Reading Poe, Writing Novel
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Dear Reader,
Today, I got up and went to write. Instead, I found myself distracted, reading a story by Edgar Allen Poe I'd never really encountered before. It's called "The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether," and Poe's brilliance shines through in this one. I'm a bit more than halfway finished.
I hope Poe is still being taught in schools -- this guy really understand character and the effect of language, as well as suspense and plot. I've only recently read "The Purloined Letter" -- somehow I had managed to avoid that one when I was younger. I think after "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," I was less interested in his stories of detection and his detective Dupin, than in the horror stories.
"The Purloined Letter" is brilliant and simple, and experimental in that it's a narrative within a narrative within a narrative. Someone tells the story of someone else, who tells the story of someone else. It's fascinating, intelligent, and the story uses misdirection beautifully.
I'm reading all these stories as part of the background for my new novel, because there's a Poe connection in it.
Meantime, I'm back in the Furnace with those four boys, still working out this crucial scene. I can't let it go until it's done.
There's a dusting of snow here in this little coastal New England area, and it feels like the kind of day to stay in and read and watch a movie and maybe even get on the stationary bike for an hour.
Best,
Douglas Clegg
www.DouglasClegg.com
Dear Reader,
Today, I got up and went to write. Instead, I found myself distracted, reading a story by Edgar Allen Poe I'd never really encountered before. It's called "The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether," and Poe's brilliance shines through in this one. I'm a bit more than halfway finished.
I hope Poe is still being taught in schools -- this guy really understand character and the effect of language, as well as suspense and plot. I've only recently read "The Purloined Letter" -- somehow I had managed to avoid that one when I was younger. I think after "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," I was less interested in his stories of detection and his detective Dupin, than in the horror stories.
"The Purloined Letter" is brilliant and simple, and experimental in that it's a narrative within a narrative within a narrative. Someone tells the story of someone else, who tells the story of someone else. It's fascinating, intelligent, and the story uses misdirection beautifully.
I'm reading all these stories as part of the background for my new novel, because there's a Poe connection in it.
Meantime, I'm back in the Furnace with those four boys, still working out this crucial scene. I can't let it go until it's done.
There's a dusting of snow here in this little coastal New England area, and it feels like the kind of day to stay in and read and watch a movie and maybe even get on the stationary bike for an hour.
Best,
Douglas Clegg
www.DouglasClegg.com