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from Publishers Lunch:
"Stephen King’s "humorous, sentimental and defiant" (AP) speech in
accepting his medal for distinguished contribution to American letters dominates the coverage. Quotes:
He claimed the award on behalf of other popular authors like Elmore
Leonard, Jack Ketcham, John Grisham, Dennis Lehane and at least "a
dozen more."
"I am begging you not to go back to the old way of doing things."
He asked for the National Book Foundation to avoid "tokenism" and to
build bridges "between popular fiction and literary fiction."
"You know who you are and where you stand and most of you here
tonight are on my side."
He has no "use for those who make a point of pride in saying they have never read anything by John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Mary Higgins Clark or any other popular writer."
"Whaddaya think, you get social academic brownie points for staying out of touch with your own culture?"
(LAG: and there was much cheering from The Rest of Us)
In the case of fiction winner Shirley Hazzard, that answer would be a yes. "I don't think giving us a reading list of those who are most read at this moment is much of a satisfaction." She’s busy with Shakespeare and Conrad, doesn’t own a television, and hasn’t read anything by Stephen King. "I just haven't had time to get around to one." Plus, "I don't regard literature ... as a competition." (According to the most recent Nielsen Bookscan figures, her well-reviewd novel has sold a little over 3,500 copies since its release in early October.)
(LAG: what, she can't read Shakespeare and Conrad and King? Bunch of _us_ do! Well, okay, not Conrad. Scarred for life by that one...)
Reuters
http://click.email-publisher.com/maabGxsaa2i4oa2wovGb/
AP
http://click.email-publisher.com/maabGxsaa2i4pa2wovGb/
"Stephen King’s "humorous, sentimental and defiant" (AP) speech in
accepting his medal for distinguished contribution to American letters dominates the coverage. Quotes:
He claimed the award on behalf of other popular authors like Elmore
Leonard, Jack Ketcham, John Grisham, Dennis Lehane and at least "a
dozen more."
"I am begging you not to go back to the old way of doing things."
He asked for the National Book Foundation to avoid "tokenism" and to
build bridges "between popular fiction and literary fiction."
"You know who you are and where you stand and most of you here
tonight are on my side."
He has no "use for those who make a point of pride in saying they have never read anything by John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Mary Higgins Clark or any other popular writer."
"Whaddaya think, you get social academic brownie points for staying out of touch with your own culture?"
(LAG: and there was much cheering from The Rest of Us)
In the case of fiction winner Shirley Hazzard, that answer would be a yes. "I don't think giving us a reading list of those who are most read at this moment is much of a satisfaction." She’s busy with Shakespeare and Conrad, doesn’t own a television, and hasn’t read anything by Stephen King. "I just haven't had time to get around to one." Plus, "I don't regard literature ... as a competition." (According to the most recent Nielsen Bookscan figures, her well-reviewd novel has sold a little over 3,500 copies since its release in early October.)
(LAG: what, she can't read Shakespeare and Conrad and King? Bunch of _us_ do! Well, okay, not Conrad. Scarred for life by that one...)
Reuters
http://click.email-publisher.com/maabGxsaa2i4oa2wovGb/
AP
http://click.email-publisher.com/maabGxsaa2i4pa2wovGb/
