March 25th, 2010 / 1:01 am
Author Spotlight

MOMMY ISSUES

The reward of relative fame for you as a writer is the ease with which others can casually diminish your life’s work. Which writer’s life obsession can’t be succinctly, correctly condensed into a single jealous phrase? This rotten fruit of your success lives forever.

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28 Comments

  1. Obligatory

      Tao Lin: “I’m bored.”

  2. Obligatory

      Tao Lin: “I’m bored.”

  3. Amelia Gray

      Great, now we have to close comments

  4. Amelia Gray

      Great, now we have to close comments

  5. zusya

      the Bible: “Muhammad’s newer.”

  6. zusya

      the Bible: “Muhammad’s newer.”

  7. Kyle Minor

      Maybe a writer like Jim Shepard, so much of whose work is about parsing other people’s preoccupations, although maybe in that case, we could say it’s all about empathy. But that’s not a very satisfying word if you mean to wound with your jealousy, is it?: Mr. Empathy?

  8. Kyle Minor

      Maybe a writer like Jim Shepard, so much of whose work is about parsing other people’s preoccupations, although maybe in that case, we could say it’s all about empathy. But that’s not a very satisfying word if you mean to wound with your jealousy, is it?: Mr. Empathy?

  9. ryan

      Shakespeare?

  10. ryan

      Shakespeare?

  11. Donald

      “humanity and shit”

  12. Donald

      “humanity and shit”

  13. Amber

      I love Jim Shepard. He’s one of my favorite contemporary writers and I think you hit on exactly why. He’s parsing other people’s lives and obsessions. I don’t know anything about him from his stories (except that he’s obviously a history nut) and I love that I don’t know anything about him from his stories.

  14. Amber

      I love Jim Shepard. He’s one of my favorite contemporary writers and I think you hit on exactly why. He’s parsing other people’s lives and obsessions. I don’t know anything about him from his stories (except that he’s obviously a history nut) and I love that I don’t know anything about him from his stories.

  15. Lincoln

      Well, noting that I love a lot of Jim Shepard’s work too, if we are trying to be snarky and jealous sounding maybe:

      “Hey, what would it be like to be this random person?”

  16. Lincoln

      Well, noting that I love a lot of Jim Shepard’s work too, if we are trying to be snarky and jealous sounding maybe:

      “Hey, what would it be like to be this random person?”

  17. Amber

      Lol. That definitely is the Shorter Jim Shepard.

  18. Amber

      Lol. That definitely is the Shorter Jim Shepard.

  19. Blake Butler

      i’ve actually been thinking about this a lot lately. can’t think of any exceptions. i can’t tell if it makes me sad or happy to realize.

  20. Blake Butler

      haha

  21. Blake Butler

      i’ve actually been thinking about this a lot lately. can’t think of any exceptions. i can’t tell if it makes me sad or happy to realize.

  22. Blake Butler

      haha

  23. Daniel

      Love + Hydrogen floored me. I came across it in High School and went – ‘This here.. This is The Thing.’

  24. Daniel

      Love + Hydrogen floored me. I came across it in High School and went – ‘This here.. This is The Thing.’

  25. ZZZZIPP

      FOR EVERY THREE STINKERS THERE ARE A THOUSAND HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHERS WHO WISH THEY COULD BE YOU

  26. ZZZZIPP

      FOR EVERY THREE STINKERS THERE ARE A THOUSAND HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHERS WHO WISH THEY COULD BE YOU

  27. Catherine Lacey

      “teen sex and old blood”

  28. Catherine Lacey

      “teen sex and old blood”