Joyce Carol Oates thinks you should get a life, is on suicide watch

February 27th, 2009 / 3:06 pm Justin Taylor—

Yowze. That sounds like it was a fun room to be in

February 27th, 2009 / 11:14 am pr—

I love J to the C to the O. I realize that is uncool of me. Her early stories are some of my all time favorites. Ontario Review Press (hers and her recently deceased husband, Ray Smith’s press) put a nice collection out of her early stories years ago. I treasure it. Upon the Sweeping Flood is burned into my brain, as is Where Are you Going, Where Have you Been.

You gotta give her a break about blogging- she’s really not young. like you have to forgive Roth for freaking out that people walk around talking on cellphones. Like Cheever asking “what is the meaning of a dying barbershop?” Aging is very alienating.

Anyway, very cool. She’s easy to make fun of, but she’s no joke. She’s written some truly great stuff.

February 27th, 2009 / 11:28 am Leigh Stein—

I love Foxfire. And I love underfed one-eyed house cat women.

February 27th, 2009 / 11:29 am Justin Taylor—

pr- I’ll say this. when i was putting the Apocalypse Reader together, JCO was incredibly generous. She sent me the weirdest story she had, which had been in Ontario Review once but had *never been collected in a book of hers* along with a note that if it was TOO weird, she’d get me something else. I loved the thing she sent, which if you’ve seen my anthology is this bizarre double meditation on dismemberment that starts in two columns and then ends with a parable about the suburbs. a week after i gave her her contributor copy, she wrote me a very nice note, which suggested that she’d actually read the damn thing. i thought it was class all the way.

February 27th, 2009 / 11:52 am Gayle—

Aging is very alienating? I don’t think that age has anything to do with one’s view on blogging. I’m 61 and I enjoy blogging. I see it as just another venue for conversation and sharing writing. If someone doesn’t “get it” or enjoy it, perhaps it’s just not where he/she wants to spend their time. Age is only alienating if you allow it to be. JCO’s choices may not be age related – only preferences.

:O)

February 27th, 2009 / 4:08 pm barry—

fox fire was great. lots of her early stuff was pretty fucking good. i read this one, forget the name, about this girl who falles in love with her teacher then he takes her on as a ga and he drugs her and has her pose for the fucked up pics and she burns his house down. lots of dh lawrence poem references. cant remember the name of it, wish i could though.

met her last year in nyc. she’s a bit of a fucking weirdo i think, but i think most people are weirdos.

February 27th, 2009 / 4:15 pm ryan—

there’s nothing better than people who ask stupid questions getting shut down like that. classic. i wish i had been there.

February 27th, 2009 / 4:17 pm Matt Cozart—

Beasts, I think.

February 27th, 2009 / 4:33 pm Brandon Hobson—

I really, really like JCO’s short stories. Some of them are completely weird and so well written. I haven’t read any of her novels except The Tatooed Girl, which I liked a lot. I think she’s brilliant.

February 27th, 2009 / 4:49 pm barry—

i think thats right.

February 27th, 2009 / 4:56 pm james yeh—

denis johnson is also good at shutting down dumb questions.

i saw him read at the new school last year after he won the national book award. every question was either about vietnam or drugs. he made some smartass remarks that made me laugh and then feel depressed. after his reading i went to go stand in line with all the other people who wanted to meet him. a couple guys i saw had three or four copies of tree of smoke for him to sign. when i got to him i handed him my worn (and embarrassingly annotated) copy of jesus’ son and tried to say something to him about poetry. he sort of nodded and then turned to sign something else and i left, feeling even more depressed and vaguely angry for having been just like everyone else trying to get something from him.

February 27th, 2009 / 1:14 pm pr—

Well, everyone’s health and attitude is different, of course. She is in her 70s I think? And I refer to the Cheever quote I posted from his journals, where he beautifully describes how watching the world change is hard. He says many things, including, “I know my city, but does it know me?” Clearly everyone is different, but it’s not uncommon to feel left behind.

