Re: SUPER THREAD: getting "into" Machen
Posted by:
Sawfish (IP Logged)
Date: 24 September, 2020 06:01PM
Kipling Wrote:
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> I think that's accurate. Machen's admiration for
> Dickens is clear in Heiroglyphics, and in an
> interview clip on YouTube he can be heard
> comparing Thackeray unfavorably to Dickens,
> further proving your point. I recommend Machen's
> later stories, especially those in The Children of
> the Pool and other stories (1924) to Sawfish as
> they suggest a new direction; they are underrated,
> IMO. "Out of the Picture", in that volume, is
> similar in tone to The Three Imposters. (I
> disagree with your criticism there), but expresses
> Machen's tripartite interest in
> aesthetics/pathological behavior/ and the romance
> of hidden things in general. I have just begun to
> read his two-part autobiography. Machen, like
> Doyle, developed a polished prose style that is
> semi-conversational, anecdotal-tinged, and
> imaginatively surcharged.
Thanks for this additional viewpoint. I just completed The White People, and now have that, plus The Black Seal and The White Powder under my belt. I may try to read some of his later stuff from among those works you recommended.
Two additional comments:
1) I come at this differently. I'm not a scholar, but rather a consumer. To that end I seldom care to learn much about an author, or only so much as it informs his method of expression. This means that it's possible for me to like the works of completely reprehensible characters in real life, or find no interest in the works of admirable characters. The work, itself, is paramount, and both intellectual outlook, and authorial style play a big role for me, with subject matter acting as a sort of beacon.
2) In speaking of Dickens and Thackeray, what is your opinion of your ED username's work, Kipling? I ignored him almost completely until about 2 years ago, and then got some of his stuff off of Project Gutenberg. I was thoroughly impressed with much of what I read. He's underappreciated, and possibly this is because he was a product of his age, and the characteristics of his age are viewed currently as unenlightened.
He was prolific, and this too, ironically, seems to have worked against him.
--Sawfish
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"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
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