Two short peices about writers :

Salman Rushdie

So this weekends National Post had an evisceration of Rushdies new novel. I love Rushdie , he is one of my favourite writers. One of the very few who writes with grace and intelligence about Diaspora. His writings seem to travel through time, space and location w. acrobatic ease. He has written both about the lonely consequences of abandoning your homeland ( Midnights Children) and robust satires about being too attached to your homeland ( Satanic Verses ). The latest one, as far as i can gather, is about murder, sex, class war and New York and (more importantly )Ellis Island as a trope. It has a Lolita doll that has made a great intellectual more money then God and the suppression of abuse that made the doll needed . Now the ideas sound exactly like something Rushdie would write about brilliantly . I have not read it but the last one that was savaged (Ground Beneath her feet) is my favourite , so i am excited .

The other interesting thing was that this thread of envy about Rushdie that seemed to permeate the piece. The First column described his troubles and how American Writers have written American Epics . It also mentioned his friendships with Martin Amis, Tina Brown , Christopher Hitchens and Susan Sontag. Nothing that has anything to do with the book reviewed. The photograph that illustrated this reviews was Rushdie in a tux at some fab event with his new nubile girlfriend . This probably has something to do with the slaughter of the book.

Ginsberg

I am rereading the collected poems of Allen Ginsberg as well as his essay collection. His later poems seem boring, drug addled and self congratulatory . I am desperate for one line that matches the Yawp found in his 5 famous ones from the 50s ( America, Kaddish, Sunflower Sutra , Howl and A Supermarket in California.) None does, as it gets closer to the end, it reverts to this embarrassing sing song dirges. Is this a case of putting away childhood things.

That said his essays his witty, bitter, funny and conversational. He convinces you in a very clever and forward way. Maybe he will be remembered like Gertrude Stein, not as a writer but curator and scenester . Not a bad reputation to die with .