February 27th, 2009 / 1:16 pm pr—

This is great. Not eveyone is good with the “public”. And so many times, meeting a hero sucks. James- you got an essay or story in this one.

February 27th, 2009 / 1:20 pm ryan—

i still haven’t read tree of smoke, jesus’ son is one of my favorite books though.

February 27th, 2009 / 5:25 pm Tim Jones-Yelvington—

Friggin dog stories, man. That one comment makes me like JCO better than I ever have previously.

February 27th, 2009 / 1:25 pm Tim Jones-Yelvington—

Friggin dog stories, man. That one comment makes me like JCO better than I ever have previously.

February 27th, 2009 / 5:28 pm Tim Jones-Yelvington—

She also doesn’t need to blog to promote her work. She’s Joyce Carol Oates.

February 27th, 2009 / 5:32 pm Lincoln—

But what does she think of twittering?

February 27th, 2009 / 1:32 pm Lincoln—

But what does she think of twittering?

February 27th, 2009 / 5:35 pm james yeh—

ha

February 27th, 2009 / 5:37 pm james yeh—

jesus’ son is pretty much a “handbook of style”. it’s probably my favorite collection of short stories. i couldn’t get through tree of smoke though. the pacing was too different, i think. i’ll probably try again, eventually.

February 27th, 2009 / 1:37 pm james yeh—

jesus’ son is pretty much a “handbook of style”. it’s probably my favorite collection of short stories. i couldn’t get through tree of smoke though. the pacing was too different, i think. i’ll probably try again, eventually.

February 27th, 2009 / 5:42 pm Lincoln—

probably a tumbler girl.

I gotta admit, I left this event after she rambled for half an hour about how she wasn’t able to ever right a biography. Although I heard the Q and A stuff was good.

February 27th, 2009 / 5:42 pm james yeh—

thanks pr. i’ve been trying to write that for awhile now.

i forgot to add what he said to me, which was something like “i don’t really do poetry anymore”, or something along those lines. maybe he didn’t say it at all, but that’s what it felt like he said. it felt bad. i was embarrassed.

February 27th, 2009 / 1:42 pm james yeh—

thanks pr. i’ve been trying to write that for awhile now.

i forgot to add what he said to me, which was something like “i don’t really do poetry anymore”, or something along those lines. maybe he didn’t say it at all, but that’s what it felt like he said. it felt bad. i was embarrassed.

February 27th, 2009 / 5:43 pm Lincoln—

I think the part you are leaving out is that you were wearing an airbrush t-shirt you got at the mall that had DJ’s head bursting out of a cloud and a flaming hawk carrying a rainbow around it with the caption “The author of my dreams!”

That probably made the interaction a little awkward for him.

February 27th, 2009 / 5:44 pm james yeh—

i left in the middle of the Q and A, during a particularly tedious exchange btw her and a woman with a really thick accent.

February 27th, 2009 / 1:44 pm james yeh—

i left in the middle of the Q and A, during a particularly tedious exchange btw her and a woman with a really thick accent.

February 27th, 2009 / 1:50 pm pr—

lincoln is feeling it these days. love it.

February 27th, 2009 / 5:52 pm blake—

joyce carol oates

February 27th, 2009 / 5:55 pm Matt Cozart—

This morning I resumed reading Already Dead after having lazily neglected it for months. I love it.

February 27th, 2009 / 1:55 pm Matt Cozart—

This morning I resumed reading Already Dead after having lazily neglected it for months. I love it.

February 27th, 2009 / 6:00 pm Lincoln—

Okay, JCO fans:

Any suggestions on where to start?

I’ve always felt like I should read JCO but her oeuvre is just so gigantic and doesn’t seem to have one or two books that stand out as clearly the best like other authors do. I’ve never known where to dip my feet into first.

February 27th, 2009 / 2:18 pm pr—

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0865380783/ontarioreview-20

early stories, man. then, What I Lived For. Of course, fan that I am, I’ve read like 1/10 of her work. Or maybe 1/10. Maybe less. I like her non-fiction on boxing, too.

