Digest urth.v028.n060 Original Forms

Patri10629 · 25 Oct 1999, 23:51 · from urth-v0028.mbox · original

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From: Patri10629 at aol.com
Subject: (urth) Re: Digest urth.v028.n060 Original Forms
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 1999 19:51:18 EDT
Message-ID: <urth-v0028-0226 at digest.urth.net>
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Rave on Lupes!

The discourse has trickled right up my alley.

To put Alga's point a bit more crudely: I love the fact that Wolfe has take=
n=20
the base materials of given/cliched genre forms and transformed them. The=20
most decadent and  successful form of recent popular literature: the extend=
ed=20
sf/fantasy sequence, becomes, in his hands, something (I would argue)=20
original. Form isn't everything. Unless you think three chords can't make a=20
great original pop song. (Robert Johnson, "Gloria")

Heck he even plays with the forms: 2:the failed trilogy (the soldier books)=
,=20
5: a quatrian (right word?) and a coda (New Sun), 4: the incomplete (or sal=
l=20
we say "dangling") quatrain (Long Sun) and, 3: a trilogy (short sun). 12=20
books in the Sun series. Hmmm. A trilogy in 12 parts. What do you call that?

Wouldn't it be funny if, years from now, someone postulates that the Sun=20
books are really One book?

Incidently, the extended series form allows him an income spread over=20
years--not a little matter, buds.=20

Apologies for being redundant and obvious. And, Alga, I Like it when you ge=
t=20
pompous.

best,

Patrick O'Leary

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/

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