Posted by David Luckhardt on February 04, 1998 at 10:14:28:
In Reply to: Re: Jack... we hardly know ye! posted by Dan S. Tong on February 02, 1998 at 22:41:38:
I've been a Jack Vance fan for decades, and live near him in the SF East Bay area. I hate to rain on your parade, folks, but Jack is _very_ elderly and as close to blind as makes no matter. He writes, to the best of my knowledge, in a special basement room where a computer puts up 1 or 2 characters on the screen at a time (not words, characters!!).
I'm a firm believer in letting my objects of veneration alone - wanted to write to CS Lewis when I was a kid, but never did - and with Jack's reputation as a serious curmudgeon in mind, I'd recommend just doing as I do, worshipping from afar.
And not only do I doubt that either Jack or Norma reads these postings, but we should all be glad they don't. I recall being in several discussions on Bruce Sterling on the Well when Bruce himself came in and replied to some of the issues raised. Killed that discussion DEAD -- much of the enjoyment in discussing what the authors meant is in the conjecture -- and when they are present, you feel like such an idiot when they explain "what they really meant"...
Had a random thought yesterday - what if Jack gets _serious_ veneration many decades/years from now - sort of the same thing as Shakespeare. "The Bard" was just one of many playrights at the time, no one would have guessed that he would be nearly worshipped 400 years later....except maybe his fans??
- David Luckhardt, just re-read Emphyrio yesterday - GODLIKE!