February 27th, 2009 / 6:20 pm james yeh—

heh sorry blake

February 27th, 2009 / 2:20 pm james yeh—

heh sorry blake

February 27th, 2009 / 6:23 pm sam pink—

she kind of looks like ice t in that picture.

February 27th, 2009 / 6:26 pm davidpeak—

JCO is haunted by ghosts.

I read Gravedigger’s Daughter last year. The structure was a mess but the writing was incredible, fluid. If you’re looking for latter-era stuff, I’d give that a looksee.

February 27th, 2009 / 2:26 pm davidpeak—

JCO is haunted by ghosts.

I read Gravedigger’s Daughter last year. The structure was a mess but the writing was incredible, fluid. If you’re looking for latter-era stuff, I’d give that a looksee.

February 27th, 2009 / 6:28 pm ryan—

pr, i have not seen train dreams. what’s it in??

February 27th, 2009 / 2:38 pm pr—

Ryan- Train Dreams first appeared in–The Paris Review??? Then it was collected in O’Henry. So so gorgeous.
here it is all expensive
http://www.amazon.com/Train-Dreams-Denis-Johnson/dp/3936384150/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235759824&sr=1-2

here it is cheap, the o’henry collection-
http://www.amazon.com/Henry-Prize-Stories-2003-Awards/dp/1400031311/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235759824&sr=1-1

a used one for 1cent!

February 27th, 2009 / 6:50 pm ryan—

nice! thanks. i see it has a t.c. boyle story as well, between those two its certainly bound to be worth just about any price.

February 27th, 2009 / 6:59 pm Morgan—

I don’t know. I don’t really care one way or another about how she feels about blogs. But it seems to me from what’s written here that she was pretty ungenerous the whole night, acting as if she was being made to suffer fools. And frankly, when you have voluntarily taken on the role of a teacher, I think that kind of stuff is reprehensible at best, an affectation at worst. No matter how good your books are. I don’t think it’s cool to publicly cut people off at the knees for being young.

February 27th, 2009 / 2:59 pm Morgan—

I don’t know. I don’t really care one way or another about how she feels about blogs. But it seems to me from what’s written here that she was pretty ungenerous the whole night, acting as if she was being made to suffer fools. And frankly, when you have voluntarily taken on the role of a teacher, I think that kind of stuff is reprehensible at best, an affectation at worst. No matter how good your books are. I don’t think it’s cool to publicly cut people off at the knees for being young.

February 27th, 2009 / 7:10 pm barry—

the meeting denis johnson in pubkic comment reminds me of one of my favorite pieces about someone meeting a writer in public. ben tanzer wrote this piece about ira glass punching him in the face (which he did not do) i heard him read it at awp. great fucking piece. im gonna hunt the linkdown……

here it is. in july’s decomp:
http://www.decompmagazine.com/iraglasswantstohitme.htm

its pretty great.

February 27th, 2009 / 3:10 pm barry—

the meeting denis johnson in pubkic comment reminds me of one of my favorite pieces about someone meeting a writer in public. ben tanzer wrote this piece about ira glass punching him in the face (which he did not do) i heard him read it at awp. great fucking piece. im gonna hunt the linkdown……

here it is. in july’s decomp:
http://www.decompmagazine.com/iraglasswantstohitme.htm

its pretty great.

February 27th, 2009 / 3:32 pm pr—

Roth’s book about being a fan and meeting your idol – a short book, too, almost a novella- is FANTASTIC, for those who want to explore the woes of meeting idols:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ghost_Writer

February 27th, 2009 / 7:52 pm james yeh—

funny

February 27th, 2009 / 7:52 pm james yeh—

there’s also nicholson baker’s U and I

February 27th, 2009 / 7:52 pm james yeh—

and also, like, everything bolano’s written

February 27th, 2009 / 3:52 pm james yeh—

there’s also nicholson baker’s U and I

February 27th, 2009 / 3:59 pm pr—

I have heard of u and i but not read it. I’m not a huge Baker fan but also have not given him a chance in a while. I sorta want to read the matches book….I’ve not read Bolano. I burned out on Latin American and Spanish lit from living there for a year and studying it some in college–loved the stuff for awhile. Although I did read an Isabel Allende short story a few weeks ago that I dug.

