What one presumes Leonard is saying, given the other dumbed-down rules on his list, is that he eschews what we commonly refer to, for want of a better term, as lyrical prose. One imagines he would have John Banville, Joseph O'Neill and Teju Cole busily erasing their manuscripts. On the other hand, if he doesn't mean that, perhaps he means writing that, because it fails - because it is, essentially bad writing - feels "written". So, basically, fix bad writing. Thanks a whole heap, Elmo.What one presumes Leonard is saying, given the other dumbed-down rules on his list, is that he eschews what we commonly refer to, for want of a better term, as lyrical prose. One imagines he would have John Banville, Joseph O'Neill and Teju Cole busily erasing their manuscripts. On the other hand, if he doesn't mean that, perhaps he means writing that, because it fails - because it is, essentially bad writing - feels "written". So, basically, fix bad writing. Thanks a whole heap, Elmo.
I have to disagree with Mark on this. To begin with, Leonard's prose is lyrical. In fact, I read his books for the form and style. I think they're as tightly knit as sonnets and that Leonard is very much concerned with how his prose sounds. What I think he is objecting to is mannered prose. I give you Cormac McCarthy.
The problem, Frank, is that it's quite difficult to distinguish between lyrical and mannered prose. There is no clearcut definition of either.
ReplyDeleteI think it's like pornography. You can't define it, but you know it when you see it. I think skillful readers can draw the distinction.
ReplyDeleteOh, and mannered should not be confused with mannerism, which is really a style. The Beatles White Album is a good example of creative mannerism.
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