Line in the Sand

July 13th, 2004 · No Comments
by Booksquare

Our world is place where artists are afraid to offend because it affects the bottom line. Of course, there are exceptions to this statement (though we do love a sweeping generalization — it gets the blood going!). Yet (and this is a favorite rant of ours) more often than not interviews and commentary is safe. You will never hear an actor say, “He was torture to work with. I’d rather have a root canal without drugs than spend another hour in his company.” This, despite months of lurid “they hate each other” stories. We can only presume the speakers needs to fool himself, because a discerning listener (substitute reader) certainly isn’t buying it.

We have heard authors say they won’t comment on another author’s work. Professionalism. We’re not sure we buy that argument. It is possible to have a critical, honest discussion without trashing someone. Yet to shy away from all but glowing praise strikes us as false. Perhaps this is why we enjoyed this little essay by George Bowering so much. He certainly isn’t shy about his beliefs. We suspect he would be a vaguely uncomfortable party guest — perfectly polite, well-behaved, the type to put his recyclables in the clearly marked container…and eloquent about sharing his opinions. Yes, that’s the kind of guest we enjoy most. Looks like Mr. Bowering will be getting an Evite to our next bash.

File Under: Square Pegs