Well that was convenient since I was planning to reread The Harvest and In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried today anyhow! I'm really starting to get her ...
I mean, I’ve read The Harvest before, along with pretty much everything else Amy Hempel has written, but DAMN it’s so good. She writes sentences that make me want to tattoo them backward on my chest so I can read them every day.
I think pronouns have become somewhat of a bugaboo outside of minimalism too in recent years.
And this is either going to be a difficult or an easy question, but would you say that Hempel’s work is the most important — or most archetypal — in the genre of minimalist writing? Curious because I think, in addition to Hempel, people would make strong arguments for the likes of Lish and Carver.
I absolutely love The Harvest. And I liked the curt/terse/abrupt changes from scene to scene in the blizzard story. I'm going to ask for my copy of Amy's collected works back and reread it. She's a killer.
I feel like what I'm doing is exactly the same, except I soften the switch a little with some sort of transitionary final sentence, then the chorus and a single line break to indicate the new scene. Its all broken up into ~2500 word sections, but most of those sections have more than one scene with a chorus in between.
Speaking of Pointillism, have you read "Lincoln at the Bardo" by George Saunders? That's a great example. He pulls from different characters, time periods, sources, to paint a picture of the story. I had a bit of a learning curve reading it at first, but the landscape it conjures was so mysterious and compelling it had me visiting the real cemetery it's based on.
I wonder if anyone else shares my feelings about Amy Hempel’s stories. I appreciate every sentence and I totally get her stylistic genius. But rarely, if at all, do I get swooped in the actual story.
Her pieces are a train of perfect phrases, a display of mastery, I can see that, but for me they don’t add up in a meaningful transmission. I hope I don’t get lynched for saying this 😅. And all this on the body stuff is just tiring me emotionally. It feels like reading somebody’s homework.
I do appreciate the analysis and I learn a lot from every post, I don’t want to be disrespectful. I think what I want to say is that paying too much attention to every phrase can compromise a story.
(*In case my writing seems off, English is not my native language)
Cool. Happy Easter all you sinners. Amy Hempel has done wonders for my marriagibility.
Argh. Moved all of my belongings solo yesterday. Will catch up in the AM. My eyes blur, cross, and close when I try to read. Damned west coast time.
Happy Easter! I found my huevos, and the redbuds are bloomed out. Dogwoods up next.
Amy Hempel seems to talk a lot about marriage and family. It's quite alienating.
This technique has made writing fun again for me (especially now that I’m starting to finally wrap my head around it.)
You couldn’t pay me to write another constantly unspooling, linear story again.
Well that was convenient since I was planning to reread The Harvest and In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried today anyhow! I'm really starting to get her ...
I mean, I’ve read The Harvest before, along with pretty much everything else Amy Hempel has written, but DAMN it’s so good. She writes sentences that make me want to tattoo them backward on my chest so I can read them every day.
Amazing posts, thank you so much!
Phrase "Baby come hug. Baby come hug" sounds like a heartbeat.
I think pronouns have become somewhat of a bugaboo outside of minimalism too in recent years.
And this is either going to be a difficult or an easy question, but would you say that Hempel’s work is the most important — or most archetypal — in the genre of minimalist writing? Curious because I think, in addition to Hempel, people would make strong arguments for the likes of Lish and Carver.
These last posts have been amazing, Chuck!
Kinda also miss the crowd-seeding posts you used to drop here.
Oh no, not more wonderful stories to read! I wish Hempel was my homework in college.
I absolutely love The Harvest. And I liked the curt/terse/abrupt changes from scene to scene in the blizzard story. I'm going to ask for my copy of Amy's collected works back and reread it. She's a killer.
I feel like what I'm doing is exactly the same, except I soften the switch a little with some sort of transitionary final sentence, then the chorus and a single line break to indicate the new scene. Its all broken up into ~2500 word sections, but most of those sections have more than one scene with a chorus in between.
I’m so jealous of Amy Hempel. Something to aspire to!!!
Also, anybody else visualizing some ancient tribe dancing all showgirl at a bunch of buffalo on a cliff? Very sacred moves.
Speaking of Pointillism, have you read "Lincoln at the Bardo" by George Saunders? That's a great example. He pulls from different characters, time periods, sources, to paint a picture of the story. I had a bit of a learning curve reading it at first, but the landscape it conjures was so mysterious and compelling it had me visiting the real cemetery it's based on.
I wonder if anyone else shares my feelings about Amy Hempel’s stories. I appreciate every sentence and I totally get her stylistic genius. But rarely, if at all, do I get swooped in the actual story.
Her pieces are a train of perfect phrases, a display of mastery, I can see that, but for me they don’t add up in a meaningful transmission. I hope I don’t get lynched for saying this 😅. And all this on the body stuff is just tiring me emotionally. It feels like reading somebody’s homework.
I do appreciate the analysis and I learn a lot from every post, I don’t want to be disrespectful. I think what I want to say is that paying too much attention to every phrase can compromise a story.
(*In case my writing seems off, English is not my native language)
I really like someone who writes about a severed head finishing sentences and a man answering only in phone numbers.
writers inventing new games, yay.