Ahoy mates! Welcome aboard to those who've just signed on! Have
we got a treasure for you! No need for a table of cargo contents, because
this entire issue of the Jolly Roger is devoted to the official Beaconway
Press interview with Suzie Greenberg of St. Martin's Press. Actually that's not her name, but her name doesn't matter. We've removed her comments from the interview for aesthetic reasons as well as for economical ones, as she wasn't saying anything except for that same old liberal crap that there's a literary renaissance underway, and its name is Douglas Coupland, as seen on MTV. Suzie's boss, Jim
Fitzgerald, is the editor whose claim to fame is Douglas Coupland's,
Generation-X. Like the thing you have to wonder though is if Doug had called the book something else, would we know his name. Anyways-- if you love Douglas Coupland, drop me a line-- I'm still waiting to meet somebody who does.
When I first called Suzie last September as
Elliot McGucken, she couldn't talk because she had a meeting or
something. I tried her again, and I still couldn't get her to give me the
time of day. I realized that if I was ever going to find out what was up
with the people who are responsible for the vapid, empty "literature" that
is touted as being the voice of my peers and the essence of my soul, I
was going to have to be creative. I was going to have to go under-cover
in order to infiltrate the foreign territory, but never fear-- as a Red
Avenger of All that is Right and True, the handling of such perilous
situations has become second-nature to me. I live for them. I disguised
my voice and put a towel over the phone. I changed my name to Steve
Nelson, and I said I was a reporter from, Details Magazine. Now I've
never read, Details, but I saw Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails on the
cover once, so I figured Suzie would talk to me. And she did!
At the time of the interview, late last October, my novel, The
Drake Raft Field Trip, had been sitting in their office for about a
month, along with Drake's collection of sonnets, The After Dark Field
Book, which happened to have been included on the syllabus in a few English classes over
at NC State this past semester. There's a lot of good stuff in this
interview-- we feel it offers dazzling insight into the liberally-trained
apprentices who are at this moment being groomed to run the publishing
industry (further to the left). You won't want to miss a word of it!
Lines are being drawn, and all that we stand for is being defined. We're
writing Great Literature, and they get to ask themselves one question--
"do we want to publish it?"
And let us just say that we have faith in the younger editors--
they will figure things out, and come out on the right side. Suzie seems
pretty smart, and pretty cool. Rather than printing more cute & safe
liberal-elite-supervised Generation-X books, and then complaining that
literature doesn't make money because everyone's too stupid to appreciate
the latest, "Catcher in the Rye of the Grunge Generation," Suzie seems like
the type who'd rather do the sensible thing, and make a buck off of
publishing words that mean things to her peers. Of course we don't know
her that well, so we can't be absolutely sure, but it's hard to imagine that any editor would want to incur the wrath of a generation by denying them Great Literature, written in the context of the Western Canon. Great Literature, coupled
with the younger editors' desires to make a living while developing a meaningful career, will triumph over the
aging liberals' arrogance.
At the present, May 1st, 1995, both works are still located
somewhere within the offices of St. Martin's Press. We called Suzie about
a month ago, and she was short with us, as usual, because we weren't
pretending to be from any magazines. She said she'd let us know when they
had formed an opinion.
Just thank goodness for the WWW. For we could be dead white
males by then.
CHECK OUT THE READERS' RESPONSES AT THE END OF THE INTERVIEW!
*******THE OFFICIAL BEACONWAY INTERVIEW, WITH Suzie Greenberg*********
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Hello, is Evie in?
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: This is Steve Nelson from Details. What's up?
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: How you been doin'.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: How's that Aerosmith book comin'?
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Did you see the Rolling Stone with Steven Tyler and his
daughter?
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: How about that daughter.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: You did-- cool. Well listen, I've solidified some
questions here.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Well the first one, to just jump right in, is, "do you feel
like today's publishers are doing a good job in delivering literature to
the twenty-something generation?"
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: I was wondering what your feelings were-- is it literature
that they're delivering? Is it something that speaks to the generation?
Something that probes deeply the soul of the generation? Or something
that is somewhat more superficial and market-oriented?
