His proposal of marriage to his last wife has survived—it was retarded. (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A00EED81E30F936A25755C0A9659C8B63) He picked which of the left-wing sides he would fight for in a shooting war by chance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell#Spanish_Civil_War_and_Homage_to_Catalonia). There are several points early in Down and Out in Paris and London where I shouted “you stupid fucker” at him, but I don't have the book to hand to cite them. But he’s notably one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century; is that not praise enough for him?
Umberto Eco isn't a professional writer?
I didn't say that; becoming well-known as a writer in the 20th century without getting paid for it would have been almost impossible, I suspect. He made his name in Italian in the sixties as a columnist, while working full-time as an academic, he did most of his research for The Name of the Rose in academia, and he's still teaching. His writing is informed by a wider life, and is the better for it.
It does mean that aimlessly blogging is not a route to fortune and hardly one to fame.
Oh, absolutely. But living on Top Ramen doesn’t guarantee you a whole lot either.
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Re: oh shit
Date: 2006-10-17 06:00 pm (UTC)His proposal of marriage to his last wife has survived—it was retarded. (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A00EED81E30F936A25755C0A9659C8B63) He picked which of the left-wing sides he would fight for in a shooting war by chance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell#Spanish_Civil_War_and_Homage_to_Catalonia). There are several points early in Down and Out in Paris and London where I shouted “you stupid fucker” at him, but I don't have the book to hand to cite them. But he’s notably one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century; is that not praise enough for him?
Umberto Eco isn't a professional writer?
I didn't say that; becoming well-known as a writer in the 20th century without getting paid for it would have been almost impossible, I suspect. He made his name in Italian in the sixties as a columnist, while working full-time as an academic, he did most of his research for The Name of the Rose in academia, and he's still teaching. His writing is informed by a wider life, and is the better for it.
It does mean that aimlessly blogging is not a route to fortune and hardly one to fame.
Oh, absolutely. But living on Top Ramen doesn’t guarantee you a whole lot either.