"The Americans"
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1vharty
I highly recommend A.O. Scott's series on forgotten-ish American writers in The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/books/writers-who-show-us-who-we-are.html?act....
I had never heard of either Edward P. Jones or Tillie Olsen before, but they both sound fascinating and would probably make great additions to LOA.
I had never heard of either Edward P. Jones or Tillie Olsen before, but they both sound fascinating and would probably make great additions to LOA.
2kalamazoo61
>1 vharty: I've been reading these posts for several years, regarding LOA, but have not really felt to reply until now. I'm really saddened to realize how few people know of Tillie Olsen's work. I read her some 40 years ago, as an undergraduate, and really enjoyed her work. However, her total output comes to just a couple hundred pages of printed work, so probably not enough for a stand alone volume. Her volume of four stories, entitled Tell Me a Riddle, runs to 116 pages in my copy. But they are haunting. Novelist Garth Risk Hallberg wrote a good appreciation of her at The Millions a few years ago. https://themillions.com/books-review/tell-me-a-riddle-0385290101 Perhaps she should share a volume with someone such as Grace Paley, another short story writer with a smaller output? I remember hearing of Olsen's passing years ago on NPR, a story which gave a good summary of her life and work. http://npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6737041
Just as an aside, I've been thinking that Harriette Arnow would be a worthy writer to include. I remember having to read her novel The Dollmaker as an undergraduate, about 40 years ago. I read later that Arnow was inspired by Zola's Germinal. It is a masterpiece of American realism, and really worth preserving as well. Very tragic and haunting story. It is still in print and available on Amazon, but it is very expensive.
Just as an aside, I've been thinking that Harriette Arnow would be a worthy writer to include. I remember having to read her novel The Dollmaker as an undergraduate, about 40 years ago. I read later that Arnow was inspired by Zola's Germinal. It is a masterpiece of American realism, and really worth preserving as well. Very tragic and haunting story. It is still in print and available on Amazon, but it is very expensive.
3kalamazoo61
I have not read A.O. Scott's articles, so I do not know which writers he wrote about. However, I have my own list of writers I think are worthy of inclusion in LOA. I'd been expecting others to mentions these writers, but I do not remember anyone mentioning them. If I'm wrong, I apologize. Some of these are probably more obscure than others.
Hubert Selby, Jr. This one seems like such as obvious choice to me that I'm surprised he has not had a volume or two already. He wrote some landmark fiction, such as Last Exit to Brooklyn and Requiem for a Dream.
Walter Van Tilburg Clark. His novel The Oxbow Incident has already been included in the volume on the western, but he wrote other books as well. I thought that The Track of the Cat was a better book.
Thomas Savage. He wrote westerns as well, but set in the 1920s and 1930, in Montana and Idaho, and centered on ranch life. Most are out of print. Probably his best known works are The Power of the Dog and The Sheep Queen.
Peter De Vries. Again, most of his books are out of print. Mainly comedic novels. The one I know best is The Blood of the Lamb. This one is less comedic, more tragic, but well worth the read.
Stanley Elkin. Novelist and story writer. The Dick Gibson Show is a good a place to start as any other.
John Gardner. The Sunlight Dialogues is a personal favorite. Just good fun. Full of magic and menace. But he wrote several other terrific books.
Andre Dubus. Master of the short story. His books include Adultery and Other Choices and Voices from the Moon. Highly recommended.
John Hersey. Hiroshima has already been included in a volume of reporting on WWII. However, he wrote many other books, many out of print. I always enjoyed The Call.
Chaim Potok. Several novels about the orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn. The Chosen and My Name is Asher Lev among others.
Hubert Selby, Jr. This one seems like such as obvious choice to me that I'm surprised he has not had a volume or two already. He wrote some landmark fiction, such as Last Exit to Brooklyn and Requiem for a Dream.
Walter Van Tilburg Clark. His novel The Oxbow Incident has already been included in the volume on the western, but he wrote other books as well. I thought that The Track of the Cat was a better book.
Thomas Savage. He wrote westerns as well, but set in the 1920s and 1930, in Montana and Idaho, and centered on ranch life. Most are out of print. Probably his best known works are The Power of the Dog and The Sheep Queen.
Peter De Vries. Again, most of his books are out of print. Mainly comedic novels. The one I know best is The Blood of the Lamb. This one is less comedic, more tragic, but well worth the read.
Stanley Elkin. Novelist and story writer. The Dick Gibson Show is a good a place to start as any other.
John Gardner. The Sunlight Dialogues is a personal favorite. Just good fun. Full of magic and menace. But he wrote several other terrific books.
Andre Dubus. Master of the short story. His books include Adultery and Other Choices and Voices from the Moon. Highly recommended.
John Hersey. Hiroshima has already been included in a volume of reporting on WWII. However, he wrote many other books, many out of print. I always enjoyed The Call.
Chaim Potok. Several novels about the orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn. The Chosen and My Name is Asher Lev among others.
4vharty
I'm sure this has been mentioned before, and I'm also sure rights would probably be a issue, but L. Frank Baum seems like an obvious eventual inclusion (Oz is one of America's quintessential fantasies), especially considering the recent slew of children's books.
5euphorb
>3 kalamazoo61: >4 vharty:
Please consider adding further suggestions for future volumes to the topic: "Future Volumes? Part 2" at https://www.librarything.com/topic/286378, which was created for this purpose (it is a continuation of "Future Volumes?" and the two together now have nearly 500 entries).
Please consider adding further suggestions for future volumes to the topic: "Future Volumes? Part 2" at https://www.librarything.com/topic/286378, which was created for this purpose (it is a continuation of "Future Volumes?" and the two together now have nearly 500 entries).