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Is that because people aren't writing it? Or is it
dangerous to try and market it?
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: So, you mean they're not looking for deeper meanings anymore?
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: I guess it's across the entire spectrum of ages. Like
take you as an editor-- is there anyone out there who you're getting
literature from? Or do you know of any other editors who are getting
submissions, and they say, well, we'd like to publish it, we think it's
good and well done, but there's just no audience for it.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: (Laughter) No, I'm sure that you're not. But are you
receiving things, that you look over, and say, "you know, in a society
that read more, this would be good."
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: So is literature kind of subsidized by all the non-fiction?
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Have you felt that passion about anything lately?
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Cute like, "Moby Dick?"
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Good. Do you sense that these novels have sizable scopes,
peering into man's heart? Do they comment on human nature, say are they
as profound as Hamlet?
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Are they plot-driven, or are they--
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Uh-huh.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Yeah, well just everything that seems geared toward the
twenty-something generation, doesn't seem to have much of a plot at all.
And it's funny, because there's no rebellion what-so-ever in any of the
twenty-something generation books. This is kind of my next question. There seems to be no rebellion against the baby-boomer editorial
generation, who invented the plotless, meaningless books to empower
feminists. I mean any rebellion is still against the more conservative
values, and the more traditional forms of literature, and conservative
ideals.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Yes, there's no sense of independence from them in our
so-called literature. I wonder if that has something to do with the fact
that liberal baby-boomers are running the presses? And they're choosing
what we get to say about ourselves? Because in all of the books that
I've read, I can't find anything that pokes fun of the whole idea of
Woodstock, and Woodstock II.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Well I think that that's when boomers realize we have
money to spend--
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: But wait. All these things-- if you look at Kurt Cobain,
if you look at Prozac Nation, if you look at Generation-X-- if you look
at these things they all deal with the same general slacker malaise. In
all these we're depicted as being all bummed out, and it seems that's how
the liberal boomers want us to be. It's cute-- they had their spiritual
leaders had their LSD, and we have our Heroin. They can deal with that.
But there doesn't seem to be any sense of triumph, or nobility. It's
like the record company executives will hire you on the spot if you're
killing yourself with heroin, but if you write five-hundred sober
sonnets, or something, they'll tell you there's no market. I mean where
can we turn to get a sense of our sober-selves? 'Cause most of my
friends don't do drugs, kill people, or anything.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: No, it's different. Pepsi wasn't the official soft-drink
at the first Woodstock.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: And we have grunge bands, and fruit cocktails. I mean
we have Rush, who's a sober voice for many, but you'll never see an
article on him in "Rolling Stone."
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Yeah-- rock'n roll-- I mean this whole grunge thing is
something that was baby-boomer created. That's why Rolling Stone liked
Kurt so much-- because he was their own creation. I mean Kurt Cobain
didn't create grunge. That was something that was created by the people
at Polo. I mean at Woodstock twenty-five years ago there were no TV
rights sold to anyone, nor tickets, nor t-shirts. It seems like they're
doing everything twice-- once to get high, and then the second time to
make a buck. And meanwhile, mom's off at her boyfriend's, and the girl
down the hall's got an eating disorder. I mean it's no secret that
thirty years ago these things were unheard of.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Rock's lost it's soul and spirit-- I mean it's something
that the boomers created because it gave them a freedom, away back when
it started. But the times have changed, and we face a totally new
reality, but they just keep on marketing a new band every ten minutes,
'cause that's the way their machine's set up. The whole point of this
article is there's more to us than what the liberal baby-boomers can or
are willing to acknowledge. I mean there are certain ingrained
prejudices in the media, the news, and the universities, and it seems
they don't want to acknowledge that this generation has a sober, rational
soul of it's own. They don't want to publish somebody who comes along
and writes in an ordered, structured manner, in a context of the Great
Books. Because rationale would show that they have left us in a cultural
and moral void, and they can't afford that, because supposedly every move
of MTV is rooted in decreasing gang violence, or promoting AIDS
awareness. I mean they're promoting it all right. But who's making
heroes out of drug-users and misogynists? What has MTV done to promote
enduring relationships? Other than Beavis and Butthead?
