steven moore

in an earlier post i’d lamented the lack of wikipedia entry for steven moore, one of our most perceptive critics. now one’s been created (though for some reason isn’t findable via a search on the wikipedia site yet) by victoria harding, tireless keeper of these literary sites. on the wikipedia entry you’ll learn the gossipy fact that moore left dalkey due to irreconcilable differences with the publisher. i dunno what the issues in the break up were, but it’s unfortunate because dalkey did and does do incredible work–especially in translation–but its coverage and support of american fiction seem to have faltered since his departure. mr. moore i learned was the one who brought david markson to dalkey as well as carole maso and rikki ducornet. he re/dis-covered felipe alfau and was an early champion of david foster wallace. in fact reading through the quick summary one realizes that he’s been quietly in the center of serious american literary activity for more than two decades. point your browser therefore and sing the unsung if but to yourself at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Moore_(US_author))

steven moore with felipe alfau and ms. of Chromos; Queens, NYC, May 1991

someone give steven moore a wikipedia entry! michael dirda has one.

steven moore–one of our most insightful critics, who was senior editor at the review of contemporary fiction and dalkey–is writing a book about the history of the novel. i’ll read it before i read anything by james wood. moore’s famously championed gaddis–but also vollman, ronald firbank, felipe alfau, william gass, carol maso and many others.

me, i seem these days to like my books short and elegantly collapsed from drug-overuse. not moore: “I quickly gravitated to huge novels like The Recognitions, The Sot-Weed Factor, Miss MacIntosh, My Darling, novels you could lose yourself in for weeks, and study for a lifetime. (It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I also like Wagner’s and Glass’ operas.) I do like some writers known for short novels—Firbank, Spackman, Markson, Ducornet—but generally I like ’em big and brainy.”

i swear i saw that he had a webpage of his own, but i can’t find it any more. [found it–thanks to victoria harding.] stumbled across this interview which has the above quote and where he also reveals this about his upcoming history:

“And I’m developing a secondary theme that fiction is a kind of secular literature running alongside every culture’s sacred literature—testing its validity in “real” life, so to speak—and that fiction is finally a more trustworthy guide to life than sacred texts.”

hear friggin hear.

___________________________

moore’s latest review: on 2666