October 20th, 2009 / 3:52 pm
Snippets

To continue the discussion of theory and creative writing, a little excerpt from a Lorrie Moore piece in NYRB about mid-century Latin American writer Clarice Lispector:

“In France she was viewed as a philosopher–and at times it does seem that calling her a novelist is a little like calling Plato a playwright–but when she attended a literary conference where her work was discussed in theoretical terms, Lispector left the panel early, saying later that not understanding a word that was being said about her own work made her so hungry that she had to go home and eat an entire chicken.”

12 Comments

  1. alec niedenthal

      that’s amazing! i know someone who’s writing a thesis on lispector, probably theory-based. cool.

  2. alec niedenthal

      that’s amazing! i know someone who’s writing a thesis on lispector, probably theory-based. cool.

  3. Blake Butler

      haha. she is dope.

  4. Blake Butler

      haha. she is dope.

  5. sean

      I was at a lit conference in Louisville (they invited me to do a creative reading) and after my reading the audience of lit academics asked me question after theoretical question I could not understand. I kept saying, “I don’t understand your question.” The words were big and crazy and made my head go whoosh-whoop. I felt stupid. Finally, one young man scolded me; he said, “You are at a LITERATURE CONFERENCE!”

      I said, “Yes, but you invited me as a writer.”

      Anyway.

  6. sean

      I was at a lit conference in Louisville (they invited me to do a creative reading) and after my reading the audience of lit academics asked me question after theoretical question I could not understand. I kept saying, “I don’t understand your question.” The words were big and crazy and made my head go whoosh-whoop. I felt stupid. Finally, one young man scolded me; he said, “You are at a LITERATURE CONFERENCE!”

      I said, “Yes, but you invited me as a writer.”

      Anyway.

  7. Amy McDaniel

      hehe, nice. i like that the non-comprehension didn’t make Lispector mad, just…hungry. i want more of my cognitive states to register as hunger for poultry,

  8. Amy McDaniel

      hehe, nice. i like that the non-comprehension didn’t make Lispector mad, just…hungry. i want more of my cognitive states to register as hunger for poultry,

  9. Ken Baumann

      Yes.

  10. Ken Baumann

      Yes.

  11. Ross Brighton

      the logic is flawless.

  12. Ross Brighton

      the logic is flawless.