Dear Scott,
Another year has gone by, and I still find you as enigmatic and problematic as ever. You, who could write such beautiful words, ruffle my feathers like few others. You, who squandered such exemplary gifts, frustrate me to the point of madness. Although I’ve never loved you, not even a bit, I have spent some wonderful time in your company. At this point in the game, I realize that I will never stop questioning you and, in questioning you, relentlessly, learn more about myself than I ever cared to know. Happy birthday, you beautiful bastard.
Yours (but not really),
Maedez
F. Scott Fitzgerald by Gordon Bryant. Shadowland, 1921.
“I don’t want to repeat my innocence. I want the pleasure of losing it again.”-This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald
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I like this quotation very much, maedez. We did not study Fitzgerald in my Canadian education except for The Great Gatsby. Based on what you say, I might delve into this author a little more.
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Prepare to be conflicted! He could write so beautifully, and yet at the core much of his work is so…hollow. But his use of language is so lovely, that one finds oneself forgiving him so much!
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I also find it difficult to read fiction from that long ago, maedez. A weakness on my part I’m sure but I grow impatient with outdated language, especially when the characters speak in the vernacular. I do like to read letters,memoirs or diaries from long ago however as they are less constructed and reflect the personality of the writer much more.
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I almost only read old books, so I am the opposite in this respect. Language is flexible and starts changing even as new words leave our mouths, but humanity does not change nearly as much (if at all, really). But I also love memoirs, letters, and diaries. I enjoy the historical-which is to say, the great unchanging universal-so they are right up my alley, too.
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Perfect.
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Thank you very much!
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This captures pefectly the ambiguity we often feel towards the person, the writer, which is at odds with our reaction as a reader to their work. Well done – ‘you beautiful bastard’ reminded me of W. B. Yeats’s ‘a terrible beauty’. 🙂
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Thank you very much! I love Yeats, by the way, and being mentioned in the same sentence as him for a complimentary reason almost made my day. 🙂
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Almost – I’ll try to do better next time 😉
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Ha, it was a fine and stunning compliment! Honestly!
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This is a fabulous letter. I bet he would keep it.
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Thank you! You might be correct: he would probably keep it, and think of me as that horridly impertinent woman.
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Reblogged this on A Small Press Life and commented:
Encore post from 5 years ago.
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