Librarians love it when people challenge materials for whatever reason. On those days it seems that books matter. Words have impact! Ideas collide! Yee-dog.
A little controversy tends to boost interest. I'm not referring to fabricated memoirs (that's a whole different matter), I mean fiction or, heaven forbid, poetry. Salman Rushdie's novels may have confused or bored most people to death before he was sentenced to death for "insulting Muslims." Presto, the Ayatollah Khomeini lays out a fatwa calling for assassination of the poor guy and suddenly he's the writerworld's equivalent of a rock star. If they'd let him slide to begin with, relatively few would have given a flying leap about his work. Now he's a household name, at least among the hyper-literate.
When I worked at Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill in the mid-1980s, Clyde Edgerton (a very nice guy) came out with Raney, a light satire involving Southern Baptists. Apparently having the same level of humor as their Shi'ite counterparts, Southern Baptist leaders attacked Edgerton and his novel! He was forced out of his teaching job at a Baptist-led college and within months, we were reprinting Raney because more and more people wanted to read what all the fuss was about. It was the best thing that could have happened to him and Algonquin and, of course, we all loved it. I think we ran through five or six printings of Raney, and what writer wouldn't love that?
Clyde Edgerton has written another eight books since Raney, and last I heard, teaches at UNC-Wilmington. The Southern Baptist leadership has meanwhile stumbled from one scandal to another, hypocritical as ever -- only reinforcing the validity of Clyde's satire.
Today's Rune: Protection.
Birthdays: Victor Hugo, Fats Domino.
A little controversy tends to boost interest. I'm not referring to fabricated memoirs (that's a whole different matter), I mean fiction or, heaven forbid, poetry. Salman Rushdie's novels may have confused or bored most people to death before he was sentenced to death for "insulting Muslims." Presto, the Ayatollah Khomeini lays out a fatwa calling for assassination of the poor guy and suddenly he's the writerworld's equivalent of a rock star. If they'd let him slide to begin with, relatively few would have given a flying leap about his work. Now he's a household name, at least among the hyper-literate.
When I worked at Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill in the mid-1980s, Clyde Edgerton (a very nice guy) came out with Raney, a light satire involving Southern Baptists. Apparently having the same level of humor as their Shi'ite counterparts, Southern Baptist leaders attacked Edgerton and his novel! He was forced out of his teaching job at a Baptist-led college and within months, we were reprinting Raney because more and more people wanted to read what all the fuss was about. It was the best thing that could have happened to him and Algonquin and, of course, we all loved it. I think we ran through five or six printings of Raney, and what writer wouldn't love that?
Clyde Edgerton has written another eight books since Raney, and last I heard, teaches at UNC-Wilmington. The Southern Baptist leadership has meanwhile stumbled from one scandal to another, hypocritical as ever -- only reinforcing the validity of Clyde's satire.
Today's Rune: Protection.
Birthdays: Victor Hugo, Fats Domino.
6 comments:
So, all I need to do is finish writing my novel and then do something scandelous, right? This better work, because if I do something scandelous I'm going to lose my job.
I've been creating controversy all my life. Hasn't helped me yet, but one never knows. Interesting story about Edgerton's so-called writing scandal.
I can't forgive Rushdie for his media friendship with Bono. He should be sent to Coventry for that....
qI often shake my head when someone who has made lots of money because of some situation like this bemoans their poor self for having been so soundly attacked. Like, you say, the best thing that ever happened to them.
Years ago, when the Rushdie thing erupted, I got a call from my old friend Annie, whom I shared an interest in Central America with. She reminded me that I'd already read one of Rushdie's pre-fatwa books that she'd lent me, "The Jaguar's Smile." It's his account of a visit in the mid-eighties to Nicaragua, which was under siege from the United States at the time. While he was rightfully very critical of the United States' proxy war, through the contras, on Nicaragua, he was also critical of the Sandinista government's suppression of freedom of expression. It's been a consistent theme with him. I give him credit for that.
Thanks, all, for the comments. Some controversies are unintended, others are intended. Either way, scandals can be fun ;)
I guess the difference is between something that stirs things up holistically vs. "publicity stunts."
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