boyajian%akov68.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (08/09/85)
From: boyajian%akov68.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (JERRY BOYAJIAN) > From: marotta%lezah.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (MARY MAROTTA) > A few recent messages briefly mentioned the "tall tales in a bar" subgenre. > I assume this is sub- to SF, but I have trouble characterizing the > subgenre. Would anyone care to describe their idea of what a "bar" tale > is? Perhaps a few more references to authors would help: Clarke, Cabell, > and Lord Dunsany have already been mentioned. Is this strictly a type > of short story? Well, we're discussing this in the context of sf, but the roots of the sub-genre are quite old. The idea of a story in which a character tells a tale goes back at least as far as AN ARABIAN NIGHT'S ENTERTAINMENT. There are also numerous stories of people telling stories around a campfire. The idea of setting this type of story in a bar or club (a la Dunsany) is not restricted, I'm sure, to sf, but I don't know any mainstream examples off-hand. In discussing such stories that take place in bars (such as Arthur Clarke's "White Hart", Spider Robinson's "Callahan's Place", deCamp & Pratt's "Gavagan's Bar", etc., I tend to also include those that take place in clubs, such as my earlier posting about Dunsany's "Billiard Club". As for other examples, there's Niven's "Draco Tavern" series, in CONVERGENT SERIES and LIMITS, plus an individual story in A HOLE IN SPACE ("The Fourth Profession") taking place in "the Long Spoon". There's also Stephen King's "The Breathing Method" (in DIFFERENT SEASONS). Even Peter Straub's GHOST STORY features a small club called, if I can remember correctly, the Chowder Society, the four members of which told ghost stories to each other. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Acton-Nagog, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...} !decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA
chabot@miles.DEC (All God's chillun got guns) (08/13/85)
Good heavens! We can't forget Canterbury Tales. It's an ancient technique and it still can excite and entertain us. A campfire, an inn, an bar, some place where strangers meet and are on equal footing. And even when tales aren't exchanged, *something* happens at these gatherings. What adds the charm to "The Trouble with Tribbles" but this very feature, how else could we have that brawl in the bar (where else would UFP'ers be drinking next to Klingons?). In _Dragon_Waiting_ when all arrive at the Swiss inn, my pulse elevated because I knew this was going to be a place of action. The Prancing Pony in _The_Fellowship_of_the_Ring_, where spies and friends are found, where the party of hobbits meets the tall mysterious stranger and Frodo makes that scene by disappearing after dancing off the table. A recent mainstream example of tales told in a bar or club is P G Wodehouse-- I remember at least one volume of short stories where this was the vehicle. I can also remember a Sayer's Lord Peter Wimsy story that starts out with a stranger relating his strange history in a bar. Is there any collection of Gavagan's Bar stuff in print these days? I've been looking, off and on, with not much success. L S Chabot ...decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-amber!chabot chabot%amber.dec@decwrl.arpa