By
far the most influential fiction editor and creative writing teacher in
America back in the 70s, 80s and 90s, Gordon Lish, dubbed Captain
Fiction, also wrote dozens of short stories and a number of novels,
including Dear Mr. Capote and Peru.
Since Gordon
Lish is famous for his brutal editing of Raymond Carver and his equally
brutal teaching methods where the likes of Richard Ford, Barry Hannah,
Cynthia Ozick and Harold Brodkey are counted among his students, one
might think Gordon's own fiction style would be straightforward realist a
la Caver-Ford-Ozick. But this is not the case. Not even close. Gordon
Lish's fiction is highly experimental, quirky and immediately
recognizable. As by way of example, here's the opening for the short
story under review:
THE MERRY CHASE
"Don't tell me. Do me a
favor and let me guess. Be honest with me, tell the truth, don't make me
laugh. Tell me, don't make me have to tell you, do I have to tell you
that when you're hot, you're hot, that when you're dead, you're dead?
Because you know what I know? I know you like myself, I know you like
the back of my hand, I know you like a book, I know you inside out. I
know you like you'll never know.
You think I don't know whereof I speak? I know, I know. I know the day will come, the day will dawn.
Didn't
I tell you you never know? Because I guarantee it. I tell you, no one
will dance a jig. No one will do a dance. No one will cater to you so
fast, or wait on you hand and foot. You think they could care less if
you live or die?"
So the question poses itself: Why write like
this? An interviewer, a Mr. Don Swain, asked Gordon Lish exactly this
question. Here's what Gordon had to say about his writing (I do a modest
transcribing and compressing since Gordon spoke with Don Swain in a
series of radio interviews from 1983 to 1988 - available on YouTube.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsYfM...). I also pepper in my own observations on Gordon's writing.
LANGUAGE OF THE HEART
"I'm
trying to recover the language as it occurs in my heart, in my ear."
Gordon goes on to say there's a primal, innate language in all of us
that's integral to our biology and it's this language he seeks to
retrieve and put down on paper - and, in this way, his novels and short
stories provide a written record of his very being.
GRAB THE READER
"I
want to grab the reader and force their face down on the page." Gordon
wants a narrative voice that's both familiar and totally unique, a voice
that's compelling, enthralling, riveting, a voice that can shock, and,
when needed, a voice that can be erotic. Gordon acknowledges his writing
requires concentration and certainly doesn't make for a quick read. He
hones and retools his writing via multiple rewrites until he reaches a
point where every single word counts.
REPETITION AND CLICHÉS
"We
think in clichés; we speak in clichés, we tend to be the product of our
culture's clichés." Gordon is fascinated by the phenomenon of clichés
along with the repetition of language. He observes there's a calming, a
soothing, a kind of magic and shamanistic effect when we use clichés and
repeat words - cliché and repetition as incantation, language as a
vehicle of power. With this in mind, take another look at the beginning
of The Merry Chase. Notice how many times the narrator uses "I" and "me" and "you" along with, by my count, a dozen clichés.
ENSHROUD THE READER
"I
want to enshroud a reader in the ambience of my voice. I want a reader
to feel enclosed within an atmosphere that promotes a certain gaze, a
buzzy feeling enabling the reader to drift along in the story's
language. My writing is all about the WAY the story is told rather than
the story itself." Tell it like it is, Gordon! To get a clearer sense
for what Gordon is driving at here, read the beginning of The Merry Chase aloud, with feeling, five times over. Ah, the buzz.
MORE SENSATIONS
Thanks
to the internet and other media, we're all drowning in information.
According to Gordon, what we need in fiction isn't more information but
greater sensations and deeper feelings. This is exactly what Gordon aims
to put before the reader: the possibility of dreams; the possibility of
feelings, a way for us to connect with life in all its mystery.
NOT A STORY
Gordon
insists his tales are unlike a conventional story happening out there
in the world; rather, his fictions occur in the moment, in one place. So
true. With a Gordon Lish story, I have the distinct impression the
narrator is sitting alone in a room, speaking, ranting, browbeating or
spinning. A Lish narrator spinning reminds me of the narrator in a
Stephen Dixon story, however, with Dixon, the action usually takes place
out in the world - on the subway, walking the street, in a bookstore,
in a restaurant, in an apartment or office. But with Gordon, as much as
the narrator spins, the spinning is all in the head, making for intense
storytelling.
FIRST SENTENCE
Here's a key when approaching any of his stories: Gordon says: "My first
sentence is "the story" and everything thereafter is a kind of dilation
of that first sentence, expanding and evolving that first sentence
until it becomes a global event." In his novel Dear Mr. Capote,
here is Gordon's first sentence: "This is the twelfth start to the
letter I am sending." Are you familiar with this novel? If so, you will
see the truth of Gordon's words.
I use Dear Mr. Capote as an example for a specific
reason: I plan to post reviews on a number of books by Gordon Lish,
this one included. My review here can serve as a coming preview.
*The Merry Chase is included in Sudden Fiction edited by Robert Shapard and James Thomas
As part of a Guardian comment thread on Gordon Lish, here's what one of Captain Fiction's former students had to say:
"I was a student of Lish's, and I worked for him at Knopf and at The Quarterly.
My third book, a novel, is coming out this fall. Gordon certainly
taught me, guided me, and encouraged me over the many years I knew him
well. Since this article doesn't mention many names, I thought it might
be useful to see a sampling of the writers he edited and/or taught.
These are just a few of those not already mentioned: Barry Hannah,
Cynthia Ozick, Harold Brodkey, Amy Hempel, Lily Tuck, Walter Kirn,
Yannick Murphy, Noy Holland, Sam Michel, Michael Hickins, Diane
Williams, Raymond Kennedy, Nancy Lemann, Richard Ford, Joy Williams,
Christopher Coe, Michael Martone, Patricia Lear, Diane DeSanders, Mary
Robison, Bette Pesetsky, Dawn Raffel, Jennifer Allen, Daryl Scroggins,
Sheila Kohler, William Tester, Victoria Redel, Thomas Lynch, M Sarki,
Janet Kauffman, David Ohle, Jan Pendleton, Don Nace, Daniel Harris, Rudy
Wilson, Greg Mulcahy, Hob Broun, Peter Christopher, Anderson Ferrell,
Ted Pejovich, Jack Gilbert, Denis Donoghue, Melinda Davis, Neal Durando,
Leon Rooke, Mary Robison, Terese Svoboda, David Leavitt, Mark Richard,
Rick Bass, Mona Simpson.
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