July 20th, 2009 / 4:48 pm
Snippets
Snippets
Matthew Simmons—
My dear friend Brad, one of the best-read and brightest autodidacts I know, reads Burroughs’ Queer and wonders if maybe he would have developed an appreciation for it earlier if he had been introduced to it in a classroom. Bonus: Four Tet managed a Madvillian remix that is as good as the original. I know. Hard to believe. Forgive me Madlib.
Being introduced to it in classroom’s one thing, but the guarantee that the professor’s going to be able to answer questions outside answers he/she’s only read is sad. Regardless, the autodidact can read things and decide for themselves what can be rendered as useful or interesting, depending on their mood or curiosity and where they are in their life, to keep from being bored to death. Also, timing’s a decent factor for the kind of flavor the palate’s ready to taste.
There’s a science to layering things in the brain–whether you’re going to take it in and let it sit there and clone it or deliberately take it apart and apply it’s pieces later. Understanding the influences of a formula versus what makes a style influential is also something to consider.
Brad speaks of the rhythm of Hemingway and Kerouac. Without knowing those two, Burroughs couldn’t possibly be appreciated so passionately.
Being introduced to it in classroom’s one thing, but the guarantee that the professor’s going to be able to answer questions outside answers he/she’s only read is sad. Regardless, the autodidact can read things and decide for themselves what can be rendered as useful or interesting, depending on their mood or curiosity and where they are in their life, to keep from being bored to death. Also, timing’s a decent factor for the kind of flavor the palate’s ready to taste.
There’s a science to layering things in the brain–whether you’re going to take it in and let it sit there and clone it or deliberately take it apart and apply it’s pieces later. Understanding the influences of a formula versus what makes a style influential is also something to consider.
Brad speaks of the rhythm of Hemingway and Kerouac. Without knowing those two, Burroughs couldn’t possibly be appreciated so passionately.
Oh yeah, aside from the fact that making A’s on everything and having to absorb and memorize like massive text and being told how to see it as important, even if its crap, makes it hard to trust sources too. I majored in English for one semester before I switched to Psychology. The head of the English Dept taught three of my classes–standing there in the front, reading straight from the book, while I slept and knew I was gonna fail. Fuck Billy Budd. James Fenimore Cooper was fine.
I’ve never had a writing class, so I ask creative writing majors what I missed out on, and they say various things like: It burned me out, to: we wrote, stood there and read in front of everybody and got criticism; that it wasn’t worth it; that if you have friends who’ll do it for you, trusted sources, to go with that and save money. But I’m sure it’s different for everybody.
Oh yeah, aside from the fact that making A’s on everything and having to absorb and memorize like massive text and being told how to see it as important, even if its crap, makes it hard to trust sources too. I majored in English for one semester before I switched to Psychology. The head of the English Dept taught three of my classes–standing there in the front, reading straight from the book, while I slept and knew I was gonna fail. Fuck Billy Budd. James Fenimore Cooper was fine.
I’ve never had a writing class, so I ask creative writing majors what I missed out on, and they say various things like: It burned me out, to: we wrote, stood there and read in front of everybody and got criticism; that it wasn’t worth it; that if you have friends who’ll do it for you, trusted sources, to go with that and save money. But I’m sure it’s different for everybody.