February 27th, 2009 / 8:01 pm james yeh—

you should check out “meeting with enrique lihm” on the new yorker site. it’s pretty fantastic, i think:

http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2008/12/22/081222fi_fiction_bolano

February 27th, 2009 / 8:02 pm Justin Taylor—

Yeah the Ghost Writer is an amazing book. There’s also a great scene in the sequel, Zuckerman Unbound, where the tables are turned on the now-famous writer. He’s sitting in a restaurant trying to eat a sandwich and this guy comes up to him and sort of invites himself to sit and just *won’t* *let* *up*- he follows Z out of the restaurant and down the block. It’s an excruciating scene.

Not to take the focus of Denis Johnson (The Name of the World–anybody?) but I’d recommend the whole original quartet of Zuckerman books–they’re available in one spine, as Zuckerman Bound.

February 27th, 2009 / 4:02 pm Justin Taylor—

Yeah the Ghost Writer is an amazing book. There’s also a great scene in the sequel, Zuckerman Unbound, where the tables are turned on the now-famous writer. He’s sitting in a restaurant trying to eat a sandwich and this guy comes up to him and sort of invites himself to sit and just *won’t* *let* *up*- he follows Z out of the restaurant and down the block. It’s an excruciating scene.

Not to take the focus of Denis Johnson (The Name of the World–anybody?) but I’d recommend the whole original quartet of Zuckerman books–they’re available in one spine, as Zuckerman Bound.

February 27th, 2009 / 4:08 pm pr—

Just printed it out. When I was 22, I flew to Buenos Aires and tried to live there (lasted 6 weeks, a dude was involved). I was obsessed with Borges. So, maybe it’s time to start reading South American writers. I am about to go drink and watch tennis played in South America. The clay court South American season has just started….I’ve been dvding it all day.

February 27th, 2009 / 8:14 pm james yeh—

bolano would approve of what you just said, i think you would like bolano very much. all his stories are kind of like that.

February 27th, 2009 / 4:14 pm james yeh—

bolano would approve of what you just said, i think you would like bolano very much. all his stories are kind of like that.

February 27th, 2009 / 9:19 pm Justin Taylor—

I totally remember you telling me that story, now. Yes, you should post his reply- and your letter, if you still have it. That’d be awesome.

February 28th, 2009 / 12:31 am Matthew Simmons—

U and I is a really good book.

February 27th, 2009 / 8:31 pm Matthew Simmons—

U and I is a really good book.

February 28th, 2009 / 1:29 am Matt—

what’s wrong with dog stories? amy hempel, people!

February 28th, 2009 / 3:38 am daniel bailey—

she looks like that super-annoying woman from the cashforgold.com commercial.

February 27th, 2009 / 11:38 pm daniel bailey—

she looks like that super-annoying woman from the cashforgold.com commercial.

February 28th, 2009 / 8:29 am darby—

i don’t think i’ve ever read a jco story all the way through. I’ve past the point where i think her stopres would be good. maybe two years ago if i’d happened upon some. but now. i think i might be age prejudiced with the authos i want to read now. i want to read things new things by newer people. new people rule.

February 28th, 2009 / 3:15 pm Peter Markus—

Do go back to Fiskadoro. It’s a book where Denis Johnson was looking to reinvent himself after The Stars at Noon (not DJ at his best).

February 28th, 2009 / 11:15 am Peter Markus—

Do go back to Fiskadoro. It’s a book where Denis Johnson was looking to reinvent himself after The Stars at Noon (not DJ at his best).

