tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5248631738921296817.post7390799973470607358..comments2023-09-15T07:35:57.964-07:00Comments on Michele's Journal: John A. Williams and Chester HimesM.L. Simmshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850324550510860024noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5248631738921296817.post-38174344694015780772008-05-25T23:20:00.000-07:002008-05-25T23:20:00.000-07:00Randall, I'm just reading your post from May 9, 20...Randall, I'm just reading your post from May 9, 2008. Although I like Ellison, he and Wright also fell out. So I take his criticism of Wright with a grain of salt. I think that it is unfair to expect a writer not to evolve. And although Wright stopped writing perhaps the same type of fiction and nonfiction that he did in the states, with the strains of social protest, existentialism, and naturalism,the work that he did while residing in Paris is just as good, in my opinion. I'm reading "Father's Law" right now, and it is just as engaging as "Native Son." But it is a different novel, and Wright is no longer toeing the line of the Party. For me, Wright's later works exemplify his true ideology and talent, for he is not subjected to the discourse of communism and the constraints of the Party. In these works, I can hear the true Wright, unadulterated.M.L. Simmshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10850324550510860024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5248631738921296817.post-81069716154366576102008-05-09T20:12:00.000-07:002008-05-09T20:12:00.000-07:00This is true, but once Richard Wright left the Uni...This is true, but once Richard Wright left the United States he was never the same writer. He never achieved, not only the same level of success, but his work never quite connected in terms of readership like he had hoped. I love his critique of the Western world in "White Man Listen," in which he theorizes about race and what it means to be black in a white dominated world. In the biography on Ralph Ellison, Arnold Rampersad goes into detail on Ellison's observations on Himes (they did not get along) and Wright...In Ellison's perspective, the move killed Wright as a writer. He felt he was socially disconnected to the issues that he was so passionate about and led him to write some brilliant work (in my opinion). I think there is validity to that, however he did not like Himes work, and I love Himes...so I part with Ellison on that note....Randall Hortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11728301478044027044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5248631738921296817.post-5414631070952481142008-05-09T19:56:00.000-07:002008-05-09T19:56:00.000-07:00I agree with mozart about the need to leave the co...I agree with mozart about the need to leave the country to gain a better, if not different, perspective. Baldwin's self exile was precipitated by his strong belief that he would kill someone or get killed. Himes stayed outside of the country for economic reasons. He only wanted to support himself as a writer, and he found that he could not do this in the States. Besides, Baldwin, Himes, and Wright achieved a marked degree of celebrity status in Europe.M.L. Simmshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10850324550510860024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5248631738921296817.post-4801515830362528132008-05-08T20:55:00.000-07:002008-05-08T20:55:00.000-07:00Wow, a wonderful and interesting story. Thanks for...Wow, a wonderful and interesting story. Thanks for posting this.Randall Hortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11728301478044027044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5248631738921296817.post-69826091284298392522008-05-06T18:09:00.000-07:002008-05-06T18:09:00.000-07:00In terms of Baldwin& other writers who left the co...In terms of Baldwin& other writers who left the country or traveled to other places... I think it strengthened their writing skills because they say you have to distance yourself from the culture before you can actually write about it. Great PostMozart Guerrierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12407830619778272084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5248631738921296817.post-79405509327859076442008-04-30T17:53:00.000-07:002008-04-30T17:53:00.000-07:00I know about those tornadoes in Virginia; although...I know about those tornadoes in Virginia; although I live a couple hundred miles north of where the tornadoes hit, the high winds hit us too.M.L. Simmshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10850324550510860024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5248631738921296817.post-68872989343843654962008-04-29T10:56:00.000-07:002008-04-29T10:56:00.000-07:00I will definitely do that.Sidenote: It could be wo...I will definitely do that.<BR/><BR/>Sidenote: It could be worse weather. Virginia had 3 tornadoes yesterday and tonight in Michigan its supposed to drop close to freezing. YIKES.E.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05468533428727403911noreply@blogger.com