3 ms·

In Search of Writers' Haunts

36 points by wawayanda 3y ago

SemioticStandrd 3y ago
Good lord, did that ever strike me as pretentious and cliche.
- defrost 3y ago
  Yep. Nothing in that article reminded me in the slightest of Arthur Upfield working as a fence boundary rider on the rabbit-proof fence in Western Australia while writing his then unpublished book The Sands of Windee. He had decided to write another detective novel, but with a plot difference; there being no body for the detective to find. Unfortunately, he could not think of a way to dispose of a body. Cracking that nut did lead to unforeseen consequences: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murchison_Murders https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murchison_Murders a series of three murders, committed by an itinerant stockman known as "Snowy" Rowles .. used the murder method that had been suggested by author Arthur Upfield .. Still, at least I got to read about Bruce Chatwin getting stoned in India while eating a curry and reading Bhagavad Gita.
tomcam 3y ago
Have to admit that when I got my first decent job in the 80s it was in West Los Angeles. Read a ton of Raymond Chandler, who wrote about hard boiled detectives in the 1930s. Surprisingly, Venice and many of its people were recognizable from his descriptions.
KineticLensman 3y ago
My personal experience of knowing an author's environment is my time in the 80's at the University of Leeds where the comp sci department had a small out-building where the Ph.D students had some office space. This was one of the few remaining old terrace-type buildings that had survived the modern re-development of the Uni and according to local legend was the building where JRR Tolkien had an office when he was a reader in the English dept. at Leeds. We always felt that this was where Tolkien got the inspiration for the danker bits of the Mines of Moria. I also used to visit the park area in Meanwood where some claimed Tolkien was inspired by the large holly trees as an inspiration for Hollin. I later moved to Bournemouth where Tolkien lived in retirement. His house there was totally uninspiring suburban. I'm also reminded of the old joke about a uni that had a building dedicated to authors, known locally as 'Writers Block'.

36 points by wawayanda 3y ago

SemioticStandrd 3y ago

Good lord, did that ever strike me as pretentious and cliche.

defrost 3y ago
Yep. Nothing in that article reminded me in the slightest of Arthur Upfield working as a fence boundary rider on the rabbit-proof fence in Western Australia while writing his then unpublished book The Sands of Windee. He had decided to write another detective novel, but with a plot difference; there being no body for the detective to find. Unfortunately, he could not think of a way to dispose of a body. Cracking that nut did lead to unforeseen consequences: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murchison_Murders https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murchison_Murders a series of three murders, committed by an itinerant stockman known as "Snowy" Rowles .. used the murder method that had been suggested by author Arthur Upfield .. Still, at least I got to read about Bruce Chatwin getting stoned in India while eating a curry and reading Bhagavad Gita.

tomcam 3y ago

Have to admit that when I got my first decent job in the 80s it was in West Los Angeles. Read a ton of Raymond Chandler, who wrote about hard boiled detectives in the 1930s. Surprisingly, Venice and many of its people were recognizable from his descriptions.

KineticLensman 3y ago

My personal experience of knowing an author's environment is my time in the 80's at the University of Leeds where the comp sci department had a small out-building where the Ph.D students had some office space. This was one of the few remaining old terrace-type buildings that had survived the modern re-development of the Uni and according to local legend was the building where JRR Tolkien had an office when he was a reader in the English dept. at Leeds. We always felt that this was where Tolkien got the inspiration for the danker bits of the Mines of Moria. I also used to visit the park area in Meanwood where some claimed Tolkien was inspired by the large holly trees as an inspiration for Hollin. I later moved to Bournemouth where Tolkien lived in retirement. His house there was totally uninspiring suburban. I'm also reminded of the old joke about a uni that had a building dedicated to authors, known locally as 'Writers Block'.