jeand@ihlpg.UUCP (AMBAR) (07/25/85)
> In article <228@hyper.UUCP> brust@hyper.UUCP (Steven Brust) writes: > >I can't hold back on this one. I have rarely been > >more put off by anything I read than I was by the > >afterword to On A Pale Horse. > > Agreed. I think it was Lester Del Rey who said that stories ought to live > or die by themselves, not by their introductory notes. For every author > note I read in a book or story, I read two or three that drive me up the > wall (I wasn't particularly thrilled to hear all about harlan ellison's > vasectomy in Croatoan, for example...) Hmmm. I agree that the *story* should not be judged with (or in light of) its introductory notes. On the other hand, as a would-be author (I practice on the net community at large, heh heh), I am fascinated by anything an author has to say about what was going through his/her head while writing... -- AMBAR {the known universe}!ihnp4!ihlpg!jeand "To those who love it is given to hear Music too high for the human ear." --Bruce Cockburn
chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Chuq Von Rospach) (07/27/85)
References:<228@hyper.UUCP> <3006@nsc.UUCP> <955@ihlpg.UUCP> In article <955@ihlpg.UUCP> jeand@ihlpg.UUCP (AMBAR) writes: >Hmmm. I agree that the *story* should not be judged with (or in light of) >its introductory notes. On the other hand, as a would-be author (I practice >on the net community at large, heh heh), I am fascinated by anything an >author has to say about what was going through his/her head while writing... Well, as an authorial apprentice, I also appreciate the analysis that I see of specific stories -- the recent discussions of Reign In Hell rate as a high point in this group for that. But I also feel that the analysis and explanation should be kept separate from the original publication -- authors notes tend to degenerate into self-indulgent prose too easily and often for my taste. -- :From the carousel of the autumn carnival: Chuq Von Rospach {cbosgd,fortune,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!nsc!chuqui nsc!chuqui@decwrl.ARPA Your fifteen minutes are up. Please step aside!