Anthony Burgess on the writer's struggle
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- Burgess writes that the price of contributing to literature 'is often struggle and penury: art is still too often its own reward'. Where English literature is concerned, 'art is still too often its own reward. It is salutary sometimes to think of the early deaths of Keats, Shelley, Byron, Chatterton, Dylan Thomas, of the Grub Street struggles of Dr Johnson, the despair of Gissing and Francis Thompson. That so many writers have been prepared to accept a kind of martyrdom is the best tribute that flesh can pay to the living spirit of man as expressed in his literature. One cannot doubt that the martyrdom will continue to be gladly embraced. To some of us, the wresting of beauty out of language is the only thing in the world that matters.'
Surely Tony would have added "But, er having said that, I'll write anything for a fiver!" Hope to see more uploads in '24 Geoff, old fruit.
Ha ha, suitably bathetic and quite accurate. Johnson's 'Only a fool writes for anything but money' was Burgess's motto, to be sure.
The old Bamber Bridge near Preston intellectual teacher returns ! happy 2024
He returns indeed! I very much enjoyed my visit to Bamber Bridge. Thanks for visiting In Search of Anthony Burgess.
Thought about the play one handing clapping
It's been ages since I was last! here. No matter I was re-reading the last of the Enderby books and the ending still seems unfinished or not quite ..? what I am not sure.. I wonder if you know anything about the writing of the last book, the conditions, the drafts and so on and whether he Burgess had a thought for writing a 5th. I often tried to imagine it. Enderby as a type of romans a fleuve... and why not? the English version of a French genre ... or picture a type of Remembrance of Enderby! hhahahah A character whose day is not done in my opinion. I wonder who would could or might wish to try this out? But on a much better level than what Sophie Hanna tried to do with Hercule Poirot.... were to do I'd go the Enderby the poet part first and write poems as Enderby... A thought! Voila, Hope you are well. ....
Another feeling or result for the loss of Burgess the writer is still felt by each true reader... I feel the loss when re reading Napoleon Symphony for instance.... Hoping he had gone to write a n entire three volumes about that amazing character.. Or how he might have re engaged with the themes of Earthly Powers and what a field day he'd have had with the present Pope and the entire blessing business and the transgender and the Catholic belief in the Resurrection. I can only see or imagine Burgess being the man and the write to have done this, to have marshalled the energy... I think we only got a glimpse of what he could have yet done.