Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 8499624" data-attributes="member: 22779">Nope.&nbsp; Understanding a work does not mean you need to know the first thing about the author and I can prove it in three words.James Tiptree Jr.For those who don't know, James Tiptree Jr. is a seminal author of SF.&nbsp; One of the founders of the genre really.&nbsp; Won all sorts of accolades, to the point where one one the highest SF awards you can win is the Jame Tiptree Jr award. (Now renamed as the Sheldon Award.)However, James Tiptree Jr. is a pen name for Alison Bradley Sheldon and never existed.&nbsp; Not only did James Tiptree Jr. never exist, but, no one actually knew who James Tiptree Jr. was for a decade or more.&nbsp; Yet, James Tiptree Jr. won all sorts of SF awards, was widely read and critiqued.&nbsp; Now, according to those who claim that the author is important, it would be impossible to actually understand the works because we don't know the author.&nbsp; Yet, apparently, it wasn't all that difficult to understand.&nbsp; So, no, the author is the least important element in understanding and critiquing a work.&nbsp; This is basic Lit Crit 101 stuff.&nbsp; I mean, if you don't like this example, then tell me this.&nbsp; Without looking it up, who wrote The Wrath of Khan?&nbsp; Could you understand the work without knowing the author?&nbsp; Empire Strikes back?&nbsp; The Matrix?&nbsp; Any of a hundred other works that you can talk about without having the first clue who wrote it?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 8499624, member: 22779"] Nope. Understanding a work does not mean you need to know the first thing about the author and I can prove it in three words. James Tiptree Jr. For those who don't know, James Tiptree Jr. is a seminal author of SF. One of the founders of the genre really. Won all sorts of accolades, to the point where one one the highest SF awards you can win is the Jame Tiptree Jr award. (Now renamed as the Sheldon Award.) However, James Tiptree Jr. is a pen name for Alison Bradley Sheldon and never existed. Not only did James Tiptree Jr. never exist, but, no one actually knew who James Tiptree Jr. was for a decade or more. Yet, James Tiptree Jr. won all sorts of SF awards, was widely read and critiqued. Now, according to those who claim that the author is important, it would be impossible to actually understand the works because we don't know the author. Yet, apparently, it wasn't all that difficult to understand. So, no, the author is the least important element in understanding and critiquing a work. This is basic Lit Crit 101 stuff. I mean, if you don't like this example, then tell me this. Without looking it up, who wrote The Wrath of Khan? Could you understand the work without knowing the author? Empire Strikes back? The Matrix? Any of a hundred other works that you can talk about without having the first clue who wrote it? [/QUOTE]

Verification