I stole this little tidbit from author, Douglas Clegg
Authors take solace from Wretched Reviews. You're in good company!
"...as unaquainted with art as a hog is with mathematics."
The London Critic review of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass
Want more solace, go to Wretched Reviews and bathe in the sweet revenge of successful writers. And hey, looks like they sell t-shirts, if you want a daily reminder that the critics are often WRONG.
PS - I promise I'm not selling this stuff. I just thought it was cool. But heck, you're welcome to send me money anytime you want.
Comments
Just popping in to say hello again. Indeed, this is a refreshing thing to see. Some days, you just need to look at the trials and insults others have withstood on the path to greatness, whatever our progress along that path. For the musicians (like me) in your readership, I'd also recommend Nicolas Slonimsky's Lexicon of Musical Invective: Critical Assaults on Composers Since Beethoven's Time, which contains some truly brutal attacks on some great masters.
Great to see you.
Yes, knowing others have survived and thrived beyond the critic's poison pen (or worse) is a helpful thing. At has the HAH! factor that's so fun to dive into.
I'll look for the Slonimsky book. I went to conservatory for college and I remember reading a book written by a musician about orchestral musicians. He did a comic profile of all the players in the orchestra as related to their instruments. It was uncannily accurate and very funny. I've never been able to recall the name but it's one of those books that I'll always remember (I hope folks will say that about my work someday even if they don't remember the title).
He included a great section about tyranical conductors - some of them can be as bad as the critics. One story I remember was of a conductor whom insisted on conducting a solo french horn lick at the opening of The Oberon Overture (I think that was the one). The horn player had been playing it with this conductor for many years, and it was an insult and over-controlling to conduct such a thing in a professional orchestra.
The horn player was retiring and on the night of his final concert, they played Oberon. The conductor started to beat with his baton, and the horn player just sat there. The conductor tried again, and again the horn ignored him. Finally, the conductor put down his baton and folder his hands, nodded to the horn player and the solo went on beautifully for the final time without the "help" of the conductor. HAH!
Hope to see you again, Romann.
Happy Holidays!
Fran
As for you writing anything decent - PA-LEEZE! If you were here I'd bonk you on the head, woman. You must know by now you write like you've made some Faustian pact.
Get out. Have some fun. It'll all look brighter soon.
Love,
Fran