tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19502635.post3391873472943877590..comments2023-11-05T11:34:31.796-08:00Comments on Sex, Food, and Writing: John Updike Made Me Do ItDonnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13615190390845433428noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19502635.post-28905249516658961202009-02-06T19:13:00.000-08:002009-02-06T19:13:00.000-08:00Thank you as always, Emerald. We'll have to talk...Thank <I>you</I> as always, Emerald. We'll have to talk more about this in the hot tub!Donnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13615190390845433428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19502635.post-27262629128875601002009-02-06T18:19:00.000-08:002009-02-06T18:19:00.000-08:00Goodness, just the conversation going on in this c...Goodness, just the conversation going on in this comments section strikes me as richly fascinating. I <I>loved</I> Jeremy's comment -- marvelously expressed! -- as well as this comment, Donna:<BR/><BR/><I>"Part of what's going on is that the literary world says 'Updike is great, he speaks for America' and he didn't speak for me, so I had to wrestle with my desire to be part of the literati who Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19502635.post-14908790251155626152009-02-06T11:14:00.000-08:002009-02-06T11:14:00.000-08:00Thanks so much for stopping by, Alana! Hmm, that ...Thanks so much for stopping by, Alana! Hmm, that would be amusing if someone "responds" to my work some day. Updike was a writer of the old school and his almost immediate publication at <I>The New Yorker</I> fresh out of college gave him a skewed vision of the writing life, no doubt!<BR/><BR/>But the rest of us don't have to play by those rules. Sure, it's muddy down here in the peasant Donnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13615190390845433428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19502635.post-66860128744405098562009-02-06T10:34:00.000-08:002009-02-06T10:34:00.000-08:00Updike. I've read one thing. "A & P&q...Updike. I've read one thing. "A & P" and it's a model short story for any writer who writes short fiction. I have a couple of his novels and haven't read them. See, Updike and I parted ways long time ago. Something to do with his demoralizing attitude toward up-and-coming writers. With that said, I did appreciate his disdain for blogging. His opinion continues to haunt Alana Noel Vothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15678764751722565458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19502635.post-63671612325471472322009-02-06T10:19:00.000-08:002009-02-06T10:19:00.000-08:00Hey, Emerald and Jeremy, we'll have to have a virt...Hey, Emerald and Jeremy, we'll have to have a virtual hot tub party when the book comes out to celebrate!<BR/><BR/>Jeremy, I do appreciate your comment. Part of what's going on is that the literary world says "Updike is great, he speaks for America" and he didn't speak for me, so I had to wrestle with my desire to be part of the literati who share certain opinions of the Canon versus every otherDonnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13615190390845433428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19502635.post-11193612573407696972009-02-06T10:16:00.000-08:002009-02-06T10:16:00.000-08:00Well, Jolie, in reading those Bad Sex scenes, it d...Well, Jolie, in reading those Bad Sex scenes, it did strike me that sometimes the line between bad and good is wafer thin! And also taken out of context a scene might seem ridiculous when a reader following the whole story would be carried along in the emotion of the characters. One of the many ways erotica writers are put down is by people laughing at our work (not "with," "at"!) It might be Donnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13615190390845433428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19502635.post-21603075712201609252009-02-06T09:07:00.000-08:002009-02-06T09:07:00.000-08:00It's very inspiring, Donna, how you glean from...It's very inspiring, Donna, how you glean from Updike what's valuable to you while keeping perspective on where his work is at odds with your own worldview. I think your "JU Made Me Do It" story concept is a perfect tribute to the power of literature to reach us from another placeāand our power to accept from it what works for us, and leave the rest behind.<BR/><BR/><I>None of Jeremy Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01980177431018869829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19502635.post-64081236295657864842009-02-06T03:22:00.000-08:002009-02-06T03:22:00.000-08:00Such a lovely and interesting post, Donna -- thank...Such a lovely and interesting post, Donna -- thanks for this. And I loved your excerpt at the <I>Swing!</I> website. I much look forward to reading your story. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19502635.post-55264496860733663992009-02-05T22:16:00.000-08:002009-02-05T22:16:00.000-08:00Hi Donna,You have to understand that your writing ...Hi Donna,<BR/><BR/>You have to understand that your writing speaks for itself. Obviously, it's not BAD writing. Anyone can see that your excerpt, posted at my blog, is good writing. As for Updike, like I said before, there is no such thing as bad press. A "Bad Sex" award from the Literary Review ain't all that bad.GLBT Promohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14820785756693856574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19502635.post-82080580551370679872009-02-05T13:53:00.000-08:002009-02-05T13:53:00.000-08:00Thanks for your comment, Neve. Yep, he "gets" sex...Thanks for your comment, Neve. Yep, he "gets" sex in America, the shame and repression, the yearning, the thrill of the forbidden, the power of fantasy.<BR/><BR/>I'm really looking forward to this anthology. It's full of wonderful sex writers of new generations!Donnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13615190390845433428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19502635.post-29305519457868091382009-02-05T13:09:00.000-08:002009-02-05T13:09:00.000-08:00Hi Donna,John Updike's passing is loss for us all....Hi Donna,<BR/>John Updike's passing is loss for us all. I remember reading him for the first time and I was too young to understand the sex (yeah, I know, that does sound crazy, doesn't?). I decided to re-read his work again after I was a little older and I remember thinking, "boy this guy really gets it..." I have my own favorite passages from his Rabbit series. Poignant and dead-on. <BR/><BR/>Neve Blackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06106539156218430155noreply@blogger.com