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I noticed that this list was made by Martin Seymour-Smith. He was an English poet and critic whose masterpiece was called Guide to Modern World Literature. It i
by gruseom 13y ago
I noticed that this list was made by Martin Seymour-Smith. He was an English poet and critic whose masterpiece was called Guide to Modern World Literature. It is a monster of a book that covers hundreds (thousands?) of writers, a tour de force that is nearly impossible to believe was put together by one person. I used to spend hours poring over it in the reference section of the library. For such an encyclopedia, it's remarkable how idiosyncratic and addictive it is. He makes no attempt to be balanced or standard about anything; he just gives his personal views—for example he pooh-poohs Eliot and says that the greatest poet of the 20th century was César Vallejo. So, unlike most reference works, it's wonderfully intimate. It's like having an uncle who knows everything and will happily tell you all about anyone you name.
Sometimes it's even perverse, as he loves nothing better than to champion the obscure and take the famous and well-established down a peg. So I suppose it's fitting that basically no one has heard of his work.
I discovered him years ago on a long bus trip with a layover in Salt Lake City, where I went to a used bookstore. His book--actually an earlier one called "Who's Who in 20th Century Literature", smaller but still massive--was on a shelf in the basement of the store. I looked someone up in it and thought "this is interesting", sat on the floor and looked someone else up, and then another and so on. Hours later I woke up and realized that I was sitting on the basement floor of a bookstore in a strange city. I remember I had to run to the bus station and barely made it. That book, and then later the astonishing one I described above, became my companions for years, the sort of thing where the author is your mentor and friend and you feel vividly that you know him. Thank you Martin Seymour-Smith!
- jamesbritt 13y agoThis site, as best I can tell, does not given any reason for inclusion. There are blurbs from wikipedia, but they're basic descriptions of the work. I want to see the rationale for each item. Perhaps the site exists to sell an associated book.
- gruseom 13y agoWell the site is just ripping off the list from one of Seymour-Smith's books, which would certainly have given reasons. I don't think respect for the original is a high priority there.
- sabbatic13 13y agoThe specific rationale wouldn't be something one could really explain in less than a few pages for each of those. The overarching reason is that each of these books had a huge effect on intellectual and cultural history across a long span of time. To demonstrate that, one would need quite a bit of space, and ultimately it would amount to giving someone an entire education in the intellectual history of most of the world over the last 2500 years. It seems rather futile in any event. Pointing out the highlights of Plotinus' influence would involve referring to a large number of other authors and texts and movements that are even less well known, e.g. Marsilio Ficino, the Corpus Hermeticum, and Renaissance Neo-Platonism. I am pretty sure that for most of the authors, however, a good Wikipedia entry will throw out a few sentences that give someone an idea.
- jamesbritt 13y agoThe specific rationale wouldn't be something one could really explain in less than a few pages for each of those. Sure, but something should be said as to the reason for inclusion, if only to direct people as to were to get a better understanding. As it is it reminds of the many "best of" lists (movies of all time, etc.) where some suspect or opaque selection process is used and the results put out as if the veracity is just to assumed. Great for starting conversations at parties, perhaps. I am pretty sure that for most of the authors, however, a good Wikipedia entry will throw out a few sentences that give someone an idea. I have roughly zero confidence in anything on Wikipedia that is not a matter of hard science. I'd much prefer a comment from a single person who admits biases upfront than the subtly distorted content of Wikipedia.
- WildUtah 13y ago"long bus trip ... Salt Lake City ... used bookstore ... on a shelf in the basement" Probably Sam Weller's Zion Bookstore [0]. Three blocks from the bus station for the second half of the twentieth century, it occupied two stories of new books and a large basement full of used books always full of treasures. It moved two miles southeast to Trolley Square in 2011. [0] http://www.wellerbookworks.com/history/ http://www.wellerbookworks.com/history/
- gruseom 13y agoThat was it! It was a magical place. Thank you.