February 28th, 2009 / 4:21 pm Peter Markus—

Jesus’ Son is Johnson at his best, for sure. But Fiskadoro is definitely worth the time to go back to. I wouldn’t call it scifi. More along the lines of Paul Auster’s In the Country of Last Things.

February 28th, 2009 / 12:21 pm Peter Markus—

Jesus’ Son is Johnson at his best, for sure. But Fiskadoro is definitely worth the time to go back to. I wouldn’t call it scifi. More along the lines of Paul Auster’s In the Country of Last Things.

February 28th, 2009 / 6:06 pm g—

DJ’s essay collection was pretty good too.

February 28th, 2009 / 2:38 pm pr—

isn’t it futuristic?

February 28th, 2009 / 8:10 pm Peter Markus—

Yes, it’s futuristic in the sense of “after the fall.” You know Johnson and his biblical obsessions.

February 28th, 2009 / 10:44 pm ryan—

apparently Johnson has a new novel coming out in a couple months… it sounds kind of like a noir detective thing. being a lover of that style and of his, i’m pretty excited.

February 28th, 2009 / 6:44 pm ryan—

apparently Johnson has a new novel coming out in a couple months… it sounds kind of like a noir detective thing. being a lover of that style and of his, i’m pretty excited.

March 1st, 2009 / 5:02 am Peter Markus—

Resuscitation of a Hanged Man (I think that the title) is sort of in that tradition if you haven’t read that. Not DJ at his best but it’s worth the read.

March 1st, 2009 / 2:37 pm Dan Wickett—

That is indeed the title Mr. Markus and I agree, not his best, but certainly worth the time.

And JCO may not write dog stories but she didn’t shy away from publishing them – Ontario Review Press published Dean Paschal’s By the Light of the Jukebox (a great fucking collection of stories, by the way) that contained two stories written from the point of view of dogs – one from a dog going mad wandering through a city, and the other front the pov of the runt of the litter – dead – as it sat in the owner’s freezer, shortly after birth.

So don’t let her fool you with that condescending attitude about dog stories (at least not anti-Marley & Me dog stories).

March 1st, 2009 / 10:37 am Dan Wickett—

That is indeed the title Mr. Markus and I agree, not his best, but certainly worth the time.

And JCO may not write dog stories but she didn’t shy away from publishing them – Ontario Review Press published Dean Paschal’s By the Light of the Jukebox (a great fucking collection of stories, by the way) that contained two stories written from the point of view of dogs – one from a dog going mad wandering through a city, and the other front the pov of the runt of the litter – dead – as it sat in the owner’s freezer, shortly after birth.

So don’t let her fool you with that condescending attitude about dog stories (at least not anti-Marley & Me dog stories).

March 1st, 2009 / 6:19 pm Peter Markus—

Speaking of dog stories, Leon Rooke’s novel Shakespeare’s Dog is a deliciously real pisser!

March 1st, 2009 / 2:23 pm pr—

I read Resescutation of Hanged Man! But again, 14 years ago or something like that. I liked it, though.

March 2nd, 2009 / 8:22 am james yeh—

agreed. somebody once described it to me as “if fuckhead was real, and a little older, and slightly smarter.”

the two stories about him in africa are absolutely essential.

March 2nd, 2009 / 4:22 am james yeh—

agreed. somebody once described it to me as “if fuckhead was real, and a little older, and slightly smarter.”

the two stories about him in africa are absolutely essential.

September 14th, 2009 / 5:45 pm HTMLGIANT / Back to Grad School—

[…] guest lectures while I’m still in the city. Hopefully they’ll be as memorable as the Joyce Carol Oates one last semester. Tags: MFA, sarah manguso, Sasha […]

September 17th, 2009 / 5:30 am sasha fletcher—

it’s not a collection it’s a book get it right goddam james what the fuck [7 months later]

September 17th, 2009 / 1:30 am sasha fletcher—

it’s not a collection it’s a book get it right goddam james what the fuck [7 months later]

Joyce Carol Oates thinks you should get a life, is on suicide watch

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