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2007 Nov 11

November 11: On This Day …

By Sean Lindsay

In 1821, Fyodor Dostoyevsky was born. Author of Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, he spent four years in a Siberian labour camp for the crime of being an intellectual. He is considered one of the founders of the Existentialist movement, and a major influence on Proust, Faulkner, Camus, Nietzsche, Joyce and Hemingway. You will never be this good.
In 1922, Kurt Vonnegut was born. The only science fiction writer not exclusively read by engineering students and other science fiction writers. As a prisoner of war in WWII, he witnessed firsthand the devastation of the Allied bombing of Dresden, an event which formed the basis of his most famous work, Slaughterhouse-Five. Before the success of his novel Cat’s Cradle, he considered quitting writing. In a 2006 interview, when asked about his last, incomplete novel If God Were Alive Today, he stated: "I’ve written books. Lots of them. Please, I’ve done everything I’m supposed to do. Can I go home now?" In a short fiction collection he included eight rules for writing a short story. Number three is the best: "Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water." You will never be this good.
In 1928, influential Mexican author Carlos Fuentes was born. He is best known outside Mexico for his historical novel Gringo Viejo, filmed as Old Gringo, featuring the crusty old bastard Gregory Peck as the crusty old bastard Ambrose Bierce.
In 1970, Australian short story writer Lee Battersby was born. Winner of numerous awards with names like Ditmar, Aurealis and WotF, his most significant contribution to literature to date is inspiring 101 Reasons to Stop Writing.
In 1990, Greek poet and nine-time Nobel bridesmaid Yiannis Ritsos stopped writing, the hard way.

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5 Comments

Li:

Nothing on Norman Mailer? I mean, he was a mean drunken bully, but he was also far more (undeservedly) famous than anyone reading this site will ever be.

November 11th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
Sean Lindsay:

Mailer was a drunken bully, and couldn’t spell fuck, and he died on November 10. I’ll get him next year.

November 11th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
the individual voice (TIV):

Yesterday I posted another Demotivator poster on my blog for the second time this week, but of course I know you won’t visit because it might encourage me and all my buddy Nanowrimos who now think you are very cool. I wouldn’t mind if you commented something discouraging, though.

November 14th, 2007 at 9:37 am
Lee Battersby:

“…he spent four years in a Siberian labour camp for the crime of being an intellectual”

Big fucking deal. I’ve spent 28 years in Perth!

And what are you trying to do, mentioning me in the same breath as Dostoyevsky, Vonnegut, and Fuentes? Embarrass me into quitting?

November 14th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
Sean Lindsay:

Just trying to place you in the historical perspective. (Your birthday is listed on Wikipedia’s Nov 11 page. How else would I know?)

November 15th, 2007 at 1:00 am

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