February | 2015 | Guy Portman's Blog

Happy Birthday John Steinbeck

Feb 27 2015

John Steinbeck would have been 113-years-old today. As it is his birthday, I am devoting this week’s blog post to him.

(February 27th 1902 – December 20th 1968)

Born in Salinas, California, John Steinbeck went on to become a prolific novelist and short-story writer, and one of the most acclaimed literary figures America has ever produced. Steinbeck’s accolades include The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1940) and the Nobel Prize in Literature (1962).

Steinbeck’s most famous book and my favourite novel is The Grapes of Wrath. As most of you probably already know it is about a poor family of Oklahoma sharecroppers, the Joads, driven from their land during the 1930s’ Dust Bowl and The Great Depression. The book was viewed as so controversial at the time of its publication due to its criticism of the nation’s economic plight that it was burned on 2 separate occasions in the author’s home town of Salinas.

Steinbeck was very critical of capitalism and a supporter of unionisation. These are recurring themes in many of his books, most notably in In Dubious Battle (Click on the link to read my review). In Dubious Battle is set to be adapted for the silver screen. It will be directed by James Franco.

Steinbeck is the master of character development. This is on full display in his short novel The Wayward Bus, one of my favourite Steinbeck novels.

My Review – An unlikely group of characters are travelling through rural South California by bus. In his unique style Steinbeck proceeds to explore each personality in intricate detail; their inhibitions, motivations, intimate thoughts and hopes for the future … (More)

Another Steinbeck that I would recommend if you haven’t read it already is The Pearl. Unlike the majority of his books which are set, at least in part in the Salinas Valley, it is set in Mexico. The Pearl is a parable about the darker side of human nature – greed, jealousy, social divisions, the unjust nature of the world and how we are all prisoners of circumstance. Click here to read my review.

One of Steinbeck’s lighter and more optimistic novels is Sweet Thursday. Whilst readers would undoubtedly enjoy this book more having read the prequel Cannery Row first, it is not essential to do so. Click here to read my review.

I stopped reading Steinbeck’s books a couple of years ago as I wanted to save some for my later years, although I am planning to read the episodic novella The Red Pony soon. I hope to visit the Salinas Valley next time I am in the U.S.

I look forward to hearing about your Steinbeck reading experiences.

4 Famous Male Writers’ Writing Styles

Feb 20 2015

Every author has his/her own distinctive writing style. My own evolving writing style utilises dry humour, satirical observations and concise prose.

This week’s blog post is dedicated to 4 famous writers’ writing styles:

James Joyce

(February 2nd 1882 – January 13th 1941)

Notable works: Ulysses, Finnegans Wake, A, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

Ireland’s most famous author is remembered as being one of the most influential writers of the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century. Joyce embraced an experimental, stream of consciousness writing style. His seminal work Ulysses contains more vocabulary words (30,030) than the entire Shakespearean canon of 38 plays.

The former poet took his experimental style a step further with his final book, Finnegan’s Wake (1939). Written in Paris over a period of 17 years, Finnegan’s Wake utilises a stream of consciousness style, idiosyncratic language and literary allusions. The book is regarded as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the English language.

William S. Burroughs

(February 5th 1914 – August 2nd 1997)

Notable works: Junkie, Queer, The Soft Machine, The Naked Lunch.

William S. Burroughs was at the forefront of the Beat generation, influencing the likes of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. His often-controversial works (c.f. drugs and homosexuality) include 18 novels, in addition to a number of novellas and short stories, many of which are semi-autobiographical in nature. Burroughs’s writing is characterised as being sardonic, dark, humorous and confessional.

Burroughs was the pioneer of the collage technique, which entails cutting up text with a pair of scissors and then rearranging it to create new text. His seminal work, the non-linear and highly controversial Naked Lunch was created in this manner.

Click on the links to read my reviews of Junky and Queer.

Ernest Hemingway

(July 21st 1899 – July 2nd 1961)

Notable works: The Sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Old Man & the Sea.

Ernest Hemingway won The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1953) and The Nobel Prize in Literature (1954). Hemingway embraced the minimalist style of writing that he had been required to use when he had been a journalist. This style, known as The Iceberg Theory (Theory of Omission), utilised short, terse sentences, which was in stark contrast to the ornate prose of the literati of the time. It is this simple and direct writing style that has endeared Hemingway to so many readers down the years.

Click here to read my review of The Old Man and the Sea.

Jack Kerouac

(March 12th 1922 – October 21st 1969)

Notable works: On the Road, The Dharma Bums, Big Sur.

American novelist, poet and artist Jack Kerouac was a member of the Beat Generation. Kerouac primarily wrote autobiographical novels. His most famous book, On the Road, is set against a backdrop of poetry, jazz and drug use. It was the defining work of the post-war Beat Generation.

Kerouac typed On The Road over a period of 3 weeks in the spring of 1951, on a 3-inch thick, 120-foot long scroll. Through attempting to omit periods from his work and improvising words he created his own innovative, spontaneous prose writing style – a style that was influenced by Jazz music and Bebop.

Click on the links to read my reviews of Maggie Cassidy and On The Road.

Record Breaking Authors

Feb 13 2015

This, the latest instalment in my series of author related blog posts, is dedicated to World record breaking authors. As an author myself I find this topic fascinating, and I hope you will too.

Here are some record breaking authors:

Most Prolific Author Ever – American born author Lauran Bosworth Paine (1916-2001) can lay claim to being the most prolific author of all time. Paine, who had more pen names (70) than most authors have titles, wrote approximately 1000 books.

