The Snootiness of Gene Wolfe

Chris Thompson · 07 Mar 2004, 21:21 · from rec.arts.sf.written.2004.mbox

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From: cet1 at cus.cam.ac.uk (Chris Thompson)
Subject: Re: The Snootiness of Gene Wolfe
Date: 7 Mar 2004 21:21:34 GMT
Message-ID: <c2g3ou$s56$1 at pegasus.csx.cam.ac.uk>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
References: <Xns949D9FE6F929Difyouwanttoemailvisi at 199.45.49.11> <168f035a.0403021608.7dc7d1c2 at posting.google.com> <c27chc$6ac$1 at news01.cit.cornell.edu>

In article <c27chc$6ac$1 at news01.cit.cornell.edu>,
Ron Henry <ronhenry at blahblahblah.clarityconnectcom> wrote:
>> Josh <if.you.want.to.email at visit.joshbrain.tripod.org> wrote in
>message news:
>
>> > Of course, I really should offer support for this assertion. (Well,
>> > sudden realization anyway). Consider that the entire justification
>for
>> > Severian was that Wolfe wanted to write a character who would make a
>good
>> > halloween costume (this was revealed in an interview).
>>
>> This was probably said half-jokingly. Many artists like to play with
>> interviewers, especially with regards to the "cookie-cutter" questions
>> they ask. I would take that with a grain of salt.
>
>Well, I think Wolfe was sincere that he flashed on an image while
>thinking about costume balls at cons, and that this gave him ideas that
>led to the look of the torturers' guild -- but the real problem here is
>misrepresentation and overstatement by the original poster. To say that
>"the entire justification for Severian" was an idea for a "Halloween
>costume" is to grossly misrepresent Wolfe's comments. I read the
>interview he's referring to, and it's just a case of when Wolfe got a
>germ of an idea that, over time, evolved into a character. Long
>consideration of that character, in turn, lead to Wolfe beginning the
>New Sun books.

Wolfe also tells the story about the masquerade in "Helioscope" 
(originally written for _Empire_, but reprinted in _The Castle of 
the Otter_). It needs to be read in context, of course. But perhaps 
the most relevant comment is Wolfe's own (also in TCotO):

GW> You've now read two quite different pieces describing the way in 
GW> which _The Book of the New Sun_ came to be written. I wasn't lying 
GW> in either---writing's a complex process, and if I wanted to I could
GW> do a third piece giving quite different explanations. They, also,
GW> would be true.

Chris Thompson
Email: cet1 [at] cam.ac.uk

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