tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21671128.post5636320506990201988..comments2024-01-19T13:24:15.734+00:00Comments on ::Acquired Taste: Tim Strettonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08598897603628943741noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21671128.post-34026953300865280442010-07-16T07:50:44.862+01:002010-07-16T07:50:44.862+01:00"Dank" is a great word--but not, I agree..."Dank" is a great word--but not, I agree, a great inducement for a beer.<br /><br />The beer Vance refers to in The Face doesn't sound a whole lot better...<br /><br />"The serving boy brought two great tankards of a vile mouse-flavored beer. Lens Larque quaffed his portion in three gulps and by the exigencies of the situation I was forced to do likewise, all the while giving fervent if silent thanks to the iron belly and matchless capacity developed by my many long years as a purchasing agent."Tim Strettonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08598897603628943741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21671128.post-75751099500462239172010-07-15T22:36:48.709+01:002010-07-15T22:36:48.709+01:00Hmm. Hard to choose between "Dark Wort" ...Hmm. Hard to choose between "Dark Wort" and "Dankwort."<br /><br />Although any beer with "dank" in its name seems to me to have limited commerical appeal. So if y'all ever start up the Integral Brewing Company, I'd advise you go with "Dark Wort."David Isaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21671128.post-65033595313769671402010-07-12T08:29:43.193+01:002010-07-12T08:29:43.193+01:00Paul is right that Vance did revise extensively. ...Paul is right that Vance did revise extensively. I remember one letter to his publisher complaining about an over-intrusive copy editor in which he said he tuned his prose like a mechanic tuned a Lamborghini.<br /><br />Once he was happy with the text, he was resistant to editors' requests for further changes, normally complying in the most minimal fashion possible.<br /><br />For a fuller discussion, see Alun Hughes' remarkable essay for the Vance Integral Edition:<br /><br />http://integralarchive.org/essay-alun.htmTim Strettonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08598897603628943741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21671128.post-72979991456464388362010-07-10T18:12:08.640+01:002010-07-10T18:12:08.640+01:00Pens, I see from the ms. Green ink in some cases.Pens, I see from the ms. Green ink in some cases.David Isaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21671128.post-19899903575996145752010-07-10T17:15:50.967+01:002010-07-10T17:15:50.967+01:00Thanks for the link!
So 4.4 million words is the ...Thanks for the link!<br /><br />So 4.4 million words is the "winnowed-down" version.<br /><br />That's a lot of pencils. Or pens.David Isaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21671128.post-72786490724382746772010-07-09T02:17:34.238+01:002010-07-09T02:17:34.238+01:00Yes he did rewrite. He was compulsive about it. Hi...Yes he did rewrite. He was compulsive about it. His first drafts were in longhand. Then he would go through them, striking stuff out and tightening it, striving for exactly the right words.<br /><br />Then he would do a second draft and treat it the same way.<br /><br />Finally, he would pass the pages on to his wife, Norma, who would type them up.<br /><br />Then, often as not, he would edit the typed pages in longhand.<br /><br />You can check out a page of the first draft of Maske: Thaery at http://www.vancemuseum.com/manuscripts/maske/maske_thaery_first_draft.htm.<br /><br />-Paul Cooperpecooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07808659105665044897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21671128.post-49925492243423531152010-07-08T17:40:40.275+01:002010-07-08T17:40:40.275+01:00Yes, you're right--his prose in the Dying Eart...Yes, you're right--his prose in the Dying Earth books does have it's own flavor, and its hue is decidedly more purple.<br /><br />I do admit he can be economical. In one of the Lyonesse books he explains a region by observing that its mud is "sour." Precise and very tight.<br /><br />I quite enjoyed this post. When you describe it in this fashion, the influence is clear, but I'm not so sure that it would be obvious to readers out of context. Which ought to caution all those (usually critics) who think they are tracing influences in novels.<br /><br />4.4 million words. Wow. I wonder how many pages he usually pushed out a day. I wonder if he rewrote much.David Isaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.com