Douglas Barbour wrote:
> So you both have fund a way beyond the pastoral, Ken & Hal, the former
> through horror, the latter through a wry irony that still cuts close to the
> bone.
>
> And perhaps the point is that such a thing as 'pastoral' (& accompanying
> moods) is now impossible in the First World, let alone the 3rd (& the 2nd,
> wherever it may be)....
Rather a strong statement, that last. But it's hard for me as an
individual, at least, to question it. I would love to cross the street
from where I live, look out at the Atlantic Ocean, and see
something...lovely and without an edge. Some days that is possible:
days when it is warm and with a mild breeze. But they're not my writing
days, are they? Some sort of "How Green Was My Valley" thing would be
nice--but even that popular novel and the wonderful 1941 film that
followed it had moments of darkness that reflected the coal pits, and
mixed with scenes of horror...the price for the life lived on the surface.
"Can't you just enjoy it for what it is?" Nobody else ever hear that one?
No. I can't. What it is for me is never quite what I'm told it's
supposed to be. I'm learning to keep my mouth shut in front of people
who don't write.
ken
--
Kenneth Wolman
Proposal Development Department
Room SW334
Sarnoff Corporation
609-734-2538
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