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Well yeah, I know. That's the whole thing. For us I
think sex bores a lot of people in our generation. I mean it's not what
my friends go out looking for-- you know? It's pounded into you that
science has shown that males are predators, and they're built to get as
many women as possible. But there's this thing called the soul, which
some people have, and perhaps science doesn't understand it exactly--
maybe there's no mathematical formula for it, but that doesn't mean that
it isn't there. And romance springs forth from it-- I mean I know guys
who miss girls, when they take off. I mean they don't hate women, by any
means-- they like 'em. And I mean it has nothing to do with sex-- it's a deeper part of their spirit. And Kate Moss is some sort of suffering,
waif hero, or something.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: I mean it's kind of like we're all growing immune to their
exploitation, to their superficial temptations. What I'm wondering is--
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Yeah, well it's hard to get virginity back. I think it's an
important thing to remember that culture, and the traditional structures
that the liberal baby-boomers tossed by the wayside sprang from nothing.
And men didn't create them to oppress anyone-- they just created them to
ensure that children would be supported and cared for by the two people
who brought them into this world. The structures enabled a part of the
soul to develop that today's culture has let wither. And I'm not talking
about the physical architecture of the churches and synagogues-- I'm
talking about the structure of the fables and myths of faith and morality
in the Bible. And now there are those of us who are seeing how these
traditions, rooted in the written word, which emphasize moral
responsibility, and the rational side of man's soul, could be of benefit
to all humanity. Even though David Geffen couldn't make a buck off of it.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Ah, I don't know if it's that so much-- I mean even if--
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: It's the economy, stupid, right? No, I think that's a
liberal fallacy-- there are things that people are dissatisfied with that
are priceless. I mean is it that people can't buy a family? No--
they're not for sale at Wal-mart. I mean neither crime nor divorce were
as rampant in the great depression as they are now. I mean you're right,
our parents did spend all our money in the eighties on welfare, so they
could feel good about themselves, but like it didn't end poverty-- it
just bred more of it. But I don't think money's the crucial issue here.
There's something more fundamental, that the liberal administrations,
editors, and bureaucracies can't afford to even acknowledge, because
their literature, their philosophy, can't compete with it on a level
playing field. And it's called the Truth. But you can't keep a man's
soul in darkness forever.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Yeah, well I know, it always feels good to forgive your
boss. But in the same sense that they blamed the structure for all their
problems, and there was all that rebellion against that, it's like why do
we have to enslave our passions to them? Why should they get our college
loans to teach us deconstruction? Hell, what do we have to deconstruct?
You can't fly high when there's nowhere to fall. Now it's kind of like
we're sitting here, the bath water's gone, along with the baby, and we're
facing completely different situations, and they're pushing us further
and further down the same old road. I mean you said yourself that
there's a back-lash out there against all this superficial Generation-X
stuff.
Suzie Greenberg: Oh, absolutely. Media overkill, anyway. You kind of
get sick of hearing about it.
Steve Nelson: Do you feel that there's some sort of underground
movement, unacknowledged by the liberal boomers, that's sweeping across
this nation? Like does my generation want to hear something different?
Do you think they have ears for a sober literature, as subtle as
Shakespeare? I mean "Generation-X" might sell well, but it's not
touching a nerve. I mean it's probably sold less copies than the number
of people who attended the first Woodstock--
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: About half a million.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Yeah, but like Pearl Jam sells a million albums in a
week. And like I hesitate to say that the music speaks to my friends,
'cause if you look at the lyrics, they're not saying much. I mean most
people don't know what's even getting said in most songs-- it's like
you're not supposed to worry about it. And the funny thing is I've never
met anyone who liked the book,"Generation-X." Most of my friends have
never heard of it, and those who have didn't read it, and the one who
tried, didn't make it through. Wouldn't it be cool to write something
that inspired people to read? Don't you think it's possible? I mean I
believe in the people. And Woodstock #1 was never even advertised,
whereas Doug Coupland's face is floating on MTV. I mean the title's an
ad. But literary revolutions aren't created because Viacom needs to make
a buck.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: (laughter) But it's not us. I mean there you have it--
it's a safe, nice, cute, liberal, baby-boomer-approved Generation-X book,
written with words that don't mean anything, and only boomers buy it. I
mean I don't mind a label like Generation-X. I'm just saying that we,
and not our parents, should be the ones defining it.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: (laughter) Have you ever read Joyce Carol Oates? There's
nothing new about not being plot driven. I mean John Updike never let one get in the way
of his novels. Have you read that book, "Generation Echhh?"