Best Selling Author Ever – The Guinness Book of World Records lists Agatha Christie, the creator of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, as the best-selling novelist of all time. She sold approximately 2 billion books.

Best Selling (non-English language) Author Ever – Prolific Belgian author Georges Simenon (1903-1989) wrote nearly 200 novels, in addition to many shorter works of fiction. He has sold approximately 550 million books.

Fastest Author Ever – Contemporary Irish novelist John Boyne claims to have written The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas – a best selling fictional account of a boy living through the Holocaust – in only two and a half days.

Worst Author Ever – Obviously this is a matter for conjecture, but it is difficult to argue with author Michael N. Marcus’s claim in his book Stinkers that ‘BIRTH CONTROL IS SINFUL IN THE CHRISTIAN MARRIAGES and Also ROBBING GOD OF PRIESTHOOD CHILDREN!!’ by ELIYZABETH YANNE STRONG-ANDERSON is the worst book ever. Every letter in this ludicrous, grammatically error strewn, excessively priced abomination (£113.92) is capitalised. Due to these reasons Yanne Strong-Anderson wins the accolade – the World’s worst author ever.

Oldest Author Ever – Ida Pollock, who died in 2013 at the age of 105, just weeks before her 125th book was published, might well be the oldest author ever. The romance novelist sold millions of books over the course of her long lifetime.

Youngest Author Ever – Dorothy Straight is on record as being the youngest published author ever. At the age of 4 she wrote a story for her grandmother, which went on to be published by Pantheon Books in 1964 when the author was 6.

Richest Author Ever – A number of sources including Celebrity Net Worth claim that JK Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, is worth a reported $1Billion.

Poorest Author Ever – There are so many penniless authors out there, it was impossible to verify each and every claim. I have therefore been forced to leave this category blank.

Most Pretentious Author Ever – This reader appreciates Vladimir Nabokov’s (author of Lolita) remarkable linguistic abilities. However his ornate writing style, which utilises a vast array of obscure English words, in addition to French, German and Russian, as well as his obsession with wordplay (c.f. synesthetic details & acrostics) has resulted in the ever self-indulgent Nabokov winning the accolade of the most pretentious author ever.

Most Reclusive Author Ever – There have been a lot of reclusive authors down the years, but surely none more so than prolific American poet (I know I said authors) Emily Dickinson. By her late thirties her reclusive habits entailed rarely leaving the house and speaking to visitors from the other side of her closed front door.

7 Institutionalised Male Writers

Feb 06 2015

3 weeks ago I dedicated a blog post to the subject of female writers who spent time in mental institutions. Today it is the men’s turn.

Here are 7 male writers who spent time in mental institutions:

Paulo Coelho

(Born: August 24th 1947)

Prior to becoming the best-selling Portuguese language author ever, Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho was a successful songwriter. His seminal work, The Alchemist, has been translated into 80 languages. At the age of 17 Coelho’s parents, concerned about his introverted, non-conformist behavior, had him committed to a mental institution, where he was fed tranquilizers and given electroshock treatments. The author escaped several times before he was finally released at the age of 20.

Richard Brautigan

(January 30th 1935 – September 14th 1984)

American novelist, poet and short story writer Richard Brautigan is best remembered for his 1967 novel Trout Fishing in America. In 1955, Brautigan, having decided that he was insane, demanded that he be arrested. When the police refused he threw a rock through the police station window. During his 10-day jail term Brautigan was examined by a physician, who had him committed to a mental institution. During the author’s 3-month stay he received electroshock treatments.

Tennessee Williams

(March 26th 1911 – February 25th 1983)

American playwright Tennessee Williams found fame with his play The Glass Menagerie in 1944. By 1959 Williams had won 2 Pulitzer Prizes, 3 New York Drama Critics Awards, 3 Donaldson Awards and a Tony Award. After the death of his lover in 1963 the heavy drinking Williams spiralled into depression and drug use, resulting in several stints in mental facilities, where he was given injections and sedatives.

David Foster Wallace

(February 21st 1962 – September 12th 2008)

David Foster Wallace was an American novelist, essayist and short story writer. Time magazine included his novel Infinite Jest in its best 100 English language novels from 1923 to 2005. In 1989 the heavy drinking author, who was prone to fits of depression, had a 4-week stint at the McLean mental hospital. With the help of medication he was able to overcome his depression and addiction. Unfortunately however the depression returned and he committed suicide in 2008.

The Marquis de Sade

(June 2nd 1740 – December 2nd 1814)

This Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat, who wrote novels, plays, short stories and political tracts. He is best remembered for his erotic writing which depicted violent sexual fantasies. The words sadist and sadism are derived from his name. In 1803, shortly after Napoleon ordered that de Sade be imprisoned, he was declared insane and sent to Charenton asylum, where he remained until his death in 1814.

Ezra Pound

(October 30th 1885 – November 1st 1972)

American poet and critic Ezra Pound was an influential figure in the early modernist movement. In 1945 Pound was arrested in Italy for treason and returned to the United States, where he was incarcerated in St. Elizabeth’s Hospital for the criminally insane in Washington DC. At the hospital he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. During his 13 years residing there Pound worked on various translations. He was eventually freed in 1958.

Robert Lowell

(March 1st 1917 – September 12th 1977)

Boston born poet Robert Lowell’s fourth book of poems, Life Studies, won the 1960 National Book Award. His other accolades include winning the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1947 and 1974. The poet suffered from bipolar disorder and was hospitalised on a number of occasions, including in 1954 after the death of his mother. Later Lowell was able to control his illness through the use of Lithium. His wrote about his experiences in his confessional poetry.