"Realistic fiction leaves out too much." - Gene Wolfe

James Wynn · 29 Apr 2011, 22:43 · from 2011-April.txt.gz

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From: crushtv at gmail.com (James Wynn)
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 17:43:34 -0500
Subject: (urth) "Realistic fiction leaves out too much." - Gene Wolfe
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Well, I understand that Wolfe is saying, among other things, that 
Naturalism and Realism address solely what *is* as opposed to What Might 
Have Been and therefore cannot state authoritatively "Why What Is Is". 
You can't address the nature of Identity in Realistic fiction. You can't 
take seriously mythology, miracles, magic or ghosts (even though people 
REALLY act as though such things are true, and some claim experiences 
that confirm it).

Still, it's quite a thing to say for an author who typically stops the 
narrative just when a big (apparently important) action scene is about 
to occur-- a writer who creates vast worlds and has the reader look at 
it through a paper towel tube.

J.

On 4/29/2011 4:50 PM, Daniel Petersen wrote:
> 'I do think he is saying realistic fiction leaves out the unexplained 
> mystery of life, the majestic grace of the impossible that creeps into 
> our everyday, that ignores things that are beyond the rational and 
> explicable laws of the commonly perceived reality and fiction'
>
> Yes.  So, no.  I don't think it's the pot/kettle scenario.
>
> DOJP
>
> On Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 9:43 PM, Marc Aramini <marcaramini at yahoo.com 
> <mailto:marcaramini at yahoo.com>> wrote:
>
>     Some of Wolfe's interviews are priceless for that quality.
>      "Looking for the thumb print under the lily"?  Oh, it was a lily,
>     huh?
>
>     Anybody read his contribution to Last Drink Bird Head?  I feel
>     like that little exercise is SO classic Wolfe.  Sets up a
>     scenario, throws in a random plastic toy, and then leaves us to
>     figure out how the concluding event went down.  I think it is not
>     necessarily an impossible task, but it sure is a bit inscrutable
>     to fully "get" that conclusion. (Did Damon Knight get really mad?
>     What happened to the toy?  why is the unconscious guy back there
>     at the end of the bar?  Is that his toy bird?)
>
>     I do think he is saying realistic fiction leaves out the
>     unexplained mystery of life, the majestic grace of the impossible
>     that creeps into our everyday, that ignores things that are beyond
>     the rational and explicable laws of the commonly perceived reality
>     and fiction, (but we all know what he was really saying, anyway).
>
>     --- On Fri, 4/29/11, James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com
>     <mailto:crushtv at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     > From: James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com <mailto:crushtv at gmail.com>>
>     > Subject: (urth) "Realistic fiction leaves out too much." - Gene
>     Wolfe
>     > To: "The Urth Mailing List" <urth at lists.urth.net
>     <mailto:urth at lists.urth.net>>
>     > Date: Friday, April 29, 2011, 12:24 PM
>     > I just read this quote by Wolfe.
>     >
>     > Irony? Pot-Meet-Kettle?
>     >
>     > J
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