My poem for this past week

[bruorton]

I gave myself a sort of recreational break this week, trying some light verse after the style of Ogden Nash.  I understand one of my subjects has a new movie coming out; wrong one, though, more's the pity.


On Scholarship in Historical Fiction

On comparisons between Umberto Eco and Dan Brown
I frown;

For while I do frequently have trouble understanding the former when his characters use un-translated bits of dead languages in their chatter,
I simply have trouble understanding the latter.

For example, when it comes to the basis for his stories’ theological mischief,
It seems that Mr. Brown is unacquainted with the practice of putting faith in a reader’s ability to suspend disbelief,

But instead he parades about in the national spotlight boldly asserting to the general public that everything between the covers is demonstrable fact,
While any art student could tell you that demonstrability is the main thing it lacked.

When reading Eco, by contrast, though you will never imagine for a moment that what you are reading is literally true, the setting and its history are so rich that you can accept it as utterly real within the parameters of the story, because every bit of it is self-consistent and factually detailed,
Even if it is only a side-note on why an obscure 12th century heretic was impaled.

Which is why I respect Umberto Eco more for requesting belief only within his story itself,
And would rather strongly suggest that Dan Brown be left on the shelf.

Comments

[ellyane.livejournal.com]

This is great. :D

[bruorton.livejournal.com]

Thanks. =) It was fun to write.

[pwrdfblog.livejournal.com]

Interesting (and mostly useless) fact (and fun for 6 Degrees of Separation) is that Ogden Nash was a friend of my father's, and I met his widow when I was very little... Good poem btw!

[bruorton.livejournal.com]

Thanks -- and cool!