I've had more of an easy intro to both authors in the meantime.
I enjoy finding out about authors, particularly from the lost and beat generations, so I can put some sort of context into reading them. I've only just realised that is the case.
Interesting reading- see the wiki page for 'author' and read 'literary significance' section. I recall reading Foucault "what is an author" whilst studying library science.
"Foucault's author function is the idea that an author exists only as a function of a written work, a part of its structure, but not necessarily part of the interpretive process. The author's name "indicates the status of the discourse within a society and culture", and at one time was used as an anchor for interpreting a text"

bookworm said...

That last point you raise is interesting...that we put our own imagery into a narrative more than we realise. In other words most of the time we are under the belief that it is the author who is dictating how we visualise the work. This is why film is often weak compared to the novel - because each individual's interpretation of events does not coincide with what is presented on film.
And that very last point/quote of yours is a beauty! Let's swap Ben Elton for Anthony Burgess and make
'A Clockwork Orange' funny...

ummm - hold on a sec...it already is :)