High School English class. How awful! For the first 3 years I had the same teacher. He loved Dickens and short choppy sentences. I learned to tolerate old Boz, and the chop came naturally.
Senior year, my school got a second English teacher and all we dumb kids were"elected" to join the new kid's class. He loved Fitzgerald. At 17 which would you rather read David Copperfield or The Great Gatsby? Tender is the Night or Oliver Twist?
(Then he wrote Gatsby)
Today's birthday boy is more likely remembered than read, which is a shame. Many of his stories haven't aged well, but there are few better sentence stylists alive or dead. It was Scott Fitzgerald who taught me to love literature and for that I'll always be grateful.
Toad
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3 comments:
Copperfield or Gatsby? At 17, no contest, but perhaps at 13 Dickens gets a look-in. All those pints of porter and chops for lunch and the fabulous comfort of Peggoty's skirts to hide in.
Tender or Twist is a no-brainer, though. Unremitting gloom versus cocktails and brittle, brutal conversation.
Pour me a drink, darling.
The August 1st New Yorker magazine unearthed a "forgotten" Fitzgerald story you might enjoy.
Best wishes,
Doug in Philadelphia
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2012/08/new-yorker-out-loud-a-re-discovered-f-scott-fitzgerald-story.html
Thank you for the NY'er story. I noticed it was available, but last week was not propitious for such searches. This week will be.
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