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Well there was a picture of the authors in Rolling Stone,
standing with Courtney Love, who liked it. I thought they gave pretty
good reviews of contemporary books, like Donna Tart's, A Secret
History, and all of Brett Easton Ellis's masterpieces.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Yeah, they'd intercepted a J.D. Salinger letter in which
he commented on how all these authors suck, and stuff. And they had a
good section on how everyone's doing all these totally cliched things,
like Reality Bites, and then claiming innocence from following boomer
cultural recipes. But you can't fake rebellion. I have a sense, just
from talkin' with my friends, and walkin' the streets, that there's a
deeper element of this generation that has yet to be tapped into. And I
get this feeling that somehow the publishing companies aren't doin' such
a good job at delivering to my generation what it wants. And that's why
my friends own ten times as many CD's as books. There's a power in the
printed word--
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Do you ever get--
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: (Laughter (alone))
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Yeah, one of my friends was just telling me about this
guy he was reading. Sir Francis Drake, or some-- no Drake Raft. Sir
Francis Drake Raft.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Oh it did?
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Have you seen it yet, or. . .
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Oh, 'cause somebody was telling me that they had it in
class. Like there're these grad-students teaching it, like at NC State,
or Duke, or somewhere down South.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: And I was enjoying some of them, when I was passing
through. She said she'd send me copy. It was funny to see a bunch of
rhyming, structured poems.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: It was kind of like total rebellion, but in such a subtle
way.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: I know-- and the girl who's teaching 'em told me that the
students are passing 'em around. People from outside the class are
buying them.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: It was funny-- I didn't even notice that they rhymed when
I was reading them. Because they meant things. Most times when you sit
down to write a sonnet-- I mean I remember a high-school assignment, and
I could make things rhyme, and fit in time, so well. I mean it's cool
seeing it so well done. I mean it hit me all of a sudden, so I started
counting the syllables, and sure enough there were ten which is called--
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Yeah, and they were cool, 'cause they were cracking on
liberal baby-boomers.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: Only as much as they have against words that mean things,
and the Truth.
Suzie Greenberg: I
Steve Nelson: Well, I'm with you. I don't--
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: (laughter) No, I'm with you. I'm not blaming anyone. I
don't blame the liberal boomers for anything. I say they're not
publishing great literature, but I don't say it's their fault that it's
not getting written. Because it is. Somewhere out there, it is.
Suzie Greenberg:
Steve Nelson: I'm sure they will.
****READERS RESPOND!!****
Sender: Joey Dutton
Subject: Re: THE JOLLY ROGER (fwd)
Just wanted to say keep up the good work. In light of the media's new
attack on 'right-wingers' and demonization of all things conservative,
it's good to know that others are out there standing their ground. We're
in a culture war and conservatives are going to have to get better at
offensively and defensively selling our message to the masses. The media
is the battleground, and fortunately, as THE JOLLY ROGER is
demonstrating, there are many young conservatives who are skillfully
fighting back in the liberals war against freedom.
March on!
Joey Dutton
jdutton@comp.uark.edu
From: "Daniel J. Lanier"
To: mcgucken@physics.unc.edu
Subject: Keep on Sailing
Keep the sails high and the rudder straight. Though it may seem that at
times your in uncharted waters, you will discover that the adventure is
well worth the challenge. True THOUGHT requires the effort that few will
expend. As it is said, "Success is a DECISION, not a happening." Very few
ever wander the bounds of the Nightly News.
Talk@ya-later...............................danj
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